Objective of the study

1. To understand and have a comprehensive study on the recruitment and selection

policies of Learnovate E-Commerce.

2. To study the state of E-Commerce and identify the opportunities that lies ahead of

Learnovate E-Commerce.

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Review of literature

Better recruitment and selection strategies result in improved organizational outcomes.

With reference to this context, the research paper entitled Recruitment and Selection has

been prepared to put a light on Recruitment and Selection process. The main objective is to

identify general practices that organizations use to recruit and select employees and, to

determine how the recruitment and selection practices affect organizational outcomes at

Electronics Industry, In Krishna Dt Ap,India. Successful recruitment and selection

practices are key components at the entry point of human resources in any

organization . The main objective of this paper is to identify general practices that

organizations use to recruit and select employees .The study also focus its attention to

determine how the recruitment and selection practices affect the organizational outcomes

and provide some suggestions that can help.

According to Ash and Ruth

‘’ The overall picture that emerges from a review of literature pinpoints two elements that

inhibit recruiting and hiring effective principals. Primary hindrances include the growing

shortage of qualified applicants in conjunction with a growing student population and the

reality of the challenging demands, responsibilities, and complexities of the job. Coupled

with the lack of useful predictors or instruments to guide the recruitment, selection, and

hiring process, effective superintendents and school boards define and identify substantive

indicators to guide their searches. The authors examined current research, analyzed case

studies, and observed and interviewed principals demonstrating the ability to increase

significantly student learning in schools. An analysis and synthesis of the findings underscore

critical principal practices that improve student learning’’.

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According to Kanagavalli

Purpose of the study: The main purpose of this study is to provide a new, macro-level model

of strategic staffing to bridge the gap in the knowledge regarding how practices within

recruitment and selection systems can work to provide a competitive advantage among

various sectors. This study identifies the various methods of recruitment and selection

process through a systematic review of literature, which would be the right fit for attracting

and selecting employees in an organization.

Main findings: The review of literature revealed that the recruitment and selection process is

carried out in organizations by adopting latest technologies like online portals, outsourcing,

job fair, campus interviews, and mobile recruitment applications. The representation of this

practice is to find the best candidate for an organization. Besides adopting the latest

technology, consideration of the expatriate factor would lead to an effective way of

recruitment practices in finding out the right candidate for the right job and thus create a

healthier work environment. The expatriate factors have not been considered well in the

Indian context, but have been given importance in the global context in the process of

recruitment and selection. Social Implications: Highlighting the significance of various

recruitment practices results in the selection of the right person in the right job, which

enhances a healthier working environment in organizations, in turn rendering high quality

products and services to the society.

According to Catherine Lissette Caballero

Graduate recruitment and selection differs from other contexts in that graduate applicants

generally lack job-related experience. Recent research has highlighted that employers are

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placing increasing value on graduates being work ready. Work readiness is believed to be

indicative of graduate potential in terms of long term job performance and career

advancement. A review of the literature has found that current graduate recruitment and

selection practices lack the rigour and construct validity to effectively assess work readiness.

In addition, the variety of interchangeable terms and definitions articulated by employers and

academics on what constitutes work readiness suggests the need to further refine this

construct. This paper argues that work readiness is an important selection criterion, and

should be examined systematically in the graduate assessment process, as a construct in itself.

The ineffectiveness of current assessment methods in being able to measure work readiness

supports the need to develop a specific measure of work readiness that will allow more

effective decision practices and potentially predict long term job capacity and performance.

According to Babu Karan Charles, Oluoch Mercy Florah

This independent conceptual study paper discusses a critical review of literature on

employment selection tests. The objectives are: to establish whether employment selection

tests are the panacea of getting the right people for the right job. Secondly, to identify and

classify employment selection tests and indicate weightings for different job fits. Finally to

advance a critical analysis of employment selection test types and grey areas for

recommendations to potential employers based on available research findings by various

scholars. The paper further focusses on the various types of employment tests, definitions of

tests, role of tests and the basis on which employment tests are determined; methods,

objectives and aptitude as a process in Human Resource hiring by various organizational

sectors. The paper also covers several areas in detail to give in-depth review and analysis of

testing as a means of identifying the right people on right jobs namely employee selection,

purpose of selection, employee selection styles and stages thereon. The paper discusses types

of tests namely; attitude tests, achievement tests, personality tests, objectives tests, projective

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tests, situation tests, interest tests and the process namely; recruitment, methods and

objectives are also highlighted. The critical review of this paper captures a section on review

of theories relevant to the concept of selection tests for employment process and placement of

Human Resource personnel in organizations.

According to Bawan Yassin Sabir

The recruitment is the main function of HR department and the recruitment process is the

first step towards making the competitive quality and the recruitment strategic advantage for

the association. A quantitative method used to analyze this study, the researchers prepared

questionnaire and distributed at Telecommunication Companies in Erbil-Kurdistan. The

objective of this research paper is to determine the recruitment and selection procedures in

organizations, and finding out the methodologies that are involved in the process. Moreover,

finding out how being qualified and having certificates affects the recruitment process, and

how different criteria such as gender, race, and culture effect on it as well. The survey was

conducted at Telecom Companies. Employees filled the survey. Data was collected and

Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 was used as the statistical analysis

tool while descriptive statistics were calculated and used in the interpretation of findings. The

population of this study is approximately 220 employees, The researchers distributed 80

questionnaires, but 69 questionnaires received from participants, however only 60

questionnaires were properly filled out by the participants, accordingly my sample size was

initially a total of (60) surveys, and %100 was turned back which means 60 surveys. Data for

the research paper was collected through a questionnaire paper distributed to employees

working at Telecom Companies. The researchers found that there is no difference in

candidates’ race and gender in internal promotion at Telecommunication Companies in Erbil-

Kurdistan, therefore the researchers answered the first research question, and the second

research question which stated that Within our organization, for second question the

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researchers found that the majority of participants believed that selection methods used

(application forms, assessment centers, psychometric tests, interviews, CV data, references,

group interviews) are important.

Work by Korsten (2003) and Jones et al. (2006):

According to Korsten (2003) and Jones et al. (2006), Human Resource Management theories

emphasize on techniques of recruitment and selection and outline the benefits of interviews,

assessment and psychometric examinations as employee selection process. They further

stated that recruitment process may be internal or external or may also be conducted online.

Typically, this process is based on the levels of recruitment policies, job postings and details,

advertising, job application and interviewing process, assessment, decision making, formal

selection and training (Korsten 2003).

Jones et al. (2006) suggested that examples of recruitment policies in the healthcare, business

or industrial sector may offer insights into the processes involved in establishing recruitment

policies and defining managerial objectives.

Successful recruitment techniques involve an incisive analysis of the job, the labour market

scenario/ conditions and interviews, and psychometric tests in order to find out the

potentialities of job seekers. Furthermore, small and medium sized enterprises lay their hands

on interviews and assessment with main concern related to job analysis, emotional

intelligence in inexperienced job seekers, and corporate social responsibility. Other

approaches to selection outlined by Jones et al. (2006) include several types of interviews,

role play, group discussions and group tasks, and so on.

Any management process revolves around recruitment and failure in recruitment may lead to

difficulties and unwanted barriers for any company, including untoward effects on its

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profitability and inappropriate degrees of staffing or employee skills (Jones et al. 2006). In

additional, insufficient recruitment may result into lack of labour or hindrances in

management decision making, and the overall recruitment process can itself be advanced and

amended by complying with management theories. According to these theories, the

recruitment process can be largely enhanced by means of Rodgers seven point plan, Munro-

Frasers five-fold grading system, personal interviews, as well as psychological tests (Jones et

al. 2006).

According to Alan Price (2007):

Price (2007), in his work Human Resource Management in a Business Context, formally

defines recruitment and selection as the process of retrieving and attracting able applications

for the purpose of employment. He states that the process of recruitment is not a simple

selection process, while it needs management decision making and broad planning in order to

appoint the most appropriate manpower. There existing competition among business

enterprises for recruiting the most potential workers in on the pathway towards creating

innovations, with management decision making and employers attempting to hire only the

best applicants who would be the best fit for the corporate culture and ethics specific to the

company (Price 2007). This would reflect the fact that the management would particularly

shortlist able candidates who are well equipped with the requirements of the position they are

applying for, including team work. Since possessing qualities of being a team player would

be essential in any management position (Price 2007).

According to Hiltrop (1996):

Hiltrop (1996) was successful in demonstrating the relationship between the HRM practices,

HRM-organizational strategies as well as organizational performance. He conducted his

research on HR manager and company officials of 319 companies in Europe regarding HR

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practices and policies of their respective companies and discovered that employment security,

training and development programs, recruitment and selection, teamwork, employee

participation, and lastly, personnel planning are the most essential practices (Hiltrop 1999).

As a matter of fact, the primary role of HR is to develop, control, manage, incite, and achieve

the commitment of the employees. The findings of Hiltrop’s (1996) work also showed that

selectively hiring has a positive impact on organizational performance, and in turn provides a

substantial practical insight for executives and officials involved. Furthermore, staffing and

selection remains to be an area of substantial interest. With recruitment and selection

techniques for efficient hiring decisions, high performing companies are most likely to spend

more time in giving training particularly on communication and team-work skills (Hiltrop

1999). Moreover the finding that there is a positive connection existing between firm

performances and training is coherent with the human capital standpoint. Hence, Hiltrop

(1996) suggests the managers need to develop HR practices that are more focused on training

in order to achieve competitive benefits.

Work by Jackson et al. (2009) and Bratton and Gold (1999):

As discussed by Jackson et al. (2009), Human resource management approaches in any

business organization are developed to meet corporate objectives and materialization of

strategic plans via training and development of personnel to attain the ultimate goal of

improving organizational performance as well as profits. The nature of recruitment and

selection for a company that is pursuing HRM approach is influenced by the state of the

labour market and their strength within it. Furthermore, it is necessary for such companies to

monitor how the state of labour market connects with potential recruits via the projection of

an image which will have an effect on and reinforce applicant expectations. Work of Bratton

& Gold (1999) suggest that organizations are now developing models of the kind of

employees they desire to recruit, and to recognize how far applicants correspond to their

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models by means of reliable and valid techniques of selection. Nonetheless, the researchers

have also seen that such models, largely derived from competency frameworks, foster

strength in companies by generating the appropriate knowledge against which the job seekers

can be assessed. However, recruitment and selection are also the initial stages of a dialogue

among applications and the company that shapes the employment relationship (Bratton &

Gold 1999). This relationship being the essence of a company’s manpower development,

failure to acknowledge the importance of determining expectation during recruitment and

selection can lead to the loss of high quality job seekers and take the initial stage of the

employment relationship so down as to make the accomplishment of desirable HRM

outcomes extremely difficult. In the opinion of Bratton and Gold (1999), recruitment and

selection practices are essential characteristics of a dialogue driven by the idea of “front-end”

loading processes to develop the social relationship among applicants and an organization. In

this relationship, both parties make decisions throughout the recruitment and selection and it

would be crucial for a company to realize that high-quality job seekers, pulled by their view

of the organization, might be lost at any level unless applications are provided for realistic

organization as well as work description. In view of Jackson et al. (2009) and Bratton & Gold

(1999) applicants have a specific view of expectations about how the company is going to

treat them; recruitment and selection acts as an opportunity to clarify this view. Furthermore,

one technique of developing the view, suggested by Bratton and Gold (1999), are realistic job

previews or RJPs that may take the form of case studies of employees and their overall work

and experiences, the opportunity to “cover” someone at work, job samples and videos. The

main objective of RJPs is to allow for the expectations of job seekers to become more

realistic and practical. RJPs tend to lower initial expectations regarding work and a company,

thereby causing some applications to select themselves; however RJPs also increase the

degree of organization commitment, job satisfaction, employee performance, appraisal and

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job survival among job seekers who can continue into employment (Bratton & Gold 1999)

Jackson et al. (2009).

