Final Project Report

On

IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON AMAZON

Completed at
Jagan Institute of Management Studies

By

Astha Jindal

FIB1916

PGDM 19-21

Under Joint Supervision of

Prof. Vinod Kumar Mehta

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of

Post Graduate Diploma in Management

3, Institutional Area, Rohini, Sector 5,

New Delhi –1 110085 India
 CERTIFICATE

Certified that the Final project report on “Impact of COVID-19 on Amazon” is the bonafide
work of “Astha Jindal, FIB1916”, pursuing PGDM-IB, Batch (2019-21) of Jagan Institute of
Management Studies, 3, Institutional Area, Rohini, Sector 5, New Delhi - 110085. The work has
been done under my supervision during 19/12/2020-4/03/2021.

Date: 5 March, 2021 Prof. Vinod Kumar Mehta

JIMS, Rohini, Sec-5, New Delhi-85

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 STUDENT’S DECLARATION

I declare that the Report on “Impact of Covid-19 on Amazon” is an original work done by me in
accordance with the guidelines prescribed by the Dean’s office for preparation of Final Project
Report and the work has not been submitted anywhere else for review.

I understand that if the content of the work is found to be plagiarized at any time of its
evaluation, my report can be rejected and disciplinary action may be initiated against me.

Astha Jindal
FIB1916
PGDM-IB 2019-21

ii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In preparation of my project on Impact of COVID-19 on Amazon, I had to take the help and
guidance of some respected persons, who deserve my deepest gratitude. As the completion of
this project gave me much pleasure, I would like to show my gratitude Prof. Vinod Kumar
Mehta for giving me guidelines for project throughout numerous consultations. I would also like
to expand my gratitude to all those who have directly and indirectly guided me in writing this
assignment.

Many people, especially my classmates have made valuable comment suggestions on my work
which gave me an inspiration to improve the quality of the assignment.

Astha Jindal
FIB1916
PGDM-IB 2019-21

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 Table of Contents
S No. Particulars Page No.
Institution Certificate I
Student’s Declaration ii
Acknowledgement iii
Executive Summary 1
Chapter 1 Overview 2-7
1.1 Introduction 2
1.2 Overview of the industry 4
1.3 Overview of the company 6
Chapter 2 Research Methodology 8-9
2.1 Objectives of the study 8
2.2 Research design 8
2.3 Sources of data collection 8
2.4 Data analysis- tools/techniques 8
2.5 Sampling design 9
2.6 Limitations of the study 9

Chapter 3 Conceptual Background 10-15

3.1 Literature Review 10

3.2 Theory 11

Chapter 4 Data Analysis and Findings 16-24

4.1 Data analysis & Interpretation 16

4.2 Findings 23

Chapter 5 Discussion & Conclusion 25

Chapter 6 Recommendations 26

Bibliography 27
Annexure 28-31

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 Executive Summary

This project is all about the how the COVID-19 impacted Amazon in different ways, how the
consumers have shifted their channels during lockdown. This project report gives a detail about
the consumer buying behavior towards online shopping. The first half part of the report talks
about the Introduction of E-Commerce as a whole and also describes the scenario of E-
Commerce industry during pandemic. This also tells the factors affecting the buying behavior of
people. In the second half of the project, objectives of this study will be explained with the
sources of data collection and which type of tools and techniques used to conduct this study.
After that proper data will be collected with the help of questionnaire and the responses will be
collected to know the exact results.

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 Chapter1: Overview

1.1 Introduction
The pandemic of COVID-19, the social dimension and staying at home, has pushed consumers to
head to online shopping. This affects the demand and uncertain supply chain issues for the e-
commerce industry. COVID-19 can also affect older merchants like Walmart, who are
experiencing a drop in informal shopping, supply chain disruptions, an increase in the purchase
of basic toiletries, groceries, and other products. The term e-commerce referring to any sort of
business transaction, which involves the transfer of information through the internet E commerce
means using the transaction and or commercial transaction, which involve exchange of value in
return of product or services.

The World Trade Organization indicated that it is the right time for e-commerce to save the
world economy and that it is to intervene with vigour and vitality and prove e-commerce of its
importance and effectiveness in the field of trade and online shopping. Shares of traditional trade
have become volatile and in marked decline due to the spread of COVID-19, and this will be a
strong reason for the willingness of each of these traders of these traditional markets to move
towards trade via the Internet in order to preserve the rest of its shares and maintain its
commercial field and its success in the market.

