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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 9, ISSUE 02, FEBRUARY 2020 ISSN 2277-8616
548
IJSTR©2020
www.ijstr.org
Evaluation Of Impact Of Instagram On Customer
Preferences: The Significance Of Online
Marketing
Dr. Manishkumar Varma, Nikhil Dhakane, Dr. Avinash Pawar
ABSTRACT: The modern marketing world has shifted from the Seller-centered market to the Customer-centered market in recent times. There is no more
production-based economy and seller having a demanding position. Instead, the customer is now the king and is the more dominant force in the market.
Numerous ways are implemented to attract customers. With the advancement of the internet, and an increase in the utilization of smartphones, the time
to change the traditional ways of marketing has come. The primary objective of this paper was to assess various factors and preferred choices regarding
consumers when it comes to products offered on Instagram. Also, attitude towards the existing operating elements in the Instagram app, such as ads,
filter services, is duly noted. The current report is mainly divided into three phases: the Introduction of Internet-marketing and its different aspects. The
discussion of how the internet has changed the parameters to be considered in marketing and particularly in the field of advertising is done. The story of
the start of Instagram and gradually made its journey to the top charts. The second phase will include the discussion of research methodology and
questionnaire undertaken to gather the data. This phase also comprises of literature review implemented for this research, often sourced anecdotes from
various scholar articles. In the last phase, we have represented the data collection and findings in forms of visually enchanting charts and creative use of
graphs. Critical findings and constructive suggestions then conclude the report of this project. It is realised that there is an increased Internet data usage
among average Indians with a lot of the focus on Social Media apps like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat is noteworthy. The impact these
apps have on day-to-day life is far more significant.
KEYWORDS: Digital Marketing, Instagram Marketing, Facebook Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Online Marketing
—————————— ——————————
1. INTRODUCTION
Business has evolved much since the inception of the only
adopted barter system, way back in ancient times. People
were fairly in the dark about the value of the goods they
possessed and hence, only bothered about the daily
necessities like food, clothing, and shelter. As time advanced
and the concept of living together modified into the formation
of villages and kingdoms, the emphasis was laid on the skills
one possessed along with other things. Expansion of owned
territories and venturing into unknown lands opened many
markets to explore. In medieval times, a lot of European
philosophers were responsible for the inception of renaissance
or the phase-changing process in the whole world. Rousseau
and Voltaire are some of the prominent names among the lot.
The public was then following the old culture without
questioning, but renaissance changed everything. Hence it
can be said that Renaissance was the bridge between
traditionally behaving the medieval world and the ever-
changing modern world. The independence of the North-
American continent from the British Imperial Rule sparked a
sense of self-creation philosophy, which is practiced in a lot of
countries and businesses today. The industrial revolution in
the 19th century and the invention of Railway Engines sped up
the process of transformation of the whole world.
Products were made in lots and sold per the convenience of
the seller. In the late 1980s, computers took hold of the world.
The invention of widely accepted Windows and Mac OS eased
the way of using personal computers for everyone. The
primary use of those machines was to help in computations
and jotting down the points like that in a notebook. With
research in the field of transistors and valves, the size of
personal computers or devices got smaller and smaller.
Computers then were used for other purposes like office work
and different file-storage was started to increase in popularity.
