A STUDY ON BRAND PREFERENCE OF ONLINE SHOPPING PLATFORMS AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS
Author: Srashti agrawal
Introduction
The rapid growth of e-commerce has significantly changed the buying behaviour of consumers, especially college students. Online shopping platforms attract young consumers by offering convenience, competitive pricing, wide product variety, and easy return policies. Well-known brands such as Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, and Ajio dominate the Indian e-commerce market and strongly influence purchasing decisions.
This study aims to analyse the preference of college students towards selected online shopping brands using primary data and statistical analysis.
Objectives of the Study
• To study the level of brand preference among college students towards selected online shopping platforms.
• To examine whether there is a significant difference in preference among Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, and Ajio.
Literature Review
• Kotler & Keller (2016) stated that brand trust and perceived value play a crucial role in influencing consumer buying behaviour.
• Singh and Rana (2020) found that discounts, delivery speed, and customer service significantly affect consumers’ preference for online shopping brands.
Data Collection
The study is based on primary data collected through a structured questionnaire using Google Forms. Respondents were asked to rate their preference for Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, and Ajio on a 1–10 rating scale, where 1 indicates very low preference and 10 indicates very high preference.
A total of 50 college students participated in the survey. Equal observations were maintained for each brand to ensure balanced data for ANOVA analysis.
DATA ANALYSIS
|
SOURCE OF VARIANCE |
df |
MS |
F |
P-value |
F critical |
|
|
Rows |
49 |
1.426 |
0.901 |
0.664 |
1.516 |
|
|
Columns |
3 |
15.573 |
7.982 |
0.0007 |
2.798 |
|
|
Error |
147 |
1.248 |
|
|
|
|
Hypothesis
• H₀ (Null Hypothesis): There is no significant difference in brand preference among Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, and Ajio.
• H₁ (Alternative Hypothesis): At least one online shopping brand differs significantly in preference from the others.
Result and Interpretation
Since the p-value (0.664) is greater than 0.05, the null hypothesis (H₀) is accepted. This indicates that there is no statistically significant difference in brand preference among the selected online shopping platforms.
Conclusion
The study concludes that college students show a relatively balanced preference towards major online shopping brands. Each platform offers unique advantages such as product variety, fashion specialization, pricing, or delivery efficiency. The findings suggest that students prioritize convenience and value rather than loyalty to a single brand. Online retailers should focus on improving user experience and customer satisfaction to maintain competitiveness.
References
• Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing Management (15th ed.). Pearson Education.
• Singh, R., & Rana, N. (2020). Consumer perception towards online shopping in India. International Journal of Business and Management, 8(2), 34–41.