The global e-commerce industry report indicated that the impact of COVID-19 on these
sectors has been pervasive due to uncertainty in the supply chain and consumer demand
worldwide. E-commerce supply chains are mainly stressful. In addition to closing factories in
China, the United States and other countries. The most affected part of the industry due to the
outbreak of COVID-19 is electronics products as China accounts for most of the cases of
COVID-19 and according to the International Federation, the country is the largest producer of
electronics and its parts globally. A large amount of China’s imports of electronic parts that are
assembled into finished products, such as consumer electronic products and computers, are
then included. However, due to the factory shutdown, the electronics product supply chain is
now close to affecting the e-commerce electronics industry.

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E-commerce in various regions such as America, Europe, Asia and the rest of the world has been
affected by the new COVID-19 epidemic. Countries in which most cases were recorded include
Italy, Spain, Germany, France in Europe and China in Asia. Chinese company Alibaba, a giant
provider of e-commerce services, has struggled to maintain growth rates
during the economic slowdown in its domestic market and faced the uncertainty of coronavirus
outbreaks. Major companies affected in the market include Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.,
Amazon.com, Inc., Qoo10 Pte. Ltd., JD.com, Walmart Inc., Shopify, Rakuten Group, and eBay
Inc., And others. For example, Amazon made some huge investment in one-day shipping that
has not yet been compensated. In 2019, her net income decreased by 26% and freight costs
increased by 46%

IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON AMAZON

Amazon has clearly been the outstanding performer through the course of this global pandemic
and has played an essential role in providing access to the supplies and necessities essential to
daily lives. Like many retailers, it has been focused on initiatives to find solutions to the way that
COVID-19 has reshaped shopping habits, industries and economies around the world.

Amazon has had to react with incredible speed and even its not-inconsiderable supply chain and
fulfilment capabilities have been tested. Despite being one of the best placed in terms of
infrastructure and agility to respond to this unprecedented surge arising from this unplanned
event (whereas Prime day and Cyber week were planned), much like other retailers, Amazon was
still challenged by the sheer volume of demand.

Very focused demand on certain categories meant that Amazon had to react very quickly to
combat issues that arose, to ensure that their platform and marketplace retained trust with
shoppers. It was one of the first retailers to implement “price gouging” defense measures, and
today continues its efforts in key categories such as hand sanitizer and masks, where some sellers
were raising prices, or where the out of stocks led to higher price points as lower priced items
sold out and came off the platform. Amazon were also quick to flag and take measures to rectify
where sellers were inappropriately altering their product content to take advantage of the current

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situation such as, unauthorized medical claims that did not conform to safety standards, going as
far as to put hold on 4000+ sellers and contacting customers who might have been affected.

How does COVID-19 impact shopping behavior in India?

Shopping behaviors amongst Indian consumers has evolved during the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic. During the early stages, a large number of Indian consumers were either in
containment zones or there were limited options available for making their necessary and
discretionary purchases. This led to consumers trying new channels, products and brands, which
in turns has resulted in changes to consumer’s shopping habits and their path to purchase.
Amazon Advertising commissioned a study with Kantar in July of 2020 to understand the impact
of COVID-19 on buying preferences of Indian urban active internet users. The total population
covered under the urban active internet user definition was 309 million as of 2019. The study
illuminated three trends:

1.2 Overview of the Industry

Introduction
E-is expected to grow to US$ 200 billion by 2026 from US$ 38.5 billion as of 2017. Much of the
growth for the industry has been triggered by an increase in internet and smartphone penetration.
As of August 2020, the number of internet connections in India significantly increased to ~760
million, driven by the ‘Digital India’ programme. Out of the total internet connections, ~61%
connections were in urban areas, of which 97% connections were wireless.
Market Size
Propelled by rising smartphone penetration, launch of 4G network and increasing consumer
wealth, the Indian E-commerce market is expected to grow to US$ 200 billion by 2026 from
US$ 38.5 billion in 2017. Online retail sales in India are expected to grow 31% to touch US$
32.70 billion in 2018, led by Flipkart, Amazon India and Paytm Mall.
Smartphone shipments in India increased by~8% y-o-y to reach 50.0 million units in the first
quarter of 2020, driven by positive shipments of all smartphone vendors in the market. Samsung
led the Indian smartphone market with 24% shipping share, followed by Xiaomi at 23%.