Work by Silzer et al (2010):

However, the process of recruitment does not cease with application of candidature and

selection of the appropriate candidates, but involves sustaining and retaining the employees

that are selected, as stated by Silzer et al. (2010).

Work of Silzer et al. (2010) was largely concerned with Talent management, and through

their work they were successful in resolving issues like whether or not talent is something

one can be born with or is it something that can be acquired through development. According

to Silzer et al (2010), that was a core challenge in designing talent systems, facing the

organization and among the senior management. The only solution to resolve the concern of

attaining efficient talent management was by adopting fully-executable recruitment

techniques. Regardless of a well-drawn practical plan on recruitment and selection as well as

involvement of highly qualified management team, companies following recruitment

processes may face significant obstacles in implementation. As such, theories of HRM can

give insights in the most effective approaches to recruitment even though companies will

have to employ their in house management skills for applying generic theories across

particular organizational contexts. Word conducted by Silzer et al (2010) described that the

primary objective of successful talent strategies is to create both a case as well as a blueprint

for developing the talent strategies within a dynamic and highly intensive economy wherein

acquisition, deployment and preservation of human capital-talent that matter,, shapes the

competitive advantages and success of many companies (Silzer et al. 2010).

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Work by Taher et al. (2000):

Toward that end Taher et al. (2000) carried out a study to critique the value-added and non-

value activities in a recruitment and selection process. The strategic manpower planning of a

company, training and development programme, performance appraisal, reward system and

industrial relations, was also appropriately outlined in the study. This study was based on the

fact that efficient HR planning is an essence of organization success, which flows naturally

into employee recruitment and selection (Taher et al. 2000). Therefore, demand rather than

supply must be the prime focus of the recruitment and selection process and a greater

emphasis must be put on planning, supervising and control rather than mediation. Extending

this principle, a realistic approach to recruitment and selection process was demonstrated, and

the study found that an organization is efficient only when the value it commands exceeds the

price involved in determining the process of decision making or product. In other words,

value-added and non-value added activities associated with a company’s recruitment and

selection process impacts its role in creating motivated and skilled workforce in the country

(Taher et al. 2000). Thus, the study identified the waiting time, inspection time and filing

time as non value added tasks and the cost of advertisement as the only value added activity

in the overall process. Taher et al. (2000) investigated the recruitment and selection section of

Bangladesh Open University. It was found that whenever the recruitment and selection

department of BOU received a recruitment request of new applicants from other sections, the

officials failed to instantly advertise the vacancy in various media. The university had to

follow some long sequential steps prior to doing so. After the vacancy is publicly advertised,

what followed were the bureaucratic formalities and complications together with inspection

and supervision by two departments thereby causing unnecessary waiting in the recruitment

and selection process that eventually increases the cost of recruitment by keeping the

organization’s image at stake. The study also witnessed some amount of repetition taking

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place at every step of recruitment where the applications of applicants circulating around too

many departments for verifications. This repetitive work tends to engage unnecessary persons

for a single task that results in unnecessary delay in the decision and unjust wastage of

manpower.

After careful consideration of similar problems in the BOU, Taher et al. (2006) recommended

for amending the recruitment process by stating that firstly processes like job analysis and

searching internal and external sources must be followed by direct advertisement of the post

as the HR’s own responsibility, and not by any intermediate officials. This will eliminate the

non-value activities. Secondly, Taher et al (2000) suggested a ‘system’ to be introduced to

ease the respective department to study the shortlisted candidates, which can be done only by

the request of the HR department. A medical assistance must be sought by BOU in regards to

the physical or mental abilities of applicants for the job function as well as their workers

compensation and risk. A procedure needs to be devised pertaining to the privacy and

confidentiality of medical reports. Thus, this privacy and decrease in noon-value added

activity of the medical exam can be sustained effectively by testing the applicants via

contracted medical advisors, or in-house doctors. Use of a computer based HR system should

be installed in BOU to manage the pool of information about employees and to make the

organization to take just-in-time HR recruitment and selection decisions.

Therefore, any organization is encouraged to development real-time recruitment strategies

that must attempt to generate a pool of appropriately qualified and well-experienced

individuals so as to effectively initiate the selection strategies and decisions. In essence, the

potential applications are encouraged to apply for the open vacancies and also the relevant

departments can engage in recruiting the best candidates to upgrade the department’s

performance (Taher et al. 2000).

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A Critical Review of Literature on Employment Selection Tests

By Oluoch Mercy Florah

Organizations globally invest on human capital for the day to day management of their

activities. Individual job knowledge and skills in every department is critical for the ultimate

success of any organization, be it a private entity, government or even Non-profit making.

Organizations need to get human resource that fit the various aspects of a specific job. To

succeed in this process, all organizations insist on some pre-employment tests to determine

knowledge, integrity, cognitive ability, personality, emotional intelligence and physical

abilities before placement. That is the more reason why it is necessary to critically review on

literature on employment tests for an in-depth understanding of the how, why the processes

are designed and conducted for a meaningful outcome in line with the objectives of any

organization.

Selection Tests are defined as a sample of an individual’s behaviour performance or attitude.

According to Cronbach, L. J., & Meehl, P. E. (1955), a test is a systematic procedure for

comparing the behaviour of two or more persons. While conducting tests, the selection panel

ensures the following are achieved; first, tests eliminate incompetence and unsuitability of

candidates, tests ensure psychological, mental and analytical capacities of a person are

identified. Tests can also be used as a tool to understand the nature of a person and their

career development by providing analytical, rational and objective comparison between the

candidates, finally, tests ensure that accuracy and perfection in the selection procedure is duly

achieved. The above scenario is only possible by determining tests types on the basis of

methods of focus on either individual or group objectives and aptitude.

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Employee Selection can be defined as a process of putting right people on right job. It

involves matching the requirements of an organization with the right skills and qualification.

These qualifications should be relevant to ensure full success of the organizations objectives

and goals to achieve this while conducting selection during recruitment process. It must

identify the common package of knowledge skills and abilities (KSA). This is according to F.

John Reh (2019), the acronym KSA is mostly used to define the requirements of job opening

and comparing of candidates when making a final selection. The recruiter may therefore look

for an applicants’ KSA profile to determine the selection criteria. The use of KSA framework

was associated with the United States Federal Government Agencies and since then, the

model (KSA) has expanded to include assessment of training and coaching needs in existing

workforce. However one of the criticisms of KSA, is that it’s easy to see the three terms

(knowledge, skill and ability) interchangeable or at the very list, overlapping and yet they are

distinctly different dimensions of an individual’s qualification.

The challenge in selection of candidates lies on the fit element between what the applicant

can and wants to do against the organization’s needs. It is more difficult to possibly tell

exactly what the interviewee (applicant) really can and wants to do. The fit between the two

aspects of both on the side of the person and the organization shall determine the willingness

for both the employer and the employee to accept placement.

Merits and Demerits of Selection Tests

Moving forward lets discuss some advantages and disadvantages of tests in the selection

process for employees. For advantages we find the issues of proper assessment. Tests provide

the basis for finding out the suitability of candidates for various positions. Proper assessments

provide the indications of mental capability, aptitude, liking and interests of the candidates

for the job for which the candidate applied. Secondly tests provide objective assessment in

14
terms of objective criteria than any other methods since it eliminates subjectivity of every

kind in a candidate. Thirdly it is a uniform basis in assessment (tests) because tests provide a

uniform platform for comparing the performance of applicants. Some tests are given to

candidates and their scores will enable the selectors to determine their levels. The other

advantage of selection tests is the provision (selection) for better persons. Tests determine as

earlier indicated, the aptitude, temperament and adjustability of candidates on jobs for which

they are most suitable for the purpose of exposing their efficiency and satisfaction. Finally

tests through proper selection of persons will also reduce labour turnover. If unsuitable

persons are selected, they may leave their jobs sooner than later. For this reason, interest tests

will help in knowing/predicting the liking of applicants for different jobs. It is therefore safe

to observe that when a person secures a job according to his interest and temperament, he or

she would not dream of quitting the job thus ensuring control on irregular job mobility (Lite,

2021).

However, the flip side of tests—disadvantages or demerits for that matter includes the

following: unreliability, wrong use and fear of exposure. Tests can be unreliable because the

inferences drawn from the tests may not be correct in all cases. This is so because the skill

and ability of a candidate may not be properly judged with the help of tests. Secondly, tests

may also be misused by the employees since the interviewers may be biased towards certain

persons based on vested interest. The third demerit is that some persons may not submit to

tests for fear of exposure of inherent weakness and yet they are equally competent thus

depriving the services of such personnel who are unwilling to appear for tests but are

otherwise suitable for the concern (https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/hrm/job-selection-

test-purpose-types-ability-and-developing-a-test-programme/35278).

2. Theories of Selection Tests

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It is abundantly clear that while attitude can have a powerful effect on behaviour, they are not

cast on stone. The same influences that lead to attitude formation can also create attitude

change. A review of relevant theories below could shade more light on the above statement of

fact.

2.1. Learning Theory

Propounded by Piaget (1972), Bloom (1956) and Gardner (1983). This theory is relevant to

selection tests in several ways. The methods used involve, drill and practice for example

when selecting police officers, armed forces officers and National Youth Service training

programme. The physical abilities of candidates is crucial in identifying the right person for

the job. Role learning is required to establish their memory level when recruiting forces,

authors, collaborative group work, self-guided learning based on personal experience, mind

maps and charts to facilitate memorization are all achievable through learning theory.

Learning theory promotes the following ternate in candidates lined up for a selection process;

Behaviourism, Cognitivism, Constructivism and Connectivism. Discussing this further, the

above named psychologists noted that Behaviourism suggests that behaviours are influenced

and learned from external forces and can be observed and quantified. Pavlov Dog experiment

is a popular element of behaviourism. Classical Conditioning are directly motivated by

reward to be obtained. Similarly employees are motivated by rewards they are expected to

receive from a job well done. Panel and interviewers can apply this concept during selection

process to enable the potential employee to open up to the panellists for better assessment of

the person’s behaviour. Constructivism theory of learning is equally relevant in selection

process since it promotes further learning based on previous experience. This theory

expresses the fact that change in attitude can be achieved through classical conditioning,

operant conditioning and observational learning. Classical Conditioning can be used to create

16
positive emotional reactions to an object, person or event by associating positive feelings

with the large object. Operant Conditioning can be used to strengthen desirable attitudes and

weaken undesirable ones. People can also change their attitudes by observing the behaviour

of others.

2.1.1. Elaboration Likelihood Theory

Propounded by Charles M. Reigeluth (1992). He believes that instruction is made out of

layers and that each layer of instruction elaborates on the previously presented ideas. This is a

theory of persuasion. It suggests that people can alter their attitudes in two ways. First they

can be motivated to listen and think about the message thus leading to attitude shift or they

might be influenced by the characteristics of the speaker, leading to a temporary or surface

shift in attitude. Messages that are thought-provoking and that appeal to logic are more likely

to lead to permanent changes in attitude.

The relevance of this theory to selection test is that an organization can hire a person without

a wide experience for the job but subject him/her to training programmes and through such,

learning instructions will elaborate on the employees previously acquired ideas/knowledge

for the jobs’ effective delivery. However, this theory (ET) falls short of providing for

authentic or situated learning since the use of the three primary structures (conceptual,

procedural and theoretical) are viewed as a design constraint in promoting effective learning

process. Also Elaboration theory does not accommodate learner’s prior knowledge. This is an

outstanding critism of the theory.

2.1.2. Dissonance Theory

This theory observes that people can also change their attitudes when they have conflicting

beliefs about a topic or a subject matter. Dissonance theory, explores how to reduce the

17
tension created by these incompatible beliefs (http://www.psychologynotesHQ.com). People

often shift their attitudes from the concepts advanced by the above theories. It is pertinent to

note the significance of conducting attitude test in the process of hiring certain cadres of

employees and in general, since attitude can affect several outcomes in any organization in

terms of human resource placement. According to Berens, V.L. (2001), individuals of

different personality types may shift to take the roles needed by the mission of their team and

thus look like other temperaments.