Research towards the connecting networks started in the
1960s. The Internet was still holding ground in various forms
(such as ARPANET in Europe) and used as a significant form
of resource sharing between eminent researchers and
scientists across the world. As the optical networking
technology advanced along with steady progress in semi-
conductor research, economically viable opportunities were
created for the involvement of partners who could leverage
this golden hen and convert into a successful business with
great potential. Following the invention of the World Wide Web
(short: WWW) in the year 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee in CERN
Laboratory, in Switzerland, suing HTML language crossed the
milestone, which was considered impossible by many
researchers across the world. Communication was now easily
possible between two computers connected with the Internet,
and as found later, it became instrumental in making
tremendous changes in almost all fields over the globe
alongside the Internet. The commercialization of Internet in the
US in 1995 and the initial phase of offering financial services
by Stanford Federal Credit Union marked the starting of a
revolution of what is called the greatest advancement
humankind made in the last 5,000 years. The Internet has then
influenced [1] in a very considerable amount on commerce
and culture. With the rise of new and newer forms of
communication such as Instant Messaging, Email, gazillions of
Websites operated providing services, and whatnot, the world
has come closer than ever. Also, the development in the field
of semi-conductor, Nanotechnology, and satellite
communications, it became a prominent part in the lives of
___________________________
Dr. Manishkumar Varma, Assistant Professor, Department of
Management Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University, India,
Email:manish2578arya@gmail.com
Nikhil Dhakane, Student, Department of Management Sciences,
Savitribai Phule Pune University, India,
Email: nikhil4511@gmail.com
Dr. Avinash Pawar, Post Doctoral Fellow, Department of
Management Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University, India,
Email: dr.avinashpawar@outlook.com
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 9, ISSUE 02, FEBRUARY 2020 ISSN 2277-8616
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people today. Rise of websites-indexing site (Search Engines)
such as Google helped ordinary people the browsing
experience better. The main communication form, which was
carried out by sending and receiving Emails, was replaced by
messenger Apps and Websites like Orkut, MySpace. In the
year 2004, Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook, which is the
current most popular platform even today. Initially used for
communication only, soon businesses realized its actual value
and started marketing through the Internet. Widely used apps
such as Facebook & Google were ahead in this category due
to a vast number of members and site visits they had.
Instagram was founded in 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike
Krieger. Initially, it was developed as an alternative app that
bridges the gap between Hipstamatic and Facebook. However,
within a matter of a few hours, it gained immense popularity
and rose to charts in a few months. The word ‗Instagram is a
portmanteau of the words, ‗Instant Camera‘ and ‗Telegram.‘
The Android version of Instagram crossed 1 million downloads
in less than a day. Facebook Inc. later bought Instagram for 1
billion USD in 2012. Social Media drastically reduces the time
required to cover a large number of audience and that too,
without any special equipment or preparation required. This
erased the hurdle every marketer goes through any traditional
method. Hence, it has begun to gain an immeasurable
advantage regarding promotions within a short amount of time.
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
Marketing. The word is defined over a substantial period by
several scholars, researchers, and eminent professors in big
league universities as per their perspectives. The most widely
referred author is Philip Kotler. According to him, Marketing is
―creative usage of truth.‖ Particular emphasis is normally given
on the concept of ‗satisfying the needs and wants. However,
this may not hold at all and work in every case. The over-
generalized marketing mix lacks the human factor and internal
orientation [2]. Internet today has become one with the place
factor [3]. Also, traditional marketing ignores the outside-in
approach, which focuses on the customer first and then helps
the organization [4]. The same concept holds in today‘s market
conditions, as the customer has gained a variety of options
and power to shift the markets into their favor
.
2.1 Digital Marketing
Digital Marketing is the sub-division of marketing which carries
out a profound use of technology (particularly Internet-linked or
Internet-based) to promote and increase awareness among
the customers. When compared with traditional media, Digital
Marketing offers realistic cost (important for Small and Medium
scaled firms), accurate targeting, and best results. However,
as digital marketing has its very own roots in technology, it can
be outdated rather quickly than other types. Firms tend to put
into effect whatever upgrade related to technology that comes
across, solely to gain an edge over competitors [5]. The use of
electronic devices giving uninterrupted experience further
pushes the consumer‘s demand to give them a good feel of
‗virtual store‘ [6]. Often Digital Marketing will be combined with
some research intent to gather as much data possible
regarding the preferences of users, their browsing patterns,
their shopping habits, and their optimal time during the surfing
activity. In addition to this, much factor goes into making the
perfect content for the user. Various factors are responsible for
the spread of Digital Marketing throughout different countries.
Such as Usage of Smartphones, regular data plans for
Telecom Carriers, Nature of Jobs undertaken, relationships
between members of family or friends, etc. The Indian
economy has changed and recovered from the crisis [7, 8].