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Investments/ Developments
Some of the major developments in the Indian e-commerce sector are as follows:

• In November 2020, Amazon India announced collaboration with Hindustan Petroleum

Corporation Limited. Under this partnership, customers will be able to book and pay for
their LPG cylinders until the delivery.
• In November 2020, Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. (RRVL), a subsidiary of Reliance
Industries (RIL), acquired a minority stake of Urban Ladder Home Decor Solutions Pvt.
Ltd. for Rs. 182.12 crore (US$ 24.67 million).
• In November 2020, Amazon India has opened 'Made in India' toy store, in line with the
government's ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ vision. The store will allow thousands of
manufacturers and vendors to sell toys driven by the Indian culture, folk tales and toys
that promote creative thinking and are locally crafted & manufactured.
• In October 2020, Flipkart acquired a 140-acre land at Rs. 432 crores (US$ 58.87 million)
to establish their largest fulfilling centre in Asia, in Manesar, Gurgaon, in a bid to scale
their fulfilment infrastructure to cater to increased demand post COVID-19.
• In October 2020, Amazon India collaborated with the Indian Railway Catering and
Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to enable users to book and reserve train tickets on
Amazon.
• In October 2020, Amazon India invested over Rs. 700 crores (US$ 95.40 million) into its
payment unit, Amazon Pay.
• Flipkart partnered with Paytm for its annual Big Billion Days Sale event in October 2020,
offering customers the convenience of making payments directly through the latter's
application with the bonus of receiving Paytm cashbacks over and above Flipkart
discounts.

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1.3 Overview of the Company

Amazon.com, Inc is an American multinational technology company based in Seattle,

Washington, which focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial
intelligence. It is one of the Big Five companies in the U.S. information technology industry,
along with Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook. The company has been referred to as "one
of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world", as well as the world's most
valuable brand.

Amazon was founded by Jeff Bezos in Bellevue, Washington, on July 5, 1994. It started as an
online marketplace for books but expanded to sell electronics, software, video games, apparel,
furniture, food, toys, and jewellery. In 2015, Amazon surpassed Walmart as the most valuable
retailer in the United States by market capitalization. In 2017, Amazon acquired Whole Foods
Market for US$13.4 billion, which substantially increased its footprint as a physical retailer. In
2018, its two-day delivery service, Amazon Prime, surpassed 100 million subscriber’s worlds

Amazon is known for its disruption of well-established industries through technological

innovation and mass scale. It is the world's largest online marketplace, AI (Artificial intelligence)
assistant provider, live-streaming platform and cloud computing plat folio as measured
by revenue and market capitalization. Amazon is the largest Internet company by revenue in the
world. It is the second largest private employer in the United States and one of the world's most
valuable companies. As of 2020, Amazon has the highest global brand valuation.

Amazon distributes downloads and streaming of video, music, and audiobooks through its Prime
Video, Amazon Music, Twitch, and Audible subsidiaries. Amazon also has a publishing
arm, Amazon Publishing, a film and television studio, Amazon Studios, and a cloud computing
subsidiary, Amazon Web Services. It produces consumer electronics including Kindle e-
readers, Fire tablets, Fire TV, and Echo devices. Its acquisitions over the years
include Ring, Twitch, Whole Foods Market, and IMDb.

Amazon has been criticized for practices including technological surveillance overreach, a hyper-
competitive and demanding work culture, tax avoidance, and anti-competitive behaviour.

Amazon’s new COVID-19 testing lab in Kentucky has processed more than one million COVID-
19 tests for front-line employees from more than 700 testing sites, making it a leader in

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employer-driven COVID-19 testing. Amazon built the lab last year in response to the pandemic
to help ensure the health and safety of front-line employees by providing them with regular,
reliable access to testing.
In April 2020, Amazon began assembling a team with a variety of skills—from research
scientists and program managers to procurement specialists and software engineers—and moved
them from their day jobs to focus on creating a scalable COVID-19 testing program. The
initiative included building a state-of-the-art testing lab in a matter of months. Soon after
launching, the lab was processing thousands of tests per day and continuing to build incremental
capacity. By October 2020, the lab was testing more than 700 employees an hour, and then
achieved the milestone of processing one million tests in January 2021.“Our team came together
with a mission to rapidly build an in-house COVID-19 testing lab because we knew it was a final
step, on top of all our onsite COVID-19 precautions, to ensure the health and safety of our front-
line employees,” said Cem Sibay, Vice President, Amazon. “We built this lab to scale so that we
can offer regular testing to all Amazon front-line employees. Over 500,000 employees have
already been voluntarily tested and we are continuing to expand to over a thousand COVID-19
testing sites globally.”

Amazon is proud of the role that front-line employees have played during this pandemic to help
customers stay safe while they receive important products at home, which is critical for people
with underlying medical conditions and those susceptible to complications from COVID-19. And
until the country has widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines, high-volume testing
capacity will continue to be needed in order to slow the spread of the virus.