3. Review of Selection Test Types

3.1. Psychomotor Tests

This is a test that assesses the subject’s ability to perceive instructions and perform motor

responses often including measurements of the speed of the reaction. Psychomotor tests are

used for determining the precision, coordination, control, dexterity and reaction time for

candidates in the hiring process. It not only assesses the mechanical performance of the

candidate but also their ability to understand and follow instructions and perform motor

responses. The test measures the candidate’s reaction time, multitasking capacity and

coordinating abilities. The evaluator rates the candidate’s performance against a predefined

benchmark. This is standardized for all applicants. Good examples may include tasks like

pilot of planes, drivers, machine operators, surgical activities conducted by doctors, sports

(football, volleyball, basketball) all require speed and accurate reaction in time by the subject

(person). In this regard therefore there is need to design tests (aptitude) that would identify

the most suitable person for the job during the recruitment process. In nursing, psychomotor

skills such as taking blood pressure and inserting an intravenous line are activities that are

movement oriented. These skills have an underlying rationale and many of the skills require

clinical reasoning to decide on what the findings mean and implication for patients care. In

18
effect this means that while hiring health care workers in general, the psychomotor test

approach is desirable to ensure proper identification of the right person for clinical activities

for the benefit of patients.

3.1.1. Attitude Test

Attitude testing is done to measure people’s attitudes, the purpose of which is to quantify

theories beliefs and behaviours to inform decisions. In psychology, an attitude refers to a set

of emotions, beliefs and behaviours towards a particular object, person, thing or event

(Kendra Cherry and Stephen Gaus). The two psychologists observed that attitudes are often

the result of experience or upbringing and they can have a powerful influence over behaviour.

They further noted that attitudes are enduring and can also change. Social psychology has

identified the three major components of attitude namely

Cognitive component: this aspect of attitude reflects on people thoughts and beliefs about the

subject.

Affective component: reflects on how the object, person or event makes you feel.

Behavioural component: reflects on how attitude influences your behaviour. Attitudes can

also be explicit and implicit. Explicit attitudes are those that we are consciously aware of and

clearly influence our behaviours and beliefs while implicit attitudes are at the unconscious

level and involuntarily formed and unknown to us but are still having an effect on our beliefs

and behaviours. Attitude testing in employment sector is a very important aspect of

identifying the right person for the right job for any organization. This can be explained by

reviewing the aspects of attitude formation determined by a number of factors that can

influence how and why attitudes form. Attitude forms from the following factors in life.

19
Experience: attitudes may emerge due to direct personal experience or from observation.

Social Dimension: social roles and social norms can have a strong influence on attitude.

Social roles relate to how people are expected to behave in a particular role or context, while

social norms involve society’s rules for what behaviours are considered appropriate. An

organization seeking to hire a staff for the position of welfare officer, public relations officer

or counsellor need to consider this factor for effective output.

Learning: this is yet another factor that can lead to formation of attitude in people; for

example advertisers use classical conditioning to influence people’s attitudes towards a

particular product. An organization seeking to hire a marketing director need to design

attitude tests that can provoke this ability in the potential employee. Other ways of attitude

formation may include conditioning and observation. Social psychologist have also found

that attitudes and actual behaviour are not always perfectly aligned and hence have identified

the following factors influencing attitude strength; expertise on the subject, expectation of

favourable outcome, personal experience, win/loose situation due to an issue and effect of

repeatedly expressed attitudes.

3.1.2. Vocational Aptitude Test

This is an instrument designed to assess the abilities, interest, personality traits and other

factors deemed essential for success in a particular occupation namely a test designed to test a

person’s physical abilities needed for a particular job such as police officer, army officer,

national youth service graduates, fire fighters among others. Such tests are often used to

assess how well the participants profile on these dimensions, matches the profile of the

typical or ideal person in the occupation.

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3.1.3. Logical Aptitude Test

This refers to a broad group of aptitude tests which test candidate’s problems solving ability.

These tests may be administered for any position at any level of recruitment but they may be

particularly common when recruiting for positions which require significant problem solving

ability or higher use of logic. Practising logical reasoning tests is an ideal method of

preparation as it allows one to learn from self-mistakes, and this leading to improved

performance with every subsequent trials. Furthermore it promotes experiencing time limits,

the tests layout and overall test norms that could ease worries and anxieties about the test in

terms of familiarization with such tests. The end effect of such experience is that a candidate

who has undertaken a logical test numerous times and noted mistakes is likely to learn from

them and hence develop less nervousness than first time candidate. Therefore Aptitude tests

focus on specific areas namely vocational and logical aptitudes. These are used to measure

individuals attitude, interest and capacity to work, whereas group tests involve a large

number of people (candidates) tested together like terminal examinations, police/military

selection (physical), exercise. Tests are also conducted on assessing leadership skills.

Intelligence tests require to identify a person’s mental ability, judgement capacity and

learning skills to let the imagination and visualization capacity to be well understood. For

personality tests, people are evaluated in terms of traits such as emotions, expressions,

confidence and courage. Trade tests identify how much a person is competent to do a specific

nature of job and level of understanding.

Finally, achievement tests practically checks people skills, abilities and knowledge during the

selection process in a practical manner. During an interview process, candidates are exposed

to an artificial environment to stimulate their behaviour in one particular circumstance in a

measureable way since the selected candidate(s) will have to take up a lot of job

21
responsibilities. In future an assessment test becomes mandatory since this type of test is

conducted to extract the potential of the candidate to work in an authoritative position. While

selection process of candidates are administered, interviewers need to understand the

adaptability of them for the job allocated to that person(s). It is necessary to find out how

much they are receptive towards the job they applied for and this can only be measured on

the basis of aptitude through vocational aptitude test approach. Some candidates apply their

own minds and ideas to make their work perfect and interesting by using their logical

capacity and innovation in a unique way. This category of employees are only identifiable

through logical aptitude tests

3.1.4. Different Types of Logical Reasoning Tests

There are several types, namely Inductive Reasoning—the ability to reach general conclusion

based on perceived-patterns observed overtime in specific events. This type of reasoning is

often used in everyday life and is therefore practical to work place environment. The second

type of logical reasoning in Deductive Reasoning—this involves a general rule or principle

that leads to specific conclusion. These tests are used to evaluate and measure a candidate

ability to make logical arguments and draw sound conclusions based on provided data as well

as identify flaws in a piece of information.

The third type is Abstract Reasoning—also known as conceptual reasoning. It measures ones

lateral thinking ability. In these tests candidates will be tested on their ability to identify

relationships, patterns and trends. A series of images that follow a logical sequence or

underlying rules that may include following a rule in a sequence, code or finding missing

diagram. The forth type is Diagrammatic Reasoning—these are tests that assess the ability of

abstract reasoning by showing a flowchart of diagrams and symbols with an input and output,

for candidates to identify which inputs effect diagrams to generate a specific output based on

22
those rules. Finally, Critical thinking—it tests verbal critical reasoning task which assess

various different types of logical reasoning in arguments, assumptions and conclusions.

Typically the logical abilities tested in critical thinking include analysing arguments, making

inferences and evaluating conclusions. (Ones, Anderson, Viswesvaran, & Sinagil, 2018)

3.1.5. Mechanical Tests

In this concept of testing, mechanical reasoning tests measure your knowledge of mechanical

and physical concept. However, they do not measure ones underlying mechanical aptitude in

the same way that abstract reasoning questions measure ones underlying intellectual ability.

This is the point of departure in constructing mechanical test question for recruitment. In

furtherance to this, we note that in mechanical tests, fault diagnosis questions are applicable

while selecting personnel for technical roles where they need to find and repair faults in say

electronic control systems. This is so mainly because the questions in fault diagnosis tests

appear rather abstract and require pure logic to solve. Faults that develop in electronically

controlled system often with no physical clue as to the cause obviously burnt out component

in a car for example can only be diagnosed by a process of logical elimination. A motor

industry is bound to design mechanical tests sifts that can lead to identification of a proper

person with such relevant skills.

3.1.6. Achievement Test

An achievement test is a test of developed skill or knowledge. The most common type of

achievement test is a standardized test developed to measure skills and knowledge learned in

a given grade level, usually through planned instruction such as training or classroom

instruction. This type of test is very suitable in the process of recruiting teachers who have

23
specialized in subject areas. However they can be used to assess skills when people are trying

to learn a new sport.

If one was to learn a dance, martial arts or some other specialized athletic skill an

achievement test can be important for determining ones current level of ability and possible

need for trainings. It is worth to note that achievements tests are not used to determine what

you are capable of. They are designed to evaluate what you know and your level of skill at

the given time and moment. Simple example of achievement tests may be reflected as under:

A mathematics exam covering the latest character in a book

A test in ability or social psychology class

A final exam in a degree programme

A skills demonstration in your martial arts class e.g. tyqundo

Comparatively, achievement tests differ in important ways from aptitude test. Whereas an

aptitude test is designed to determine ones potential for success in a certain area, for example

to determine for a student which type of career they might be suited for an achievement test,

on the other hand, would be designed to determine what student already knows about a

specific subjects.

3.1.7. Job Knowledge Test

Job knowledge test by definition means a test that is an assessment used to judge an

individual’s knowledge about the various aspects of a specific job. It will assess the person’s

factual knowledge about the role as well as his or her procedural knowledge. In contrast,

aptitude test assess an individual actual skills, and abilities as job knowledge tests are

24
designed to confirm the individuals’ technical knowledge or professional expertise. The test

assesses the individual’s current state of knowledge about the subject matter of the test. But

the test is not intended to predict the individual’s aptitude in applying that knowledge on

his/her personality traits. The concept of job knowledge test can best be understood in a

workplace scenario. Since most job knowledge tests are job or role-specific, for one to pass a

job knowledge test an individual requires to have knowledge that is specific to the job.

A job knowledge test will usually ask questions related to each and every task for a specific

job e.g. mechanic, nurse, laboratory technologist etc. In addition to that, the test subject will

often need to demonstrate competence in the general job field. For example an electrician or a

mechanic would be expected to demonstrate a full understanding of the safety procedures

related to his or her job in addition to the specific skills for their roles as electricians or

mechanics. Similarly a Human Resource manager might be asked questions related to

employment (labour) laws as well as internal company policies of that organization.

Employers use job knowledge tests to confirm an individual’s fitness for the job in order to

rank several applicants based on their performance on a uniform job knowledge and to test

for desired role and crediting or certification purposes. Similarly in some instances, mastery

tests are required by government agencies or self-governing trade for organizations like

engineers, doctors, Human Resource professionals, accountants in order for an individual to

be licensed to perform certain jobs.

3.1.8. Work Sample Tests

These tests are based on the premise that the best predictor of future behaviour is actually

observed behaviour under similar situation/condition (Robertson & Downs, 1989). These

tests focus on the tasks that are similar to those that the employee is expected to perform on

the job when hired. Work sample tests like any other type of tests have pros and cons. The

25
main advantage would reflect as follows; low adverse impact, high reliability, high content

validity since they are samples of the actual work to be performed on the job and for this

reason, this type of test is typically viewed as none favourable by examiners than aptitude or

personality tests. It also makes it difficult for applicants or job seekers to fake job proficiency

and thus helps to promote the relationship between score on the test and performance on the

job. In short, it promotes direct correlation between the candidates’ ability and performance.

Work sample tests therefore are tools that are the same or substantially similar to the actual

equipment used on the job.

However, major disadvantages of using work sample test to identify employees could also be

pointed out as follows: first, the cost factor, its costly to administer to one applicant at a time.

Secondly, the tests have less ability to predict performance on jobs where tasks may take a

long period of time to complete as opposed to shorter periods of time. The third disadvantage

is that the test is less able to measure aptitude of an applicant thus restricting the test to

measure ones ability to perform the work sample and not more difficult tasks that may be

encountered on the job, criterion related validity not-withstanding.