The retailing form has also evolved from last decade [9]. This
has boosted the influence of the online retail in India.
2.2 Rise of Smartphones
Introduction of the world‘s first Apple smartphone by Steve
Jobs back in 2007 brought the functionality of smart-touch
screen to conventional mobile devices. Although work on the
touch screen was started way back in the 60s by Eric. A.
Johnson [10]. It was still a milestone for portable
communication devices, which were until then keypad-
operated. It was dominated by companies like Nokia and
Blackberry, which had Symbian OS and Blackberry OS
installed on their flagship devices, respectively. According to
the report by Gartner in Feb 2010, the mobile device OS
leader Symbian lost its market share from 52.4% to 46.9%,
registering a decrease of 5.5% [11]. The Android OS,
developed by Google and iOS by Apple, started to gain
immense acceptance by the Asian markets and US markets,
respectively, thereby further declining the sale of Blackberry &
Symbian OS operated devices. Apple alone registered a
growth of 64% in US sales, and Android overtook Blackberry
to grab a market share of 15.2% [12]. As of today (2019),
Android stands as the market leader in the mobile device OS
market with almost 1.3 billion devices sold alone in the year
2017 and amounts to 76.24% market share in the mobile OS
market, followed by iOS, far behind at 22.48%. Together they
form about 98.72% of the mobile OS market [13]. The global
expenditure on Digital Advertisement has risen to 45.9% of
total media ad expenditure, which roughly amounts to 283.35
billion USD in the year 2018. Countries like the UK, Norway,
China, Canada, the US, and the Netherlands already have
Digital Marketing as a dominant medium – almost above 50%
(of their national ad expenditure amount) in Digital ads. It is
likely to reach 333.25 billion USD by 2019 and 517.51 billion
USD by 2023 [14]. Digital marketing often comprises of
several sub-areas such as Social Media Marketing, Search
Engine Optimization (SEO), Influencer Marketing, Search
Engine Marketing (SEM), Email Direct Marketing, SMS and
Cold Calls Marketing etc.
2.3 Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization often involves the prudent
arrangement of content on the website of the seller/service
provider so that naturally, users can get the hold of the site by
just using a search engine like Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo or
Ask.com. Here, the focus is on ad-words, and efforts are made
to increase the reach. Promotion of the site may also include
an increasing number of hyperlinks, directory submission, and
specific keywords
2.4 Search Engine Marketing
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) consists of the Direct Use of
Search Engines as a marketing and advertising platform. This
type is often useful when the name of the organization is
unique, or there can be good competition for selling the
products or services. Different Search Engines offer these
types of services Google, Bing, etc with a small amount of fee.
2.5 Social Media Marketing
Simply said, Social Media Marketing can be defined as the
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use of copious social media available in the market today to
do the marketing of your firm, brand or product. This is done
primarily on three levels. Build the brand through marketing,
Increase the sale by advertising and various tools, and
Increase your website traffic. There are two main strategic
approaches [15]. The passive approach may involve heavy
use of data gathering and data analytics tools that is a
relatively inexpensive source of market intelligence and user
behavior. Whereas, the active approach may focus on gaining
the potential customer by advertisements and public relations.
Researchers point the root finger at digital devices and
platforms [16]. Also, [17], explains that the critical link to place
promotional content is by influencing the friends. Friends are
the primary influence of a user decision and hence, increase
the dependability of information exchange amongst each other
[18].
2.6 Facebook Marketing
Facebook is the world‘s most popular social network for
businesses and individuals alike. There are 2.41 billion users
of Facebook until June‘19 [19]. That is almost 31% of the
world‘s total population. This means one in three people, on
average, uses Facebook. The average time spent by a user on
Facebook turns out to be a staggering 60 min a day. Also, it
has been researched that one week of Facebook usage is
worth 67 USD [20].