As vaccines become available, Amazon stands ready to assist government and public health
officials to help ensure our front-line employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine at the earliest
appropriate time. In a recent letter to President Biden’s administration, Amazon offered
assistance in widespread vaccination efforts as part of our commitment to protecting employees
and continuing to provide essential services during the pandemic.Amazon’s number one priority
is the health and safety of employees—and has been since day one. We will continue to invest,
evolve our procedures and collaborate with others as we’ve done throughout the COVID-19
pandemic.
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 Chapter 2: Research Methodology

2.1 Objectives of the study

➢ To examine the impact of COVID-19 on Amazon.
➢ To examine the effect of COVID-19 on the online purchasing behavior of consumers.
➢ To study the shift in consumer buying behavior as a consequence of the pandemic
lockdown...
➢ To know the sales and revenue of Amazon.

2.2 Research design

For carrying out the research work, exploratory data has been used. Exploratory research is
defined as a research used to investigate a problem which is not clearly defined. It is conducted
to have a better understanding of the existing problem, but will not provide conclusive results. In
order to identify the dimensions of consumer buying behavior shift towards Amazon during
pandemic lockdown and get the satisfaction level of the consumer towards the e-commerce
industry.

3.3 Sources of data collection

The data collected for the purpose of this study is of both primary and secondary sources.
Primary Source: The primary data comprises information survey of “Impact of COVID-19 on
Amazon”. The data has been collected directly from respondent with the help of structured
questionnaire.
Secondary Source: The secondary data has collected from internet.

3.4 Data analysis - tools/techniques

For this research, the primary source of data collection, we used a survey which proved to be an
efficient method of collecting and tabulating data regarding the consumer behavior of people
during lockdown for Amazon. The survey encompassed 10 questions in order to generate ‘hard’
statistical data. We were more focused on how the COVID-19 impacted their decisions if they

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are doing so wisely. Multiple choice questions using that were mutually exclusive were used in
order to produce tangible results. We also used these to understand the views, opinions and
experiences of consumers.

Secondary data sources were used to gain a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the
Impact of COVID-19 on E-commerce industry.

3.5 Sampling design

Sampling is a statistical procedure that is concerned with the selection of the individual
observation; it helps us to make statistical inferences about the population.

In sampling, we assume that samples are drawn from the population and sample means and
population means are equal. A population can be defined as a whole that includes all items and
characteristics of the research taken into study. However, gathering all this information is time
consuming and costly. We therefore make inferences about the population with the help of
samples.

Convenient sampling technique is used to get the data. In this method, each member has an equal
chance of being a part of the study. The objects in this sample population are chosen purely on a
random basis, and each member has the same probability of being selected. A sample size of
Above 150 was taken on the basis of convenience.

3.6 Limitations of the study

1. The sources of data collection are both primary and secondary data, so it creates a bit
confusion in finding the correct results.
2. People were hesitant to disclose the true facts.
3. The chance of biased response can’t be eliminated through all necessary steps were taken
to avoid the same.
4. Due to limitation of time only few people were selected for the study. So, the sample of
consumers was not enough to generalize the findings of the study.
5. There is lack of time and resources to get the good responses.

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 Chapter 3: Conceptual Background

Literature Review
In this section, I try to present some previous literature for this research. About the research that
dealt with the impact of the Corona virus and E-commerce.

(Basanite al.,2020) aimed to find out the effect of coronavirus (Covid-19) on internet
business in Malaysia. . This search has been cleared and the basic search has been done to get a
better result. The results showed that since the maximum number of products comes from
China and the maximum industries are closed, which means that there is no import and
export of the product.

(Nakhate and jain,2020) aimed to find effect of coronavirus on e commerce. . Most of

the kits are manufactured in China and hence, dependability is remarkable. With effect of
coronavirus, all the shipments processes are hindered which lowered the e commerce growth
of country and state. The research paper here comprises of the impact of the corona virus on
the online business of India. On the analysing, it has found that online businesses are seriously
hampered due to this pandemic disease.

(Pandey and Parmar,2019) aimed to investigate the factors affecting consumer’s online
shopping behaviour. The study results suggest that consumers ‘online shopping behaviour is
being affected by several factors like demographic factors, social factors, consumer online
shopping experience, knowledge of using internet and computer, website design, social
media, situational factors, facilitating conditions, product characteristics, sales promotional
scheme, payment option, delivery of goods and after sales services plays an important role
in online shopping.