3.1.9. Example of Work Sample Tests

There are about four different work sample tests that the employer can administer on

applicants seeking for jobs namely; work sample test of trainability. These are suitable for

untrained applicants with no previous experience. Secondly the simulation of an event, these

are work sample tests that present the candidate with a picture of an incident along with

quotation from those involved. Candidates then respond to a series of questions which they

sort down in terms of decisions they intend to make. It’s important to note here that such tests

are scored by subject experts to ensure accuracy in identifying the right candidate for the job,

generally referred to as simulation of an event. The third sample test type is the low fidelity

26
simulations, they present applicants with descriptions of work situation and five or so

alternative responses for each situation. The applicants rate their responses on most likely and

least likely basis in each situation. The fourth example is work sample where applicants are

made to perform observable job-related behaviour as predictors of criterion performance.

However, this type of sample test has since been dropped from consideration on account of

test security issues (Roth et al., 2008).

3.1.10. Validating Work Sample Tests

According to (Roth, Bobko, & McFarland, 2005); there are two major approaches applicable

in this area namely:

1) Content validity: it compares the tasks and duties performed on the job

2) Criterion Validity: focuses on two dimensions of the applicant; supervisory ratings of the

incumbents job performance and production measures such as quality or quantity of work

3.2. Personality Test

This is a method of assessing human personality constructs. Most personality assessment

instruments are in fact introspective self-report questionnaire measure or reports from life

records such as rating scales. Personality tests are taken by self to gauge or rate ones

strengths and possible weaknesses. It measures what psychologists refer to as the big five

personality traits in individuals. They are the most scientifically validated psychological

model to measure personality since they are fast and reliable. Tony Alessandra and Michael

O’Connor (2014) acknowledge that the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have

them do unto you” has done much good in the world. He lays out a Myers-Briggs-like model

of personality that is customized for the workplace and goes ahead to state that the social

27
world is segmented into four types of people. “Directors” are firm and forceful, confident and

competitive, decisive and determined risk-takers. “Socializers” are outgoing, optimistic,

enthusiastic people who like to be at the center of things. “Relaters” are genial team players

who like stability more than risk, and who care greatly about relationships with others.

“Thinkers” are self-controlled and cautious, preferring analysis over emotion. Directors and

Thinkers focus on work tasks, in contrast to Relaters and Socializers, who focus on people.

Some of the recommended tests on personality are: career aptitude tests, competency test and

work values test. For decades, the relationship between personality psychology and social

psychology has been defined by its contrasts: sometimes highly overlapping and intertwined,

at other times conflicting and even competing. This contradiction has been ultimately

counterproductive, as it has precluded the understanding of people as both individuals and

social beings (Deaux & Synder, 2019). Table 1 below can illustrate how one would construct

questions and responses for self-personality assessment. Table 2 gives a summary of

suitability ranges of selection tests (Thomson & Paul, 2020).

28
Description of the Company

LEARNOVATE is an online venture to severe pre-owned, second hand books & study

equipment’s. We offer a wide range of titles both used & unused which undergo a thorough 5

step quality check where everything from the page count to the binding of the book are

checked and approved before being offered to our reader. We offer our customer both the

options of buying low priced new books or even lower priced second hand books.

Misson of Learnovate E-commerce

Our Mission is to inculcate good quality reading habits by making good quality books

affordable and accessible globally to the customers.

Vision of Learnovate E-commerce

Our Vision is to provide quality but affordable books for education, entertainment, self-

development and self- fulfillment to all when the need arises by providing a wide range of

books to satisfy our clients.

Purpose of Learnovate E-commerce

Our Motto is to deliver the high quality books at every corner of world at affordable price at

doorstep of customers.

29
E-commerce Industry in India

Introduction

E-commerce has transformed the way business is done in India. The Indian E-commerce

market is expected to grow to US$ 111.40 billion by 2025 from US$ 46.2 billion as of 2020.

Much of the growth for the industry has been triggered by an increase in internet and

smartphone penetration. As of September 2020, the number of internet connections in India

significantly increased to 784.6 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.

The Indian E-commerce industry has been on an upward growth trajectory and is expected to

surpass the US to become the second largest E-commerce market in the world by 2034. India

e-commerce sector is expected to reach US$ 111.40 billion by 2025 from US$ 46.20 billion

in 2020, growing at a 19.24% CAGR, with grocery and fashion/apparel likely to be the key

drivers of incremental growth. According to Forrester Research, Indian e-commerce sales

rose by ~7-8% in 2020. The Indian online grocery market is estimated to reach US$ 18.2

billion in 2024 from US $1.9 billion in 2019, expanding at a CAGR of 57%.

According to Grant Thornton, e-commerce in India is expected to be worth US$ 188 billion

by 2025.

According to NASSCOM, despite COVID-19 challenges/disruptions, India's e-commerce

market continues to grow at 5%, with expected sales of US$ 56.6 billion in 2021.

The Indian e-commerce sector is ranked 9th in cross-border growth in the world, according to

Payoneer report. Indian e-commerce is projected to increase from 4% of the total food and

30
grocery, apparel and consumer electronics retail trade in 2020 to 8% by 2025. India's e-

commerce orders volume increased by 36% in the last quarter of 2020, with the personal

care, beauty and wellness (PCB&W) segment being the largest beneficiary. E-commerce

sales in India were estimated to increase by only 7-8% in 2020, compared with 20% in China

and the US. The e-commerce market is expected to touch the US$ 84-billion mark in 2021 on

the back of healthy growth in the Indian organised retail sector.

As most Indians have started shopping online rather than stepping outside their houses, the

Indian e-commerce sector witnessed an increase. India's e-commerce festive sale season from

October 15 to November 15 in 2020 recorded Rs. 58,000 crore (US$ 8.3 billion) worth of

gross sales for brands and sellers, up 65% from Rs. 35,000 crore (US$ 5 billion) last year

According to Bain & Company report, India’s social commerce gross merchandise value

(GMV) stood at ~US$ 2 billion in 2020. By 2025, it is expected to reach US$ 20 billion, with

a potentially monumental jump to US$ 70 billion by 2030, owing to high mobile usage.

India's e-commerce order volume increased by 36% in the last quarter of 2020, with the

personal care, beauty & wellness (PCB&W) segment being the largest beneficiary. Driven by

beauty and personal care (BPC), India's live commerce market is expected to reach a gross

merchandise value (GMV) of US$ 4-5 billion by 2025.

For the 2021 festive season, Indian e-commerce platforms are anticipated to generate over

US$ 9 billion gross GMV (Gross Merchandise Value), a 23% increase from last year’s US$

7.4 billion.

Huge investments from global players—such as Facebook, which is investing in Reliance Jio

—are being recorded in the e-commerce market. Google also reported its first investment

worth US$ 4.5 billion in Jio Platforms. This deal was followed by the purchase of Future

31
Group by Reliance Retail, expanding the presence of the Ambani Group in the e-commerce

space.

Much of the growth in the industry has been triggered by increasing internet and smartphone

penetration. As of July 2021, the number of internet connections in India significantly

increased to 784.59 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. Online penetration of retail is expected to reach 10.7% by 2024 compared with

4.7% in 2019. Moreover, online shoppers in India are expected to reach 220 million by 2025.

According to a report published by IAMAI and Kantar Research, India internet users are

expected to reach 900 million by 2025 from ~622 million internet users in 2020, increasing at

a CAGR of 45% until 2025.

Smartphone shipments in India increased by ~23% YoY to reach 38 million units in the first

quarter of 2021, driven by new product launches and delayed demand from 2020. Xiaomi led

the Indian smartphone market with 26% shipping, followed by Samsung (20%).

The Government of India's policies and regulatory frameworks such as 100% Foreign Direct

Investment (FDI) in B2B E-commerce and 100% FDI under automatic route under the

marketplace model of B2C E-commerce are expected to further propel growth in the sector.

As per the new FDI policy, online entities through foreign investment cannot offer the

products which are sold by retailers in which they hold equity stake.

As of September 27, 2021, the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal served 7.65 million

orders worth Rs. 140,648 crore (US$ 19.09 billion) to 54,699 buyers from 2.8 million

registered sellers and service providers.

32
Through its Digital India campaign, the Government of India is aiming to create a trillion-

dollar online economy by 2025. It has formed a new steering committee that will look after

the development of a government-based e-commerce platform. The new committee, set up by

the Commerce Ministry, will provide oversight on the policy for the Open Network for

Digital Commerce (ONDC), which is an e-commerce platform that the government is

backing for the development. The ONDC will serve as the infrastructure for setting up the

final storefront, which will be similar to Flipkart and Amazon.

Market Size

The Indian online grocery market is estimated to reach US$ 18.2 billion in 2024 from US

$1.9 billion in 2019, expanding at a CAGR of 57%. India's e-commerce orders volume

increased by 36% in the last quarter of 2020, with the personal care, beauty and wellness

(PCB&W) segment being the largest beneficiary. India's consumer digital economy is

expected to become a US$ 800 billion market by 2030, growing from US$ 537.5 billion in

2020, driven by strong adoption of online services such as e-commerce and edtech in the

country.

According to Grant Thornton, e-commerce in India is expected to be worth US$ 188 billion

by 2025.

With a turnover of $50 billion in 2020, India became the eighth-largest market for e-

commerce, trailing France and a position ahead of Canada.

According to NASSCOM, despite COVID-19 challenges/disruptions, India's e-commerce

market continues to grow at 5%, with expected sales of US$ 56.6 billion in 2021.

33
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 is expected to grow 31% to touch US$

32.70 billion in 2018, led by Flipkart, Amazon India and Paytm Mall.

Indian consumers are increasingly adopting 5G smartphones even before roll out of the next-

gen mobile broadband technology in the country. Smartphone shipments reached 150 million

units and 5G smartphone shipments crossed 4 million in 2020, driven by high consumer

demand post-lockdown. According to a report published by IAMAI and Kantar Research,

India internet users are expected to reach 900 million by 2025 from ~622 million internet

users in 2020, increasing at a CAGR of 45% until 2025.

In festive season CY20, the Indian e-commerce GMV was recorded at US$ 8.3 billion, a

significant jump of 66% over the previous festive season. Similarly, the Indian e-commerce

market recorded ~88 million users in festive season CY20, a significant jump of 87% over

the previous festive season.

For the 2021 festive season, Indian e-commerce platforms are anticipated to generate over

US$ 9 billion gross GMV (Gross Merchandise Value), a 23% increase from last year’s US$

7.4 billion.

Investments/ Developments

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

In September 2021, CARS24, India's leading used car e-commerce platform, has raised US$

450 million in funding, comprising a US$ 340 million Series F equity round and US$ 110

million in debt from various financial institutions.

34
In September 2021, Amazon launched Prime Video Channels in India. Prime Video Channels

will give Prime members a seamless experience and access to a variety of popular video

streaming services.

In September 2021, Bikayi, a mobile commerce enabler, raised US$ 10.8 million in a Series

A funding round, led by Sequoia Capital India.

Flipkart, India's e-commerce powerhouse, announced in July 2021 that it has raised US$ 3.6

billion in new funding from various sources including sovereign funds, private equities and

Walmart (parent company).

In June 2021, Flipkart added a new fulfilment centre (FC) in Dankuni, West Bengal. The FC

is spread over 2.2 lakh sq. ft. and has a potential to create ~3,500 direct jobs.

In June 2021, Grofers, the grocery delivery start-up, reportedly entered the unicorn club, after

raising US$ 120 million from Zomato, the food delivery platform.

In June 2021, Mastercard invested an undisclosed amount in Instamojo, a payments firm, to

help digitise online stores and process their payments more seamlessly.

In May 2021, Amazon introduced a video streaming service within its shopping app called

MiniTV for users in India. MiniTV features web series, comedy shows and content on tech

news, food, beauty and fashion.

In May 2021, Flipkart strengthened its grocery infrastructure to cater to customer safety and

demand across India. In this quarter, it is planning to further expand its fulfilment centre

capacity for grocery by over 8 lakh square feet across Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Coimbatore

and Hyderabad.

35
In May 2021, Flipkart announced that it is in talks with sovereign funds, private equity

majors and other investors to raise up to US$ 2 billion at a valuation of US$ 30 billion.