2.7 Instagram Marketing
Instagram is rated as the best social media for fashion
companies. With its digital photo filters technology and unique,
innovative design, it is no surprise that it is the number one
photo-sharing app on both Android and Apple devices. These
feats in this attractive app make it rather unique for showing
and sharing moments in the daily lives of its users [21]. It has
been downloaded for 1.843 billion times. Instagram has a very
high user engagement rate than its contemporary social
network rivals Facebook and Twitter. According to the report, a
staggering 93% of distinguished brands have a solid presence
on Instagram and include it extensively in their marketing
strategies [22]. The core functionality of Instagram – photo and
video sharing helps their goal of connecting companies to their
respective audiences. It also contains a feature for
communicating with customers, redirection to respective sites
of companies using one-click and multiple ad positions. These
tools not only constitute the application itself but the lifestyle of
the user, as said by. The term ‗Instgramism‘ was getting more
and more voguish and was first coined by [23]. Instagram is
app-only service and does not have separate website
experience (They have a website, but its only login accepting
and switches to app layout more or less) [24]. Popularly
speaking, the best feature that Instagram introduced for
helping everyone and small businesses at the top of that was
Instagram Direct or Instagram Messaging [25]. It also has the
feature of providing upload video length to 1 minute and one
time, single, 10-photo post [26]. This is a truly an assistive
initiative for businesses.
Figure 01(Left) – Explore Page of Instagram Page
Figure 02 (Right) – Home/Timeline Instagram Page
The number of active users has crossed the 1 billion mark
[27]. The user with the highest number of followers on
Instagram is the Portuguese football player Cristiano Ronaldo
with 185 million followers. Whereas, famous Actress Priyanka
Chopra holds the title of highest followed Indian with 44 million
followers [28].
3 RESEARCH DESIGN AND RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
The questions puzzle the human mind in more than one way &
the never-ending thirst for answering those questions is
Research. Research generally done for two parts. One to
analyze the occurring phenomenon, and the Second is to
observe the phenomenon. Some researchers classify it as
qualitative research and quantitative research. As per the
demand of the project topic, the conducted research is in
relation to target customers and the potential (would-be)
customers. As the focus is more on studying the ‗User
behavior with the help of Instagram‘ aspect of the report, the
list of customers is reduced to those who have had some prior
information and first-hand experience of using the Instagram
app. A good research design always has an impressive effect
on the data and increases the trust of the collected and
analyzed research information. Least error producing design is
often considered as the best research design. The four main
principles of a good research design are neutrality towards
opinions or inputs or outputs, reliable data, usage of valid
tools, and property of generalization. The research conducted
for the project was exploratory. Hence, it only involved
questions that gained insight into the mind of the
customer/potential customer, their data usage pattern, their
fashion choices, their personal preferences regarding buying
day-to-day items, and other items. The method of data
collection was in-person surveys where the respondents were
given a questionnaire comprising of various questions
requiring single (multiple for some questions) responses,
which would be the most accurate and reflect their real
preferences to the maximum.
4 ANALYSIS OF DATA & DISCUSSION
4.1 Gender Comparison:
Out of total number of respondents, almost 56% were female
whereas, the remaining 44% were male respondents. As
Instagram is more of a photo-video sharing application, the
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 9, ISSUE 02, FEBRUARY 2020 ISSN 2277-8616
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number of female respondents is found to be higher.
4.2 Age group Analysis:
Out of total of 136 respondents, almost 42% were from the
age group 20-30 years, which also formed the majority of the
sample. Respondents from the group 30-40 years and 12-20
years are 29% and 19%, respectively. Then we have the age
group 40-50 years at 6% and above 50 at 4%.
4.3 Education analysis:
45% of the respondents are found to be having Graduation as
their highest qualification. As for the rest, the shares of ‗Post
Graduation,‘ ‗HSC,‘ ‗SSC‘, and ‗Above Post Graduation‘ are
found to be 21%, 17%, 12%, and 6%, respectively. This may
be due to the popularity factor of the app with younger
audiences than older ones.