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Theory
E-COMMERCE

E-Commerce or Electronic Commerce means buying and selling of goods, products, or services over
the internet. E-commerce is also known as electronic commerce or internet commerce. These
services provided online over the internet network. Transaction of money, funds, and data are also
considered as E-commerce. These business transactions can be done in four ways: Business to
Business (B2B), Business to Customer (B2C), Customer to Customer (C2C), Customer to Business
(C2B). The standard definition of E-commerce is a commercial transaction which is happened over
the internet. Online stores like Amazon, Flipkart, Shopify, Myntra, eBay, Quikr, Olx are examples of
E-commerce websites. By 2020, global retail e-commerce can reach up to $27 Trillion. Let us learn
in detail about what is the advantages and disadvantages of E-commerce and its types

o when you log into your Amazon and purchase a book, this is a classic example of an e-commerce
transaction. Here you interact with the seller (Amazon), exchange data in form of pictures, text,
address for delivery etc. and then you make the payment.

As of now, e-commerce is one of the fastest growing industries in the global economy. As per one
estimate, it grows nearly 23% every year. And it is projected to be a $27 trillion industry by the end
of this decade.

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Types of E- Commerce

1. Business-to-Business (B2B)
2. Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
3. Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)
4. Consumer-to-Business (C2B).
5. Business-to-Business (B2B)
Business-to-Business (B2B) e-commerce encompasses all electronic transactions of goods or
services conducted between companies. Producers and traditional commerce wholesalers
typically operate with this type of electronic commerce.

2. Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
The Business-to-Consumer type of e-commerce is distinguished by the establishment of
electronic business relationships between businesses and final consumers. It corresponds to the
retail section of e-commerce, where traditional retail trade normally operates.

These types of relationships can be easier and more dynamic, but also more sporadic or
discontinued. This type of commerce has developed greatly, due to the advent of the web, and
there are already many virtual stores and malls on the Internet, which sell all kinds of consumer
goods, such as computers, software, books, shoes, cars, food, financial products, digital
publications, etc.

When compared to buying retail in traditional commerce, the consumer usually has more
information available in terms of informative content and there is also a widespread idea that
you’ll be buying cheaper, without jeopardizing an equally personalized customer service, as well
as ensuring quick processing and delivery of your order.

3. Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)
Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) type e-commerce encompasses all electronic transactions of
goods or services conducted between consumers. Generally, these transactions are conducted
through a third party, which provides the online platform where the transactions are actually
carried out.
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 6. Consumer-to-Business (C2B)
In C2B there is a complete reversal of the traditional sense of exchanging goods. This type of e-
commerce is very common in crowdsourcing based projects. A large number of individuals make
their services or products available for purchase for companies seeking precisely these types of
services or products.

Examples of such practices are the sites where designers present several proposals for a company
logo and where only one of them is selected and effectively purchased. Another platform that is
very common in this type of commerce are the markets that sell royalty-free photographs,
images, media and design elements.

COVID-19

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered

coronavirus.

Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory
illness and recover without requiring special treatment. Older people, and those with underlying
medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer
are more likely to develop serious illness.

The best way to prevent and slow down transmission is to be well informed about the COVID-19
virus, the disease it causes and how it spreads. Protect yourself and others from infection by
washing your hands or using an alcohol-based rub frequently and not touching your face.

The COVID-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose
when an infected person coughs or sneezes, so it’s important that you also practice respiratory
etiquette (for example, by coughing into a flexed elbow).

Scenario of E- Commerce during COVID-19

The worldwide spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted how people buy products and
services and how they perceive e-commerce. The standardized lockdown rules across India and

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the growing hesitation among consumers to go outside and shop for essential goods have tilted
the nation towards e-commerce.
Consumers have switched from shops, supermarkets, and shopping malls to online portals for the
purchase of products, ranging from basic commodities to branded goods.
Since the norm of social distancing has been initiated for almost the entirety of 2020, the scope
of online purchases and online businesses is expected to surge. Many people are embracing the
concept of online retail and the surge in FTUs (First Time Users) on e-commerce sites is visible.