In April 2021, Flipkart announced a commercial alliance with Adani Group to improve the

company's logistics and data centre capabilities and create about 2,500 direct jobs.

In April 2021, Flipkart announced to acquire Cleartrip, an online travel technology firm.

Flipkart announced to purchase 100% shareholding of Cleartrip as the company expands its

investments to broaden its digital commerce offerings for customers.

In April 2021, Kirana commerce platform ElasticRun raised US$ 75 million in a round led by

existing investors—Avataar Venture Partners and Prosus Ventures.

In March 2021, Amazon acquired Bengaluru-based retail tech start-up Perpule for Rs. 107.6

crore (US$ 14.5 million).

In March 2021, Purplle, an online beauty store, raised US$ 45 million from Sequoia Capital

India, Verlinvest, Blume Ventures and JSW Ventures.

In March 2021, Captain Fresh, a B2B marketplace for seafood, raised US$ 3 million in seed

capital led by Matrix Partners India and Ankur Capital.

In March 2021, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which represents 80 million

traders and 40,000 trader associations, announced the launch of a mobile app for its e-

commerce portal, ‘Bharat E-market’. The association aims to get more small traders to sell

online easily through smartphones.

Government initiatives

36
Since 2014, the Government of India has announced various initiatives, namely Digital India,

Make in India, Start-up India, Skill India and Innovation Fund. The timely and effective

implementation of such programs will likely support growth of E-commerce in the country.

Some of the major initiatives taken by the Government to promote E-commerce in India are

as follows:

As of September 27, 2021, the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal served 7.65 million

orders worth Rs. 140,648 crore (US$ 19.09 billion) to 54,699 buyers from 2.8 million

registered sellers and service providers.

In a bid to systematise the onboarding process of retailers on e-commerce platforms, the

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is reportedly planning to

utilise the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to set protocols for cataloguing,

vendor discovery and price discovery. The department aims to provide equal opportunities to

all marketplace players to make optimum use of the e-commerce ecosystem in the larger

interest of the country and its citizen.

National Retail Policy: The government had identified five areas in its proposed national

retail policy—ease of doing business, rationalisation of the licence process, digitisation of

retail, focus on reforms and an open network for digital commerce—stating that offline retail

and e-commerce need to be administered in an integral manner.

The Consumer Protection (e-commerce) Rules 2020 notified by the Consumer Affairs

Ministry in July directed e-commerce companies to display the country of origin alongside

the product listings. In addition, the companies will also have to reveal parameters that go

behind determining product listings on their platforms.

37
Government e-Marketplace (GeM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with

Union Bank of India to facilitate a cashless, paperless and transparent payment system for an

array of services in October 2019.

Under the Digital India movement, Government launched various initiatives like Umang,

Start-up India Portal, Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) etc. to boost digitisation.

In October 2020, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Piyush Goyal invited start-ups to

register at public procurement portal, GeM, and offer goods and services to government

organisations and PSUs.

In October 2020, amending the equalisation levy rules of 2016, the government mandated

foreign companies operating e-commerce platforms in India to have permanent account

numbers (PAN). It imposed a 2% tax in the FY21 budget on the sale of goods or delivery of

services through a non-resident ecommerce operator.

In order to increase the participation of foreign players in E-commerce, Indian Government

hiked the limit of FDI in E-commerce marketplace model to up to 100% (in B2B models).

Heavy investment made by the Government in rolling out fiber network for 5G will help

boost E-commerce in India.

India has an Internet user base of about 696.77million as of May 2020, about 40% of the

population. Despite being the second-largest user base in world, only behind China (650

million, 48% of population), the penetration of e-commerce is low compared to markets like

the United States (266 million, 84%), or France (54 M, 81%), but is growing, adding around

6 million new entrants every month.The industry consensus is that growth is at an inflection

point.

38
In India, cash on delivery is the most preferred payment method, accumulating 75% of the e-

retail activities. Demand for international consumer products (including long-tail items) is

growing faster than in-country supply from authorised distributors and e-commerce offerings.

Long tail business strategy allows companies to realize significant profits by selling low

volumes of hard-to-find items to many customers, instead of only selling large volumes of a

reduced number of popular items. The term was first coined in 2004 by Chris Anderson.

In 2017, the largest e-commerce companies in India were Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon.[6]

In 2018, Amazon beat Flipkart and was recorded the biggest ecommerce in India in terms of

revenue. In 2020, Flipkart heavily outsold Amazon by almost two to one by sales during

festive retail season..

Current Market Trends

Online retail sales in India are expected to grow by 31 per cent to US$ 32.70 billion in 2018,

led by Flipkart, Amazon India and Paytm Mall.

Electronics is currently the biggest online retail sales category with a share of 48 per cent,

followed closely by apparel at 29 per cent.

eCommerce has made it easier for top American brands to reach Indian customers and has

emerged as one of the fast-growing trade channels available for the cross-border trade of

goods and services.

There is a growing appetite for international brands and better-quality foreign products

amongst digitally connected Indian shoppers due to rising income levels and increased

awareness. Several categories including lifestyle products, consumer electronics, clothing,

footwear, jewelry and accessories, health and beauty, household goods, art and collectibles,

event tickets and online music are doing well for online sales.

39
eCommerce in India can be broadly categorized as: domestic and cross-border, B2B and

B2C, marketplace and inventory based.

Technology enabled innovations such as digital payments, hyper-local logistics, analytics

driven customer engagement and digital advertisements have enabled the eCommerce

industry in India to grow at a much faster rate.

Government initiatives such as Digital India, Skill India, Startup India and Make in India are

also contributing to the growth of the eCommerce industry.

Some of the major developments in the India eCommerce sector are:

• Flipkart, after getting acquired by Walmart for US$ 16 billion, is expected to launch more

offline retail stores in India to promote private labels in segments such as fashion and

electronics. In September 2018, Flipkart acquired Israel based analytics start-up Upstream

Commerce that will help the firm to price and position its products in an efficient way.

• Launch of Paytm Payment Bank. Paytm bank is India's first bank with zero charges on

online transactions, no minimum balance requirement and free virtual debit card

• The E-commerce industry in India witnessed 21 private equity and venture capital deals

worth US$ 2.1 billion in 2017 and 40 deals worth US$ 1,129 million in the first half of 2018.

• Google enters India's eCommerce Space with Google Shopping. Google and Tata Trust

have collaborated for the project ‘Internet Saathi’ to improve internet penetration among rural

women in India.

Government Initiatives:

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to allow "inter-operability" among Prepaid

Payment Instruments (PPIs) such as digital wallets, prepaid cash coupons and prepaid

telephone top-up cards. RBI has also instructed banks and companies to make all know-your-

40
customer (KYC)-compliant prepaid payment instruments (PPIs), like mobile wallets,

interoperable amongst themselves via Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

• The Government of India has distributed rewards worth around US$23.8 million to 1

million customers for embracing digital payments, under the Lucky Grahak Yojana and Digi-

Dhan Vyapar Yojana.

• The Government of India launched an e-commerce portal called TRIFED and an m-

commerce portal called ‘Tribes India’ which will enable 55,000 tribal artisans get access to

international markets.

• To increase the participation of foreign players in the e-commerce field, the Indian

Government hiked the limit of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the E-commerce

marketplace model for up to 100 per cent (in B2B models).

• The e-commerce industry been directly impacting the micro, small & medium enterprises

(MSME) in India by providing means of financing, technology and training and has a

favorable cascading effect on other industries as well.

NEW Government Regulatory Landscape for eCommerce Foreign Direct Investment

(FDI)

On December 26th, 2018 the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under

the Ministry of Commerce (the "DPIIT"), introduced stricter guidelines that govern foreign

direct investment ("FDI") in e-commerce firms.

Clarification to the FDI policy:

Setting forth the definitions of e-commerce, e-commerce entities, market place-based model

and inventory-based model, the policy clarifies that 100 percent foreign direct investment is

41
permitted, under the automatic route, in marketplace models of e-commerce and no FDI is

permitted in inventory-based models of e-commerce. These changes came into effect on

February 1, 2019.

Equity Ownership:

The new guidelines bar online retailers from selling products of companies in which they

own stakes. The policy states that a business having equity participation or control of its

inventory by e-commerce marketplace entities will not be permitted to sell its products on

such marketplace entities’ online platforms.

Inventory Based or Marketplace Based:

The policy further explains that a marketplace e-commerce entity shall not own or exercise

control over the goods sold on the platform.  Any ownership or control over the goods sold

by the market place entity will render the entity into an inventory-based model. The inventory

of a vendor will be deemed to be controlled by the e-commerce marketplace entity if more

than 25 percent of vendor sales are from the marketplace entity.

The new norms also bar exclusive tie-ups between e-commerce entities that follow the

'marketplace model' and sellers using their platform. An e-commerce entity is prohibited from

directing a seller to exclusively sell only on one platform. This move may affect smartphone

brands that till date have exclusively operated as online-exclusive brands on online

marketplaces like Amazon India and Flipkart.

Services Offered by the E-Commerce Entity:

In a marketplace model, the e-commerce firm is not allowed to directly or indirectly

influence the sale price of goods or services and is required to offer a level playing field to all

vendors. That services offered by the e-commerce entity are to be offered to all vendors on

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the platform in a fair and non-discriminatory manner.  These services include, among other

things, quick delivery, logistics, warehousing, advertising, marketing, payments and

financing.

Domestic eCommerce (B2C)

The presence of international marketplace players in India like Amazon, eBay (now being

sold to home grown FlipKart), Alibaba and others competing alongside the domestic

marketplace operators such as Flipkart, Snapdeal, TataCliq as well as with inventory led e-

tailers, have made India’s domestic eCommerce sector highly competitive. 

With no major entry barriers and with few e-tailers the Indian market for eCommerce has

grown at a faster pace for the past three years.  Omni-Channel retailers such as Shoppers-

stop, Reliance, Croma etc. have also embraced eCommerce as another sales channel to

increase digital footprints.

In some cases, e-tailers are tying up with exclusive American brands to sell U.S. products on

their platforms.  Additionally, Omni-channel retailers are also importing leading American

brands and selling them via eCommerce.

Cross-Border eCommerce

The U.S. is one of the top ten countries for cross-border shopping for Indian buyers. 

Automotive, baby supplies, toys, clothing, footwear, wearables and accessories, jewelry,

watches, cosmetics, health products and digital entertainment and educational services are

some of the leading categories for cross-border B2C eCommerce.  Some of the challenges

restricting growth of cross-border eCommerce are high shipping costs, import duties and

complexities in returns and exchanges.

B2B eCommerce

To tap the huge potential in the B2B eCommerce market in India, leading B2B companies

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have started to build their own platforms for small business owners and traders.  More and

more companies and SMEs are buying and selling online and plan to shift procurement

transactions through the internet. Understanding this untapped potential of the B2B

eCommerce industry, the government has allowed 100 percent FDI in the B2B e-Commerce

sector.

eCommerce Services

There is a new trend of emerging eCommerce aggregators aiming to digitize several offline

services to create a convenient ecosystem for consumers.

Tourism: MakeMyTrip; Goibibo; Yatra; IRCTC

Education: EduKart; Meritnation

Healthcare: Portea; Healthkart

Entertainment/ Ticket booking: Netflix; bookmyshow

Real Estate: MagicBricks; Housing, 99 acres

Fin-tech: PayTM, Freecharge, PayUmoney, Mobikwik, PhonePe

E-commerce Sector Composition

Currently there are 1 to 1.2 million transactions per day in eCommerce retailing.  Given

below is the split of sectors according to popularity:

 Electronics: 48%

 Apparel: 29%

 Home and Furnishing: 9%

 Baby, Beauty & Personal care: 8%

 Book:3%

 Others: 3%

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Online Beauty & Cosmetics Market in India

The strong growth of organized retail and eCommerce in India is also creating a demand for

more imported cosmetics products including second tier cities.  In general, the Indian

consumer is aware, well-traveled and more exposed and connected than ever before.