Internet Usage Pattern
Sr.no
Time Spent
Female
Male
Grand
Total
2
1-2 hrs
11
5
16
3
2-3 hrs
8
13
21
4
3-4 hrs
29
26
55
5
above 4 hrs
28
16
44
Grand Total
76
60
136
Table 01: Internet Time Usage
The number of respondents spending around 3-4 hours on
Internet-based activities is a striking 55%, followed by
respondents who spend more than 4 hours at 44%. People
spending from 1-2 hours plus 2-3 hours are almost 37%
combined together. Taking gender into account, 75% of the
females (57) spend at least 3 hours on their smartphone on
Internet/related activities. The same usage is done by 70% of
males (42). Rest of 19 females and `18 males were found to
be spending at least 1 hour on the Internet. It is then keenly
noted that a lot of female respondent populations tend to
spend more time on the Internet.
Application presence and details
Facebo
ok
WhatsA
pp
Snapc
hat
Twitt
er
Linke
dIn
Instagr
am
Quo
ra
Tum
blr
75
133
34
18
37
115
37
3
Table 02: Application Presence
Out of 136 respondents, 133 have WhatsApp, i.e., almost
97.7% and 115 (85%) of them have Instagram installed on
their smartphone. Facebook is the third most used app, being
used by 75 respondents. The rest of the social media apps like
Snapchat, Twitter, LinkedIn, Quora & Tumblr are used by 34,
18, 37, 37, and 3, respectively.
4.4 Individual App Comparison:
Astonishing 68% of respondents spend most of their Internet
usage time on Instagram, followed by WhatsApp at 28%. The
presence of various categories enables users to explore
different content, hence the reason for most people spending
much time on Instagram. The popularity of the Facebook app
is lower. As far as the User Interface (UI) is considered, the
first two places are switched. 68 out of total respondents
believe that WhatsApp has the simplest UI, and 47
respondents favor Instagram as the app with simplest UI.
Facebook is preferred by 21 respondents.
4.5 How do the respondents spend their time on
Instagram?
46% of respondents like to share content with their Family or
Close Friends, may it be anything. 28% post regarding the
place or city they are currently living, including events
happening, regular and new. As the age group goes, the
statistics remain constant. Respondents in the age group 20-
30 and 30-40 tend to do a variety of things on Instagram.
Sharing things related to Music/Video is common among them.
Young teens prefer to post about their vicinity and location.
4.6 Topics that are followed the most on Instagram:
The most followed topic by the respondents is
Fashion/Glamour (89), followed by Memes/Jokes/Funny
Videos (81). This may be primarily due to a huge number of
female respondents, and the majority are from the age group
20-30 years. Artists (32) and Science (27) are the least
followed. Respondents following Movies, Sports, Food,
Computers, Novels, Motivation are 68, 62, 59, 37, 41, 48,
respectively.
4.7 Should there be any age restriction on the usage of
Instagram?
About 29 respondents thought that Instagram should only be
accessible for people with age 18 and above. Also, about 43
respondents said that the minimum age bar for using
Instagram should be 12 years. Relatively, 63 respondents
suggested that there should not be any age restriction while
using Instagram. It is also observed that most of the people
who said no to age restriction are from the age group 12-20
years and 20-30 years (amounting to 53 out of 63). Contrary to
that opinion, age restriction or age bar of 18 years is
recommended by respondents from the groups 30-40 years,
40-50 years, and above 50 years.
4.8 What are your shopping frequency and the primary
reason behind it?
Count
Primary Reason for online Shopping
Shopping
Frequency
Better
Deals
Convenience
Good
variety
Grand
Total
Half-yearly
9
11
6
26
Monthly
4
18
13
35
Quarterly
35
16
1
52
Yearly
13
8
1
22
Grand Total
61
53
21
135
Table 03: Frequency & Reason for Online Shopping
The primary reason for shopping online for most of the
respondents (almost 45%) is the option of Better Deals. This is
followed by Convenience (39%) and Good Variety (16%). The
number of respondents making Quarterly (52) and Monthly
(35) online purchases is higher than Half-Yearly (26) and
Yearly (22) online purchases. The majority of the respondents
making purchases yearly are likely to come across big offers.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 9, ISSUE 02, FEBRUARY 2020 ISSN 2277-8616
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4.9 What group of consumers were given what kind of
offers?
