Differentiation strategies for e-commerce companies: Brick & Mortar stores versus one-day delivery

Abstract

The project undertaken and titled “Differentiation strategies for E-commerce companies: Brick & Mortar stores versus one-day delivery” aims to understand the future strategies for ecommerce space in the Indian context. The project work explores two sides of these strategies, the business side and the customer side. The business side deals with E-commerce companies differentiating themselves in terms of customer service, and how in the existing model of one-day delivery offered by many companies at present, the new Brick and Mortar space can be explored by these companies. In the customer side, the work deals with the customer perception of these strategies, the important factors that the customer accounts for while making a purchase decision in both these strategies and how this knowledge may help the companies to acquire a wider customer base in the future. Different methodologies have been adopted in the project work. Secondary research has been done to understand the current Indian and Global E-commerce scenario, the current strategies adopted by the companies and understanding the factors that help in designing these strategies. Primary research has been conducted to know about customers’ preferences and perceptions and to develop the business insights on one-day delivery and current move to Brick & Mortar. Conjoint analysis has also been performed to know the relative importance of attributes by customers in these strategies. The project work concludes with a roadmap for successful business growth in the future for E-commerce companies. The final recommendations are based on the analysis performed in the project.