Consumer behavior patterns in India are changing as well as Indian consumers have moved

from being traditionally savers to spenders. 

The online cosmetics market sees a close competition between marketplace players like

Amazon and Flipkart with beauty focused online retailers like Nykaa and Purplle.

The online cosmetics market, valued at USD 50 million, is 2 percent of the total Indian

cosmetics market. Nykaa, started in 2012, and currently offers over 600 brands in both offline

and online stores.   The company plans to increase its offline footprint by establishing 35

stores across India and targets yearly sales of over USD 155 million by 2025.

The mushrooming of beauty service aggregators like My Glamm, Belita, Big Stylist, Vanity

Cube and portals in the men’s grooming sector like Beardo and Ustra are also a result of the

influence of internet penetration in India. 

eCommerce Intellectual Property Rights

•The Internet is borderless with minimum regulation, and therefore protecting intellectual

property rights (IPR) on Internet is a growing concern.  There are currently several significant

IPR issues including misuse of trademark rights.  Other common issues with respect to IP in

E-Commerce are:

• Copyrights

•Content creation through third party

•Use of third-party content on Website

•Hyperlinking, framing and meta tagging

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•Domain names, business names, logos

Popular eCommerce Sites

• B2C: Flipkart, Myntra, Jabong, Amazon, Snapdeal, eBay, PayTM, Shopclues,  Pepperfry,

Zomato, BigBasket, Alibaba

• B2B: Tolexo, Industrybuying, moglix, msupply, amazonbusiness

Online Payment

Cash on Delivery quickly changed into Card on Delivery (COD).  Cash transactions resulted

in high administration costs for eCommerce companies which reduced their margins;

however, digital payment solutions are evolving fast to address these challenges.

According to the Reserve Bank of India, in June of 2018 Indians had 944 million debit cards

that could be used for online payment.  E-Commerce companies report that 61 percent of

customers use debit cards for payment.  This clearly reflects that people are getting

comfortable with using debit cards for activities other than withdrawals at ATM and many

online retailers insist on debit card payment for high value transactions, which will help e-

tailers to increase their reach.

According to industry experts, digital payments will act as a game changer for the domestic

e-commerce business and the current trend of dominance of cash-on-delivery would be

reversed in the next five years.

According to a Google India and BCG report, increases in purchasing by women and new

internet users from smaller cities the digital spending is expected to increase to $100 million

by 2020.

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The launch of a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) by the Reserve Bank of India is expected

to be a game changer. The UPI will enable eCommerce delivery staff to collect money

electronically for even COD transactions.

Mobile eCommerce

Mobile eCommerce (m-commerce) is growing rapidly as a secure supplement to the

eCommerce industry.  Industry leaders believe that m-commerce could contribute up to 70

percent of their total revenues.  India has topped the U.S. to become the second largest

market for smartphones after China.  The number of smartphone users is expected to reach

650 million by 2019, 700 million by 2020 and 829 million by 2021. 

Major Buying Holidays

• Diwali festival (October or November of the year)

• Dussehra (October)

• Rakhi festival (August)

• Christmas (The last week of December)

Social Media

Facebook and Twitter are the most popular social media platforms in India

• “Digital Advertising India” report jointly published by the Internet and Mobile Association

of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International

• “eCommerce in India – A game changer for the economy’ by Confederation of Indian

Industry

• “E-Commerce in India – Legal, Tax and Regulatory Analysis” by Nishith Desai and

Associates IAmWire

• Online beauty & cosmetic India market - RedSeer Consulting

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• Indian eCommerce Industry -India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF)

• Mondaq.com

E-commerce is witnessing a global resurgence, and E-commerce in India is booming based,

in part, on increased access to the E-commerce in Indiainternet in India and other emerging

economies. This creates varied business opportunities that will drive organizations to become

more up-to-date and enable increased competitiveness.

India's huge and still-expanding base of internet users includes increasing penetration into the

rural market. This promises a bright future for e-commerce. Whether purchasing e-tickets

from Indian Railways or fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and other lifestyle products,

consumers have started getting accustomed to the online platform, which enables easier

transactions and delivery at the preferred location.

The gradual change in the buying patterns of Indian consumers resulted in the mushrooming

of start-ups in the e-commerce market. By offering options for payment on delivery and

return policies, plus attractive deals and discounts, online retailers have retained and grown

their base of online consumers. According to reports, India's e-commerce industry has some

of the key players in the $100-million club. These include established player, Amazon, plus

Flipkart, Snapdeal, Ola Cabs, Paytm, InMobi, Zomato, Quikr and many other start-ups that

are propelling growth of this sector.

Scope of E-commerce Boom In India

According to NASSCOM, India's $14 billion Indian e-commerce market which started as a

niche industry a few years ago has been gaining momentum and shows more than 25 percent

growth. Online travel is the largest segment with about 70 percent market share, a figure

that's likely to escalate. E-commerce is expanding its reach to the general masses on the back

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of social media, which not only provides a mechanism for advertising but also for receiving

feedback, building brand image, and promoting new launches. Online retailers also use

social media to track the first-time and repeat buyers of a product. Social media has become

a platform to study consumer lifestyles and spending patterns.

E-commerce, driven by digitization and internet penetration in the rural market, is creating

huge opportunities for consumers. Competitive prices, deals, and efficient delivery coupled

with the convenience of avoiding long queues have completely altered the buying experience.

According to NASSCOM, India's e-commerce market is forecasted to cross a whopping $200

billion by 2030 due to increased analytics, transactions, and internet penetration.

E-commerce is revitalizing consumer demand and catalyzing growth in India's retail industry.

The focus has shifted a pricing model to a more value-added model. Among the fastest

growing domestic segments, the most popular categories are tours & hotel reservations;

airline and railway tickets; and lifestyle and entertainment related products. The innovative

business models of the "e-tail" market attract more repeat customers. Although there is a

strong build-up of the e-commerce industry, a vast portion of the population is not yet aware

of the benefits. This represents a huge potential untapped market for e-tailers.

Among many other components, product availability is one of the primary drivers that cannot

be overlooked. In smaller cities where the consumers may be confined to limited brands and

availabilities, online shopping with the flexibility of delivery options and possibility of

getting what they are looking for has a wider scope.

A robust supply chain and a well-established reverse logistics network in India will enhance

the success of e-commerce companies. E-commerce companies and similar enterprises seek a

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particular logistics requirement that may not be executed by traditional logistics suppliers.

The courier companies that generally deliver documents are not experienced in delivering

commercial goods. Thus, the e-commerce companies are establishing their own delivery

network. One such example is Flipkart's logistics, which is E-commerce in Indiacalls "eKart."

On the other hand, logistics vendors like Express Logistics deliver bulk loads to the retailers

and distributors. They have a pre-established working relationship with the dealers, enabling

good execution.

Strategies for the E-commerce Boom in India

E-commerce in India has experienced rapid growth driven by the millennials' (Generation Y)

purchasing power, influence of the internet leading to development of varied mobile

applications and websites, and the much-needed infrastructure. Mobile penetration accounts

for a vast market in India, making it more convenient for consumers to shop for a wide

variety of retail products. Other factors enabling growth of the industry include:

Ease of access: Growing internet usage at affordable rates and rise of smartphones lead to

easier access. This connectivity enables other services like booking train/hotel/cab/movie

tickets; mobile and electric bill payments, etc.

Connecting the financial system: People now use e-banking and other schemes. Soon,

digitization of the financial system will become the norm.

Global reach of homegrown companies: Indian startups in e-commerce industry are utilizing

global channels, thereby increasing their customer base and broadening the scope of growth.

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Attracting repeaters: A strong focus on customer service is the prime reason that attracts and

retains buyers. Cash on delivery (COD), reasonable pricing, deals & discounts, faster delivery

turnarounds with zero prices, and reverse logistics are some of the drivers transforming the

industry into a booming sector.

Leveraging technology for innovation: Information sharing between all stakeholders in the

supply chain is very crucial. The integration between various supply chain aspects will help

the e-commerce company have an edge over the competition. Some of the initiatives may

include the use of bar-coding in logistics systems: EDI for communicating between partners;

visibility into the operations; tracking and tracing of the goods at any given point.

Analytics: Capturing real-time data and understanding purchasing dynamics form the crux of

this industry. The buying preferences, tastes, and demographics of a customer can be

addressed by gathering customer data. The volume and complexity of data require analytics

to derive customer insights, optimize channels, and calculate ROI.

E-commerce Challenges in India

While this sector shows immense promise, certain challenges need to be addressed. Some of

the pressures that constrain growth include:

E-commerce in IndiaLogistics: Logistics, a key element in providing customer service, is one

of the major challenges confronting the e-commerce players. Local logistics firms in India are

generally not up to meeting the requirements of e-tailers; hence e-commerce firms have to

make huge investments to build their own logistics.

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Infrastructure: E-commerce players also need to address the infrastructure needed to

overcome payment problems, build offline presence, implement more push-marketing,

manage price-sensitive customers, and compete on a global turf. The payment gateway

infrastructure is still at the nascent stage. The merchants have yet to make amendments on the

mobile front. As an example, one of the leading e-commerce players in India could not

handle the requests of its customers on Big Billion Days' sale program due to unorganized

delivery framework.

Competitive Analysis: E-commerce companies have to focus on issues pertaining to rapid

additions of customer segments and product portfolios. Information should be collected

related to market intelligence on growth, size and share, and managing multiple customer

engagement platforms in order to expand into new geographies, brands & products; while

simultaneously controlling a very competitive pricing environment.

Digitization of Available Networks: At present, social media plays a significant role in the

life of an internet surfer/customer. Thus companies have to provide a rich experience by

managing erratic demands and inconsistent brand experience across platforms, in addition to

handling time-to-market efforts for new launches, applications, and websites.

Mode of Transactions: Concerns about security, privacy, and tracking fraudulent purchases

are some external forces that impact a business. Other factors like cross-border tax, back-end

service tax, and regulatory issues can have serious implications for e-commerce companies.

Other issues e-commerce businesses must deal with include inability of the organizational

structure to keep pace with the rapid changes, cybersecurity for preventing fraudulent

transactions and insider threats, tax restructuring, and legal compliance.

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Standardization of the E-commerce Network

The e-commerce sector in India is maturing and there is ample scope for growth. However,

growth comes incumbent with challenges on multiple fronts: operational, management,

regulatory & compliance, along with the fluctuating consumer demands. The expansion of

the internet user base and people buying online suggests that the e-commerce companies

should focus on customer experience and technological advancements to accelerate growth.

Apart from this, to provide a gamut of offerings and increase reach, companies should ensure

faster speed for their websites and devise easier-to-use mobile applications to enhance user

experience.

Companies should also develop omni-channel business strategies to retain customer loyalty.

Addressing the right market with continuous innovation for a better operational framework,

same day delivery options like the Kirana shops ("mom and pop" stores); and convergence of

online-offline shopping are some of the innovations that the e-commerce companies are

executing to meet the growing competition

Large e-commerce companies are on an acquisition spree to garner market share and enhance

their capabilities in a cash-intensive sector. These players are trying to wield more clout,

enhance variety, and increase their respective customer bases through these strategic

acquisitions.

Top 10 Indian Ecommerce Sites

What’s interesting about the top 10 in the Indian e-commerce sector is the rich representation

of Indian-founded brands. While Amazon comes in at the top, there are very few other

American brands in these high ranks. It is Indian and Asian brands that dominate in the top

10.

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Additionally, the Indian e-commerce scene has a nice mix between pure e-commerce players

and brick, and mortar retailers turned e-commerce giants.

While the Indian e-commerce sector is still in early development stages, it is a market rich

with opportunity; with so many people comes so much room for major players and small

players alike to take a giant chunk out of the Indian e-commerce pie.

So far, it’s electronics that make up the most significant online retail sales category in the

country, at 48 percent, but apparel is following not too far behind at 29 percent.

To demonstrate what the e-commerce sector in India looks like, we’ve compiled the top 10

performing e-commerce sites using data from SimilarWeb.