Different products having a different range of prices need
multiple promotional strategies to attract the customer.
Coupons and Discount form the majority with 46 and 47 times.
Other offers such as ‗Buy 1 Get 1‘ and Cash-back are behind
(13 and 29, respectively). Respondents with an average
purchase of about 0-500 INR will tend to get more coupon
codes (21) and Cash-back (16). Products with Higher Prices
generally have more Discounts offered from time to time.
4.10 Do you think local sellers can benefit from listing
products on Instagram?
The local seller may benefit significantly from marketing or
listing products on Instagram. Firstly, due to the proximity
towards the potential customers will help them get to know
their needs and wants. In any eventual growth strategy, if to be
implemented, it can be easily set into motion with good reach
of subscribers.
4.11 Average Rating for Instagram
The average rating is found out to be 7.41, which can be
considered as Fairly Good.
4.12 Hypothesis Testing & Interpretation
4.12.1 Categories of Goods v/s How do you feel about
Advertisement
Null Hypothesis (H0): Categories of Goods and how do
customers feel about advertisement are independent.
Alternate Hypothesis (H1): Categories of Goods and how do
customers feel about advertisements are not independent.
Test
df
Value
Alpha Value
Chi square test
4
p = 0.01686
α = 0.01
As per the above table, the p-value (0.0168) >= α (0.01). Thus,
we do not have sufficient evidence to reject the Null
Hypothesis. Hence, we conclude that categories of goods and
how do customers feel about advertisements are independent.
It can be inferred that the individual response towards
advertisement displayed on Instagram is independent of
categories of goods to which the advertisement refers to.
4.12.2 Gender v/s Types of Advertisement displayed
Null Hypothesis (H0): Gender and Types of advertisement
displayed are independent.
Alternate Hypothesis (H1): Gender and Types of
advertisement displayed are not independent.
Test
df
Value
Alpha Value
Chi square test
2
p = 0.0011
α = 0.01
As per the above table, the p-value (0.0011) <= α (0.01).
Hence, we can reject the Null Hypothesis and accept the
Alternate Hypothesis. Thus, it can be concluded that Gender
and Types of advertisements displayed are not independent.
Female respondents tend to come across more Stories
advertisement, whereas Male respondents come across Photo
advertisement more. The business organization can then
focus on their target customers effectively.
4.12.3 The main reason for shopping online v/s How can
Instagram improve the shopping experience
Null Hypothesis (H0): The main reason for shopping online
and How can Instagram improve shopping experience are
independent.
Alternate Hypothesis (H1): The main reason for shopping
online and How can Instagram improve shopping experience
is not independent.
Test
df
Value
Alpha Value
Chi square test
4
p = 0.0032
α = 0.01
As per the above table, the p-value (0.0032) <= α (0.01). Thus,
we have do not sufficient statistical evidence to accept the Null
Hypothesis. Hence, it can be concluded that the main reason
for shopping online and How can Instagram improve shopping
experience are not independent. Customers who tend to
prefer Better Deals look for More Variety. Also, individuals who
shop online for Convenience may look for More Payment
Options.
4.12.4 Offers you would like to receive v/s Frequency of
Shopping Online
Null Hypothesis (H0): Offers you would like to receive and
Frequency of Shopping online are independent.
Alternate Hypothesis (H1): Offers you would like to receive
and Frequency of Shopping online are not independent.
Test
df
Value
Alpha Value
Chi square test
9
p = 0.0001
α = 0.01
From the above table, we find that p-value (0.0001) <= α
(0.01) and thereby reject the Null Hypothesis and accept the
Alternate Hypothesis. Hence, it can be said that Offers that
customers would like to receive and the Frequency of
Shopping online are not independent of each other. Offers are
generally declared according to festivals and thus influence
the shopping frequency of the customer.