COVID-19 has been exceptionally different from what we have ever witnessed. As the world
was forced into complete shutdown, it’s safe to say that e-commerce was the saving grace,
helping millions of people stay home and procure what they wanted at their doorstep.
According to IBEF, the market opportunities for online commerce in India are expected to touch
$200 billion by 2026 from $30 billion in 2017. The report also states that the Indian e-commerce
industry is expected to overtake its US counterpart to become the second-largest market for e-
commerce in the world by 2034.
E-commerce involves more than just having a brand name and selling products online. Finding
the right target audience, product niche, and connecting with your customers is vital because it
allows you to cut down unnecessary costs and provide products that are most suitable for your
customer base.
Source: https://razorpay.com/learn/impact-covid-19-e-commerce-india/

The initial steps taken to develop and launch your store paves pay for the growth of your
business. Since there is no face-to-face communication with the buyer, you have to compete with
other online stores in terms of price, products, and offers to remain relevant. As the consumer
behaviour of people is changing due to the shift to digitization, there are various factors to
address before you think about success.

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 Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Findings
4.1 Data analysis & Interpretation

This questionnaire is based on knowing the impact on consumer behavior during this COVID-19
pandemic on Amazon. The recorded responses of a total of 104 consumers of buying products
from Amazon before or during lockdown. This questionnaire gives a view of customer behavior
changes towards buying goods through offline retailers. The questionnaire contains 12 questions
so far which covered to know from which area the consumers are from and it also shows that
whether that consumer used to buy goods from Amazon or not. The questionnaire also helps us
to know whether the customer is going to buy in post lockdown. And how much they are
satisfied with the online shopping. Whether the consumer assumes that local retail is going to
replace with the e-commerce industry and customers to know the satisfaction level in buying
essential goods from Amazon. The respondents are required to choose one option based on their
behavior like strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, and strongly agree. The second half of
the questions consist of demographics like age, gender, area going to replace by the E-commerce
industry in the future. These Pie charts and Bar graphs are going to show how different
respondents reacted towards the survey and there are different sets of questions to know the
consumer behavior shift towards the E-Commerce during the Pandemic.
1. Age

In this questionnaire, there are different age group respondents, as shown in the chart, 78.6% are
below 25 age group, which are the maximum number of respondents who participated in the
survey and next to the maximum number of respondents are 23-35 of age group i.e.,12.6% and

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remaining are between the 35-45 of age group and the least number of respondents are 45 and
above of age group.

2. Gender

There are 62.1% are Female respondents and 36.9% are male respondents who participated in the
survey and helps to give a bigger and clear picture on shifting of the consumer behavior.

3. Area

There are 60.2% respondents who are from rural area followed by 18.4% respondents are from
semi urban area and 11.7% respondents are from semi rural area and remaining 9.7% lives in
rural area.This helps in knowing the buying behavior of consumers.

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 4. Have you shifted to Amazon from local retailers during COVID-19?

This question gets the information from the respondents on whether they have shifted to Amazon
from local retailers during COVID-19 or not. So as in the figure, it shows that 56.3% of
respondents say that they have shifted to Amazon and 22.3% say that they haven’t shifted to
Amazon during the pandemic and only 21.4% are neutral on this.

5. If yes, then how frequently are you buying from Amazon?

This question shows that how often respondents buy goods from Amazon and 68.2% respondents
say that they monthly buy goods from Amazon during pandemic which is maximum and 29.5%
says that they order goods weekly and remaining respondents say that they order goods on a
daily basis.

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 6. Which goods you often purchased from Amazon during COVID-19?

This graph shows that which goods often purchased by respondents from Amazon during
COVID-19. 47.6% respondents buy fashion & acessories. 41.7% respondents buy food &
beverages from Amazon during pandemic followed by 38.8% resondents buy cosmetics&
personal care products and only 32% respondents buy health care products from Amazon and 1%
respondents buy other than these products like books, electronics, appliances, decoratives.

7. Why do you buy goods from Amazon during COVID-19?

Now this question asks respondents that, before they buy goods, what is the thing which
triggered them to use Amazon rather than buying goods through local retailers. So, in this 61.2%
respondents says that they buy goods from Amazon for Convenience, 46.6% says that they buy
goods from Amazon for a better discount, 19.4% respondents say that they don’t have any

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specific reason behind on buying goods from Amazon and only 1% respondents say that there
are some other reasons like for safety purpose which convince them to buy goods from Amazon
during COVID-19 and 1% respondents didn’t buy goods.

8. Do you think E-Commerce is playing vital role during pandemic?

This graph shows that the E-Commerce are playing a vital role during the lockdown or not. So,
54.4% of respondents strongly agree on this, 28.2% say that they agree on this statement, 10.7%
of respondents are neutral on this, 5.8% say that they disagree and 1% say that they strongly
disagree over these respondents.