1. Amazon India

Estimated number of monthly visitors: 322.54 million

American e-commerce giant, Amazon, is said to have an audience reach of 89 percent in

India, according to Statista. Since launching in India in 2010, the site now generates an

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estimated 322.54 million monthly visitors, making it the highest performing site in the

country, by a long shot.

True to the overall statistics that the primary e-commerce category in India is electronics, the

audience interests in Amazon lean toward this category. However, they also provide a range

of other products in categories including Echo and Alexa, Amazon Prime digital media,

men’s fashion, women’s fashion, home, grocery, sports, automotive, and more.

2. Flipkart

Estimated number of monthly visitors: 242.62 million While it may be 100 million monthly

visitors behind Amazon, Flipkart is an Indian e-commerce success story, putting up fierce

competition against the international heavyweights. Founded in 2007 in India, Flipkart is a

purely online variety store that, in 2018, sold 77 percent of itself to Walmart for USD$ 16

billion.

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Following the same trends as Amazon, Flipkart is most popular amongst its customers for

goods in the electronics category. However, it also stocks a wide variety of products,

including TVs and appliances, fashion, furniture, sports, books, and more.

3. Alibaba

Estimated number of monthly visitors: 175.95 million globally (4.19 percent in India)

Alibaba is an internationally recognized major player in the e-commerce market, founded in

China in 1999. Owned by Alibaba Group Holding, a massive multinational conglomerate

holding company that specializes in all things online from e-commerce to online retail,

Internet, and technology, Alibaba is a force in the international e-commerce space.

Beat out significantly by its Indian competitor, Flipkart, Alibaba has a similar offering with

product categories including home and kitchen, tools and hardware, rubber and plastics,

electrical equipment and supplies, vehicles and accessories, toys and hobbies, consumer

electronics, apparel, and more.

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 4. Snapdeal

Estimated number of monthly visitors: 56.41 million

Another Indian-founded e-commerce giant, Snapdeal is an online variety shopping platform

that has garnered much attention from customers and investors alike. Since launching in

2010, Snapdeal has attracted funding from big-name investors Alibaba Group, Softbank, and

Foxconn. While the largest category shopped from Snapdeal is electronics, the online store

also offers other product categories, including home and kitchen, fashion, toys, beauty,

health, books, and more.

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 5. Myntra

Estimated number of monthly visitors: 48.03 million

Myntra is a pure-play e-commerce site launched out of India in 2007, which has since gone

on to become one of the premier fashion, home, and lifestyle e-commerce sites in the country.

It’s 2014 sale to Flipkart, in addition to the acquisition of competitor Jabong.com has helped

it to grow even further.

As a fashion retailer, Myntra stocks a range of goods from a wide variety of international and

local brands, covering menswear, womenswear, kidswear, and home.

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6. IndiaMART

Estimated number of monthly visitors: 47.23 million

IndiaMART is the largest online business-to-business marketplace in the country, founded in

1999 to connect buyers with suppliers. Today, IndiaMART has around 60 percent market

share of the online B2B classifieds sector in India.

IndiaMART connects manufacturers, suppliers, and exporters, allowing them to promote and

expose their products to one another via the platform. Covering just about anything you can

possibly imagine, IndiaMART has categories including building and construction, industrial

machinery, apparel, electronics, and even chemical, dyes, and solvents, to name just a few.

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 7. Book My Show

Estimated number of monthly visitors: 43.25 million

BookMyShow India is the number one online ticket vendor in India. Since opening its doors

in 2007, it has grown to provide ticketing services in five countries, including the United

Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and Indonesia.

Covering movies, events, plays, sports, activities, and tickets to monuments, as well as selling

fan merchandise, BookMyShow is India’s one-stop-show to book entertainment and look for

fan goods. Its major investor is the internationally renowned, TPG Growth.

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 8. Nykaa

Estimated number of monthly visitors: 20.84 million

Nykaa is another Indian founded brand which bucked the norm beginning as a pure e-

commerce platform and then expanding to open a brick and mortar location in the Indira

Gandhi International Airport in 2015.

Founded in 2012, Nykaa started as an online store selling beauty items in categories

including makeup, skin, hair, appliances, personal care, fragrance, and LUXE. In more recent

years, the brand has expanded its range, bringing on more brands as well as introducing its

very own cosmetics and beauty line.

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 9. First Cry

Estimated number of monthly visitors: 16.94 million

Founded in 2010, firstcry.com is a pure e-commerce platform that specializes in goods for

babies and children up to early teens. Owned by the Mahindra Venture, firstcry.com is the

biggest children’s goods e-commerce site in Asia and now has brick and mortar stores across

the country.

Anything one could imagine needing for their little ones can be found on the platform. Its

categories include apparel, toys, books, feeding and nursing items, as well as mom and

maternity products.

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10. 1mg

Estimated number of monthly visitors: 14.62 million

1mg is an Indian online pharmacy making healthcare accessible, understandable, and

affordable for its customers. Not only is the site a platform to purchase medicine and other

healthcare products, but it acts as a portal to find information about the medication doctors

prescribe them in order to better understand what they are taking.

Founded in 2015, 1mg provides services including online consultations, lab tests, and

medical information, as well as products including fitness and nutrition products and

supplements, healthcare devices, personal care, Ayurveda products, and homeopathy items.

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Lockdown proved inflection point for e-commerce in India

The pandemic-induced lockdown and movement curbs marked an inflection point for e-

commerce in India, pushing demand to record highs, nudging new buyers as well as sellers

onto digital platforms, and holding out the promise of lasting growth for players.

The Indian e-commerce market has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the pandemic, as

containment measures introduced millions to the convenience of online shopping, and

prompted seasoned online shoppers to buy more.

The Indian e-commerce market has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the pandemic, as

containment measures introduced millions to the convenience of online shopping, and

prompted seasoned online shoppers to buy more.

Social distancing compulsions through the year, massive smartphone base and reliable

broadband galvanised e-commerce uptake beyond metros, deep into smaller cities and towns,

bringing an element of ‘trust in online commerce.

The outbreak necessitated the use of new technology tools and non-contact formats to cater to

unprecedented demand. Analysts said these shifts in consumer shopping traits are here to

stay, post-pandemic.

The pandemic brought about a "structural shift" in shopping behaviour with more and more

customers and businesses relying on e-commerce. Players like Amazon and Flipkart as well

as industry watchers noted that the need for social distancing and prioritising safety during

the pandemic.

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There had been an almost immediate spike in online orders once the national lockdown was

lifted and delivery of all goods was allowed from the middle of May last year. This time

around, there is uncertainty among industry executives over recovery in the sector with

pandemic impact been visible over the past several weeks.

According to data from Unicommerce, an e-commerce solutions provider, online shopping

volumes dipped 11% in April from the month ago. That’s in line with what executives told

ET—the effects of the current wave of Covid-19 has hit consumer demand for non-essential

segments, both in urban and rural markets.

LEARNOVATE’S VISION ALLIGNED WITH THE EDUACATION POLICY:

In reference to the nation’s goal of increasing the national literacy rate learnovate tries to give

the indian population a variety of books in order to help them gather quality information, The

company tries to increase the accessibility of books for indian audience and all of this is done

with the mission of refining the knowledge of indian population.

The company uses the guidelines as laid down in the National Education Policy 2020.

NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY:

The National Policy on Education was framed in 1986 and modified in 1992. Since then

several changes have taken place that calls for a revision of the Policy. 

The NEP 2020 is is the first education policy of the 21st century and replaces the thirty-four

year old National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986. Built on the foundational pillars of

Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability and Accountability, this policy is aligned to the 2030

Agenda for Sustainable Development and aims to transform India into a vibrant knowledge

society and global knowledge superpower by making both school and college education more

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holistic, flexible, multidisciplinary, suited to 21st century needs and aimed at bringing out the

unique capabilities of each student.

Salient features of the NEP 2020 

School Education

Ensuring Universal Access at all levels of school education

NEP 2020 emphasizes on ensuring universal access to school education at all levels- pre

school to secondary. Infrastructure support, innovative education centres to bring back

dropouts into the mainstream, tracking of students and their learning levels, facilitating

multiple pathways to learning involving both formal and non-formal education modes,

association of counselors or well-trained social workers with schools, open learning for

classes3,5 and 8 through NIOS and State Open Schools, secondary education programs

equivalent to Grades 10 and 12, vocational courses, adult literacy and life-enrichment

programs are some of the proposed ways for achieving this. About 2 crore out of school

children will be brought back into main stream under NEP 2020.

Early Childhood Care & Education with  new Curricular and Pedagogical Structure

With emphasis on Early Childhood Care and Education, the 10+2 structure of school

curricula is to be replaced by a 5+3+3+4 curricular structure corresponding to ages 3-8, 8-11,

11-14, and 14-18 years respectively.  This will bring the hitherto uncovered age group of 3-6

years under school curriculum, which has been recognized globally as the crucial stage for

development of mental faculties of a child. The new system will have 12 years of schooling

with three years of Anganwadi/ pre schooling.

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NCERT will develop a National Curricular and Pedagogical Framework for Early Childhood

Care and Education (NCPFECCE) for children up to the age of 8 . ECCE will be delivered

through a significantly expanded and strengthened system of institutions including

Anganwadis and pre-schools that will have teachers and Anganwadi workers trained in the

ECCE pedagogy and curriculum. The planning and implementation of ECCE will be carried

out jointly by the Ministries of HRD, Women and Child Development (WCD), Health and

Family Welfare (HFW), and Tribal Affairs.

Attaining Foundational Literacy and Numeracy

Recognizing Foundational Literacy and Numeracy as an urgent and necessary prerequisite to

learning, NEP 2020 calls for setting up of a  National Mission on Foundational Literacy and

Numeracy by MHRD. States will prepare an implementation plan for attaining universal

foundational literacy and numeracy in all primary schools for all learners by grade 3 by

2025.A National Book Promotion Policy is to be formulated.

Reforms in school curricula and pedagogy

The school curricula and pedagogy will aim for holistic development of learners by

equipping them with the key 21st century skills, reduction in curricular content to enhance

essential learning and critical thinking and greater focus on experiential learning. Students

will have increased flexibility and choice of subjects. There will be no rigid separations

between arts and sciences, between curricular and extra-curricular activities, between

vocational and academic streams.

Vocational education will start in schools from the 6th grade, and will include internships.

A new and comprehensive National Curricular Framework for School Education, NCFSE

2020-21, will be developed by the NCERT.

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Multilingualism and the power of language

The policy has emphasized mother tongue/local language/regional language as the medium of

instruction at least till Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond. Sanskrit to be offered

at all levels of school and higher education as an option for students, including in the three-

language formula. Other classical languages and literatures of India also to be available as

options. No language will be imposed on any student. Students to participate in a fun

project/activity on ‘The Languages of India’, sometime in Grades 6-8, such as, under the ‘Ek

Bharat Shrestha Bharat’ initiative. Several foreign languages will also be offered at the

secondary level. Indian Sign Language (ISL) will be standardized across the country, and

National and State curriculum materials developed, for use by students with hearing

impairment.

Assessment Reforms

NEP 2020 envisages a shift from summative assessment to regular and formative assessment,

which is more competency-based, promotes learning and development, and tests higher-order

skills, such as analysis, critical thinking, and conceptual clarity. All students will take school

examinations in Grades 3, 5, and 8 which will be conducted by the appropriate authority.

Board exams for Grades 10 and 12 will be continued, but redesigned with holistic

development as the aim.  A new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance

Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development),  will be set up

as a standard-setting body .