5 FINDINGS
56 % of respondents are female. Women generally tend to be
more attracted to colors and appearances [29, 30]. Hence,
they are likely to be informed about photo-sharing apps such
as Instagram and Snapchat. With recent advancement in
technology, the smartphone has become a daily necessity for
all. Particularly students and young people going to work can
find the information they require at their fingertips. Thus
around 60% of people were below the age of 30. As far as
education in considered, around 71% of respondents were at
least the Graduate level, thereby the spread of new
technology and information is higher in them. Search for
newer alternatives for entertainment and content sources can
often be seen [31]. Ever since the inception of Jio, the data
usage of an average Indian has gone up significantly. It has
almost doubled from the year 2017 to 2018 [31]. 75% of
females generally tend to spend more than 3 hours on the
Internet and Internet-based apps as done by 70% males.
People spending less time on the Internet have a very
structured way of spending their data. As the most popular
cross-platform communication app, WhatsApp enjoys the
monopoly of being present on almost every single device we
encountered (97.5%). Instagram, although concentrating on
photo-related services, comes second with 84.5%. This shows
that Instagram has a lot to cover. Comparing Instagram to its
contemporaries, Facebook and WhatsApp, we found that
customers spend most of their time on Instagram (68%) but
feel that the User Interface can be made simpler than it is in
the market. This is because WhatsApp is a core
communication app, and Facebook features a lite version of
the app following minimalistic design. 46% of people like to
share something with their families and friends whereas 28%
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 9, ISSUE 02, FEBRUARY 2020 ISSN 2277-8616
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like to show-off their travel plans. Newer generation with an
explore approach tends to put everything they experience
online. There is huge number of topics to be followed or
accessed on Instagram ranging from Fashion to Science,
Technology to Art, and Business to Movies. This point makes a
clear statements that Social Media is a perfect marketing tool
having vast reach with minimum time and a wide variety of
content to use. A heavy increase in data and Instagram usage
also questions whether there should be any age restriction or
not. This generally echoes with the responsibilities of parents
of kids who are 18 years of age or below. The primary reason
for shopping online was found to be the need for ‗Better Deals‘
and ‗Convenience‘ with (45%) and (39%). Most of the
shopping is done Quarterly, as most of the Fashion/Apparel
options are used in their best capacity for 70-90 days.
Electronics vary from product to product, but they have better
durability than others (subject to use). The rise of new types of
offers to pull customers has been increased tremendously.
The usage of Coupons and Discounts is valued by customers
(69%) above others. Cash-back is also a lucrative option as
there is a feature that said amount when credited back can be
used for ordering something else. Local sellers can leverage
the usage of Geographical Location and Hashtag to gain
valuable learnings of their potential customers. Events and
Festivals also sprout new and newer opportunities for
marketing products. The only hindrance that can be observed
is that local sellers may not get recognitions like popular or
stalwart brands at the start. This may be circumvented by the
use of Influencer marketing or a Personalized marketing
approach. Certain factors tend to influence user behavior in
one or the other way. While ads displayed to customers are
independent of categories of goods browsed, the same cannot
be said about others. The types of ads individuals come
across on Instagram depends heavily on Gender, offers are
normally given during festive seasons. The reminders are also
sent according to the shopping frequency of the customer.
6 CONCLUSION
From the above Analysis and findings, we can conclude that
many factors such as gender, income, shopping frequency,
promotional offers, types of products, etc., can affect the
choices of customers regarding the decision making of online
shopping. Sellers should concentrate on these factors and
reap the rewards by targeting their ideal audience. Another
major conclusion is that the way it is used and spreading
among the masses, Instagram will be developed into a
powerful and efficient marketing tool for a wide range of
businesses. It is visual enhancing filters and sharing with
followers-fans mechanism can be used creatively to promote
individual brands and increase the loyal-fan base. Firms
related to Photography or Fashion sector can have Instagram
as a boon in the coming years. Massive unstructured data is
already available. With some processing and analysis, it can
be adequately converted to boost productivity and sales for
any organization in any sector.
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