9. Are you satisfied buying essential goods from Amazon rather than buying from
local retailers?

This graph shows that 28.2% respondents are very satisfied buying essential goods from
Amazon, 36.9% are satisfied which is maximum, 23.3 respondents give the neutral response
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which means that they are not either satisfied nor dissatisfied from buying the goods from
Amazon, 8.7% respondents are dissatisfied and only 2.9% respondents says that they are strongly
dissatisfied from buying the essential goods from Amazon.

10. Do you think E-Commerce has replaced your traditional shopping habits?

In this question, I asked to the respondents about do they think that E-Commerce is going to
replace the traditional offline shopping habits. So, 34% respondents say that they strongly agree,
that E-commerce is going to replace the traditional shopping in future, 32% respondents reacted
that they agree on this, 26.2% respondents say that they are not sure about this whether E-
Commerce is going to replace traditional retail shopping in the future and 5.8% respondents
disagree on this and only 1.9% of the respondents strongly disagree that they don’t think that E-
Commerce is going to replace the traditional offline shopping habits.

11. Would you consider buying goods from Amazon post COVID-19?

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In this graph, it gives information about the respondents whether they are going to buy goods
from Amazon in post lockdown. 33% respondents say that they are strongly agree on this
statement, 38.8% respondents are agreeing on this, 20.4% respondents say that they are neutral
on this statement like they are not sure that whether they are going to buy goods from Amazon or
not, 4.9% respondents disagree on this and there are only 1.9% respondents who can strongly
disagree on this statement.

12. Other than non-essential goods, how much you are spending on essential goods
from Amazon?

This Chart explains that whether respondents are going to spend more on essential goods than
before, less than before, the same as before, very less than before, or can’t say. So, 42.7%
respondents say that they are going to spend same as before they used to spend, 27.2%
respondents says that they spend more than before on this, 18.4% responds that they can’t say on
this, and only 11.7% respondents says that they are going to spend very less than before on the
essential goods.

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FINDINGS

As in the question, I have asked the respondents that they shifted to Amazon from local retailer
or not during COVID-19, so 56.3% said that they are shifted to Amazon during the pandemic but
in the same question 22.3% respondents have said “NO”, it means that they were still using local
retailers for shopping. Now let's follow up on these respondents and jump to the next question
which has been asked to the respondents “Have you frequently buy goods from Amazon during
the lockdown period?” 68.2% of respondents say that they monthly buy goods from Amazon
and only 29.5% of respondents say that they buy goods weekly.

So, if we see both questions together and how our respondents reacted to it, around 72.5% have
purchased them online(FMCG) goods and during this lockdown, the number has increased to
89.5%. The jump in 17% shows that new E-Commerce customers signed up to order the online
goods during the Pandemic Lockdown due to the COVID-19 situation.

Around 61.2% of respondents say that they buy goods for their Convenience from Amazon and
46.6% say that for a better discount. So, these are the two main factors that are influencing the
customers to use more and more usage of Amazon for buying goods.

32% of respondents Agree that E-commerce is going to replace the traditional retailers and 34%
Strongly Agree and 26.2% are not so sure about this whether it is going to replace with
traditional offline shopping and only 5.8% respondents disagree with this. These number clearly
indicates that more customers are looking at the E-Commerce as the future of their online Kirana
stores, where they can buy from where ever they want, no matter what the place is.

Over 28.2% of the respondents are very satisfied are more satisfied with buying goods from
Amazon rather than going to the retail store to buy goods and 36.9% of respondents are satisfied
with this and 23.3% are neutral on this. This data clearly indicating that most of the customers
are more satisfied with buying goods online rather than going to a local retail shop.

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When I asked to the respondents that E-commerce is are playing a vital role in the lockdown
period. 54.4% are strongly agreed, 28.2% agree and 10.7% are neutral on this. Over 87% agree
that e-commerce has been playing a vital role in every consumer's life during this lockdown
period.

Over 27.2% of respondents say that they are going to spend more than before on buying goods
from Amazon and 18.4% are not sure about it and 42.7% are saying they are going to spend the
same as before. It’s a good sign that customers are taking interest in spending more on goods
rather than traditional retail shops.

33% strongly agree and 38.8% agree that they are going to order goods from Amazon on the
post lockdown period. Many customers are showing interest to buy different items from Amazon
and not during the lockdown period but after the lockdown, they are interested in buying goods
online, because they are more satisfied with the services of the E-Commerce rather than offline
retail shops.