Equitable and Inclusive Education

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NEP 2020 aims to ensure that no child loses any opportunity to learn and excel because of the

circumstances of birth or background. Special emphasis will be given on Socially and

Economically Disadvantaged Groups(SEDGs) which include gender, socio-cultural, and

geographical identities and disabilities.  This includes setting up of   Gender Inclusion Fund

and also Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups. Children with

disabilities will be enabled to fully participate in the regular schooling process from the

foundational stage to higher education, with support of educators with cross disability

training, resource centres, accommodations, assistive devices, appropriate technology-based

tools and other support mechanisms tailored to suit their needs. Every state/district will be

encouraged to establish “Bal Bhavans” as a special daytime boarding school, to participate in

art-related, career-related, and play-related activities. Free school infrastructure can be used

as Samajik Chetna Kendras

Robust Teacher Recruitment and Career Path

Teachers will be recruited through robust, transparent processes. Promotions will be merit-

based, with a mechanism for multi-source periodic performance appraisals and available

progression paths to become educational administrators or teacher educators. A common

National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) will be developed by the National

Council for Teacher Education by 2022, in consultation with NCERT, SCERTs, teachers and

expert organizations from across levels and regions.

School Governance

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Schools can be organized into complexes or clusters which will be the basic unit of

governance and ensure availability of all resources including infrastructure, academic

libraries and a strong professional teacher community.

Standard-setting and Accreditation for School Education

NEP 2020 envisages clear, separate systems for policy making, regulation, operations and

academic matters. States/UTs will set up independent State School Standards Authority

(SSSA). Transparent public self-disclosure of all the basic regulatory information, as laid

down by the SSSA, will be used extensively for public oversight and accountability. The

SCERT will develop a School Quality Assessment and Accreditation Framework (SQAAF)

through consultations with all stakeholders.

A STEP TOWARDS DIGITAL TRANSFORMTION:

Learnovate keeps itself aligned with the digital transformation and innovation process by

giving the customers a digital platform on which they can order books and get it delivered,

The company intends to reach large number of customers and give them ease of ordering

books online.

The consumers can access the website and select a book of their choice and get tit delivered

at the cheapest prices and this digital approach provides them with a great list of benefits

Benefits:

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1. Improved Efficiency

One of the biggest benefits of implementing an ERP system into your business operations is

the dramatic improvement in efficiency. The way your employees communicate from

department to department, the continuous flow of data across the organization, the seamless

transition from phase to phase over the lifetime of the customer – all of these benefits add up

to a more efficient business process that can save time, money, and resources.

2. Increased Transparency

The integration of an ERP or SAP system will also shine a brighter light on current processes,

helping to identify trends and patterns you may not have otherwise seen. The ability to dive

deeper into day to day data in real-time enables a steadier pulse on all aspects of the business

that keep the wheels turning.

Another aspect to consider is transparency across teams. For example, both the Customer

Success Team and the Accounting team would be able to see which clients are behind on a

payment and could address the problem more quickly rather than simply waiting on

accounting to loop everyone in.

3. Cost Savings

A lot of organizations spend a good amount of money and time simply maintaining old,

legacy systems and products. Undergoing a digital transformation could not only save money

upfront, but it will save both time and money once you go live through the integration of

more efficient processes and quicker problem identification.

With the right ERP software, there are a lot of opportunities in cost savings in general

operations as well. For example, a product based company can get better insights into the

volume needs and timelines of raw materials. By ordering raw materials in a strategic, data-

based manner, cost savings become inevitable.

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Revenue Growth

By minimizing costs, it’s easier to grow revenue. Maximizing opportunities through the

recognition of flaws within current business processes is key to driving a company forward.

By improving transparency in different aspects of the business, employees and management

can improve their best practices and drive revenue through pattern recognition, trend

evaluation, and capitalization of data-driven opportunity.

Better Customer Experience

Imagine this scenario – A customer calls in to check the status of a delivery that was to arrive

yesterday. The Customer Service Agent can dig deeper into the order to see what the mix up

was, and provide more insight into why the product is delayed in delivery by simply by

looking at the system. Instead of potential order cancellation, the customer better understands

the process and the sale is saved. Wouldn’t it be nice if all customers were this

understanding? Nonetheless, the additional insight into the order adds a value that the

customer will appreciate, whether they know it or not.

Better customer service on the backend, as mentioned above, is one piece of the puzzle. The

other component is the frontend point of sale visibility. The right ERP system can integrate

into your customer-facing ordering platform. Customers could have visibility into inventory

remaining, available services and products, and an overall cleaner and more simple

purchasing process. After all, simplicity is key.

6. Better Employee Engagement and Culture

A Human Capital Management software can be utilized to attract and retain talent. A system

like this could address performance reviews, ensure that employees are getting the proper

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coaching, training, and support from their leadership, and dial in on areas of improvement on

a per-employee basis.

In addition to human resource opportunities, ERP software can also improve the overall work

experience. If the systems in place make an employee’s job more straight forward, efficient,

and intuitive, their job becomes less stressful. In a sense, you are setting your existing and

future employees up for success by handing them an efficient, transparent, and seamless

technology. This will help them stay organize and identify trends in their own work, making

their output more valuable and their time at your company even more enjoyable.

7. Flexibility

When an IT transformation is done effectively, you will be able to respond to the market and

customer needs on a whim. 2020 has been the biggest upset in regular business practices

since we can remember, and it’s times like these that illustrate the importance of flexibility

and adaptability in business. To ensure that you’re making your business more flexible

through a transformation, it’s important to select the right software for your company

and integrate your software appropriately so operations are not disrupted through the

transition.

8. Better Supply Chain Management

Effective supply chain management leads to visibility in your supply chain, improved vendor

management, and a better understanding of the microeconomics your products – from raw

materials to delivery to your customer. If shipping and logistics are a part of your business,

make sure to consider how this department will factor into your needs through your ERP

transformation process.

9. Better Operating Model

What’s your business model? Will improvement in your IT infrastructure improve the way

you do business? A lot of companies we have worked with have seen new lines of business

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open up through the integration of digital strategy. Take brick and mortar businesses, for

example. Adding a reliable ERP system that tracks inventory and sales opens the door to

better and more reliable eCommerce channels, aiding in the growth and optimization of your

company’s reach.

10. Improving Competitive Advantage

By improving the infrastructure of your business, you are improving the advantage you have

within your industry. The best way to do this is to plan ahead in the features and

functionalities your new system will need to make your company stronger. Dial-in on what it

is you’re good at and where it is you can improve your business. The features and

functionalities of the software you select should mirror the needs and improve upon your

differentiating factors as a business.

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REASERCH METHODOLOGY

Scope of the study

1. The study will give the deep understanding towards the policy of recruitment and selection

of Learnovate E-commerce Pune.

2. The study will give the understanding about the area of improvement for the recruitment

and selection of Learnovate E-commerce Pune.

4. The study will improve the employees’ satisfaction of the Learnovate E-commerce.

5. The study will discuss about the preference of the employer and employees of the

recruitment and selection of Learnovate E-commerce Pune.

6. The study will give the information about the company`s work, department and

Achievements.

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In everyday life human being has to face many problems viz. social, economical, financial

problems. These problems in life call for acceptable and effective solutions and for this

purpose, research is required and a methodology applied for the solutions can be found out.

Research was carried out at Learnovate E-Commerce to find out the “Recruitment and

selection process.

DATA COLLECTION:

Primary Data:

Primary data was collected through survey method by distributing questionnaires to branch

manager and other sales manager. The questionnaires were carefully designed by taking into

account the parameters of my study.

Secondary Data:

Data was collected from books, magazines, web sites, going through the records of the

organization, etc. It is the data which has been collected by individual or someone else for the

purpose of other than those of our particular research study. Or in other words we can say that

secondary data is the data used previously for the analysis and the results are undertaken for

the next process.

SAMPLE SIZE

It is the process of selecting representative subset of a total population for obtaining data for

the study of the whole population the subset is known as sample. The sample size is selected

for the study 100 user. As in the given project the sample will be considered specific to

predetermined Pune.

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Sampling Technique

Sampling techniques can be broadly classified in to two types: Probability Sampling (here

the every item in the universe have the equal chance of inclusion in the sample)

Non Probability Sampling (Here the item in the sample are deliberately selected by the

researcher) This project will be based on the non-probability, purposive, quota sampling. As

in the given project the sample will be considered specific to predetermined Pune.

Tools Used for Data Analysis

Data collection was done through questionnaire. Google Form and MS-WORD software was

used to analyse the data. Different types of graphs & Charts were used to interpretation the

findings diagrammatically.

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Data Analysis and interpretation

Question no. 1- What are the major sources of recruitment of Learnovate E-commerce?

a: Social media

b: College placement

c: Employment agency

d: others

Column1

Social media College campus employement agency others

Interpretation:

From the above analysis the recruitment source of the Learnovate is social media 80%,

college campus 8%, employement agency 8%,And other sources 6%.

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Question no.2- What is the average age of the employees of Lernovate E-commerce?

A: 20-25

B- 25-30

C – 30-35

D: Above 35

Column1

20-25 25-30 30-35 35 above

Interpretation:

From the above stats it is shown that the average age group of the Lernovate ecommerce is

70% 20-25 years, 18% 25-30 years and rest above 30 years.

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 3. How many time it takes to recruit a employees?

o Less than 1 week

o Between 1-2 weeks

o More than 2 weeks

o Less than a month

Time

Intrepreation;

From the above data it is shown that 56% respondents recruitment done in less than a week,

while 20% in between 1-2 weeks and same number of recruitment in more than 2 weeks.

While only 5% in one than one month.

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 4. According to you does company use all the recruitment strategies effectively?

• Often

• Always

• Sometimes

• Rarely

• Never

Recruitment strategy

Interpretation;

As per the above collected data maximum number of responses lie in the often section that is
80%, however some of the respondents contribute toward sometimes option with around
15%.

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 5. Do you feel employee referrals would be essential for the company’s recruitment
policy?
o Yes
o No

35

65

YES NO

Interpretation:
A majority of respondent consider employee referral as an effective part of the recruitment
process as 65% of the respondents opt for the Yes option while 35% stand against employee
referral.

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6. What are the sources for internal sourcing among the following :-
• Present permanent employees
• Present temporary employees
• Retrenched / Retired / employees
• Deceased / disabled / employees

12

40
18

30

Interpretation:
As per the above data the source for internal recruitment is 40% from present
permanent employees , while 30% source from present temporary employees and the
rest from old employees.

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7. How many rounds of interviews are conducted?
• 1-3
• 3-5
• More than 3

Rounds of interviews
6
22

72

Interpretations:

From the above data 72% respondents says that there was 1-3 round of interview,
while 22% says 3-5 round of interview and 6% respondent says there are more than
3 round of interview.

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8: Are you satisfied with the interview process?

• Yes

• No

Column1

40

60

Yes No

INTERPRETATION:

As per the above data it is shown that 60% respondent is satisfyied with the interview

process, while 40% respondent are not satisfied.

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 9.Do you feel satisfied with the company`s existing manpower?

o Satisfied

o Not satisfied

o Unsure

12
18

70

YES NO Can`t say

Interpretation:

As from the above data 70% respondent are satisfied with existing manpower of the

company, while 18% respondents are not satisfied and 12% respondent are unsure about it.

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10: Do you feel division of labour would be essential to maximize a company`s marketing

potential?

Strongly agree

Agree

Disagree

60

52
50

40 38

30

20

10
10

Series 1 Column2

Interpretation:

As per the above data 52% respondents are strongly agree, while 38% of respondents are

agree and 10% respondents are disagree.

Findings of the study

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o data 52% respondents are strongly agree, while 38% of respondents are agree and

10% respondents are disagree.

o 70% respondent are satisfied with existing manpower of the company, while 18%

respondents are not satisfied and 12% respondent are unsure about it.

o 60% respondent is satisfyied with the interview process, while 40% respondent are

not satisfied.

o 72% respondents says that there was 1-3 round of interview, while 22% says 3-5
round of interview and 6% respondent says there are more than 3 round of interview.
o 40% from present permanent employees , while 30% source from present temporary
employees and the rest from old employees.
o 65% of the respondents opt for the Yes option while 35% stand against employee
referral.
o that 56% respondents recruitment done in less than a week, while 20% in between 1-2

weeks and same number of recruitment in more than 2 weeks. While only 5% in one

than one month.

o 80%, college campus 8%, employement agency 8%, And other sources 6%.

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