Online shopping is a recent phenomenon in the field of e-business which has
experienced rapid growth in the past few years due to its unique
advantages for both consumers and retailers, such as shopping 24*7, saving travel costs and time, and offering a wide range of products. The first paper, “Prediction of Buying Intention for Online Shopping: An Empirical Study”, by Bharti Motwani, identifies the seven key dimensions of online shopping as perceived by the consumers. They are: product constituent, financial instrument, risk association, wide accessibility, user-friendly interface, convenience and physical touch absence.
The second paper, “Predicting the Consumers’ Brand Switching Behavior for Cellphones: Application of Markov Chain Models”, by Vinod Sharma, Manohar Kapse and Jayant Sonwalkar, focuses on predicting the switching behavior of the students with respect to mobile phone brands. The results reveal that there is high possibility of students switching from their present brand in the near future. It is also observed that there would be high retention in Apple iPhone brand only. On the other hand, the results reveal that the market share of other brands like Samsung, LG and Xiomi would likely go down in the coming years. The findings also reveal that in the long run, it is the technology that will lead than any single brand.
The third paper, “Influence of Attitude Towards Advertisement on Purchase Intention: Exploring the Mediating Role of Attitude Towards Brand Using SEM Approach”, by S K Kaushal and Rakesh Kumar, investigates the relationship between consumer’s attitude towards advertisement and purchase intention which is mediated by consumer’s attitude towards brand. The data obtained from a sample of 93 respondents selected from the city of Lucknow using convenience sampling is analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results show that the relationship between attitude towards advertisement and purchase intention is fully mediated by attitude towards brand.
The last paper, “The Relationship Between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction and Retention in Ghana’s Luxury Hotels”, by Michael Mba Allan, examines the effect of service quality on customer satisfaction and customer retention in the luxury hotel sector in Ghana. A sample of 486 respondents involved in this study were customers of four selected luxury hotels in Accra. The findings show that service quality had a significantly high positive effect on customer satisfaction and customer retention. Customer satisfaction also had a significantly high positive effect on customer retention. Therefore, for luxury hotels to enhance their customer satisfaction and retention, they need to enhance and maximize service quality, especially in terms of the responsiveness dimension of service quality.
Automated Teller Machines (ATMs): The Changing Face of Banking in India
Bank Management
Information and communication technology has changed the way in which banks provide services to its customers. These days the customers are able to perform their routine banking transactions without even entering the bank premises. ATM is one such development in recent years, which provides remote banking services all over the world, including India. This paper analyzes the development of this self-service banking in India based on the secondary data.
The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is playing a very important role in the progress and advancement in almost all walks of life. The deregulated environment has provided an opportunity to restructure the means and methods of delivery of services in many areas, including the banking sector. The ICT has been a focused issue in the past two decades in Indian banking. In fact, ICTs are enabling the banks to change the way in which they are functioning. Improved customer service has become very important for the very survival and growth of banking sector in the reforms era. The technological advancements, deregulations, and intense competition due to the entry of private sector and foreign banks have altered the face of banking from one of mere intermediation to one of provider of quick, efficient and customer-friendly services. With the introduction and adoption of ICT in the banking sector, the customers are fast moving away from the traditional branch banking system to the convenient and comfort of virtual banking. The most important virtual banking services are phone banking, mobile banking, Internet banking and ATM banking. These electronic channels have enhanced the delivery of banking services accurately and efficiently to the customers. The ATMs are an important part of a bank’s alternative channel to reach the customers, to showcase products and services and to create brand awareness. This is reflected in the increase in the number of ATMs all over the world. ATM is one of the most widely used remote banking services all over the world, including India. This paper analyzes the growth of ATMs of different bank groups in India.
International Scenario
If ATMs are largely available over geographically dispersed areas, the benefit from using an ATM will increase as customers will be able to access their bank accounts from any geographic location. This would imply that the value of an ATM network increases with the number of available ATM locations, and the value of a bank network to a customer will be determined in part by the final network size of the banking system. The statistical information on the growth of branches and ATM network in select countries.
Indian Scenario
The financial services industry in India has witnessed a phenomenal growth, diversification and specialization since the initiation of financial sector reforms in 1991. Greater customer orientation is the only way to retain customer loyalty and withstand competition in the liberalized world. In a market-driven strategy of development, customer preference is of paramount importance in any economy. Gone are the days when customers used to come to the doorsteps of banks. Now the banks are required to chase the customers; only those banks which are customercentric and extremely focused on the needs of their clients can succeed in their business today.