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 Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion

Amazon has seen the biggest impact of the COVID-19 spread on its business internationally in
India, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Brian Olsavsky said during its first quarter earnings call on
Thursday. The US e-commerce giant that has a strong presence in the country is facing a tough
time due to the national lockdown that has temporarily contracted its business to essential items
such as home groceries. The coronavirus outbreak has also impacted the delivery fleet of
Amazon and other online marketplaces in the country.
the biggest impact internationally has been in India, where of course, we, similar to other
companies in India, are now only fulfilling our essential goods such as grocery,” said Brian
Olsavsky while answering a question on the difference in behaviour that Amazon has seen
globally due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“So that's cut back a lot on our offering, and we will further expand when the Indian government
announces that we're allowed to resume operations. So, we're in a bit of a holding pattern except
for grocery in India,” he added. Other significantly impacted international markets for Amazon
included France, where the company has shut down fulfilment centres thanks to a ruling by a
French court

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 Chapter 6: Recommendations

Amazon is one of the largest E-Commerce brands in worldwide. Popularity of

this brand is clear from the Survey done above. From analysis it is concluded that
people mostly prefer Amazon for essential or non-essential goods during
pandemic because of safety concerns, better discounts and for convenience.
Considerably people are shifted to e-commerce platform in this pandemic. So,
Amazon should also provide some extra vouchers to increase their sales more and
more and should reduce delivery charges so that people have not buy extra things.

The company can also start giving some extra gifts with higher purchase. It will
increase their customer base more and more.

26
 Bibliography

• 2021 outlook for Latin American multichannel, broadband market. (n.d.). Accelerating

Progress | S&P Global. https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-

insights/blog/2021-outlook-for-latin-american-multichannel-broadband-market

• COVID-19 effect on Amazon. (n.d.). Maze-One | The Marketplace specialist of

Europe. https://www.maze-one.com/en/news/covid-19-effect-on-amazon

• How has COVID-19 impacted Amazon? (2020, July 8). Edge by Ascential | All-In-One

Ecommerce Solutions & Data

Provider. https://www.ascentialedge.com/insights/ecommerce-blog/amazon/how-has-

covid-19-impacted-amazon

• Impact of COVID-19 on shopping behaviour in India. (n.d.). Amazon Advertising

blog. https://advertising.amazon.com/blog/covid-19-impact-on-shopping-behavior-in-

india

• Research, & Ltd, M. (n.d.). Impact of COVID 19 on the e-Commerce market. Research and

Markets - Market Research Reports -

Welcome. https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/5013567/impact-of-covid-

19-on-the-e-commerce-market

• Singh, J. (2020, May 1). Amazon says biggest impact of COVID-19 on its business has been in

India. NDTV Gadgets 360. https://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/news/amazon-india-covid-

19-coronavirus-impact-q1-2020-earnings-2221541?amp=1&akamai-rum=off

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 Annexure
Annexure 1
Questionnaire: Impact of CVID-19 on Amazon

Q-1 Age
a) Below 25
b) 25-35
c) 35-45
d) Above 45
Q-2 Gender
a) Female
b) Male
c) Prefer not to say
Q-3 Area
a) Rural
b) Urban
c) Semi-rural
d) Semi urban
Q-4 Have you shifted to Amazon from local retailers during or after COVID-19?
a) Yes
b) No
c) Maybe

Q-5 If yes so How frequently are you buying things from e commerce sites?
a) Daily
b) Weekly
c) Monthly
d) Once in 2 months

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Q-6 Which goods you most often purchased online during COVID-19?
a) Pharma/ healthcare products
b) Food and beverages
c) Fashion and accessories
d) Cosmetics and personal care

Q-7 Why do you purchase goods online during COVID-19 19?

a) For convenience
b) Better discounts
c) Other reasons
d) No specific reasons

Q-8 Are you satisfied on buying essential goods Online rather than buying from any local retail
shops?
a) Very dissatisfied
b) Dissatisfied
c) Neutral
d) Satisfied
e) Very satisfied

Q-9 Do you think e commerce industry is going to replace your traditional shopping habits?
a) Strongly disagree
b) Disagree
c) Neutral
d) Agree
e) Agree strongly agree

Q-10 Do you think e commerce is playing vital role during the lockdown period?
a) Strongly disagree
b) Disagree
c) Neutral
d) Agree
e) strongly agree

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Q-11 Other than non-essential goods, how much would you spend on essential goods
a) Very less than before
b) Same as before
c) More than before
d) Can't say

Q-12 Would you consider buying goods from e commerce company post COVID-19?
a) Strongly disagree
b) Disagree
c) Neutral
d) Agree
e) Strongly agree

Note: this is the approved questionnaire by my mentor Prof. Vinod Kumar Mehta.

Annexure 2
Approved Synopsis

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Annexure 3
Sample responses

Annexure 4
Filled up questionnaire

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