Impact of Internet Marketing on Consumer Behaviour

IMPACT OF INTERNET MARKETING ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN THE UK SECTOR: A CASE STUDY OF MARKS & SPENCER

ABSTRACT

Internet marketing involves the type of marketing in which each transaction is done on an online level whereas the research study has been aiming to evaluate the impact of internet marketing on the consumer behaviour of Marks & Spencer. The research study has been prepared with the help of primary and secondary research which involves a focus on two main aspects which are consumer behaviour and internet marketing. The research study is based on primary and secondary research. The secondary data is collected with the help of books, journals and other literary sources whereas the primary data is collected with the help of a questionnaire that is surveyed by 20 participants. The research is comprised of the concept of internet marketing along with its relationship with consumer behaviour, the impact of internet marketing on consumer behaviour and the relationship between effective internet marketing strategies and customer relationships is also evaluated. Ways to satisfy customers with the help of internet marketing are also included. The study finds that internet marketing has positive as well as negative influences whereas positive impacts overshadow the negative impact.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am highly thankful to my supervisor for guiding me and motivating me and delivering me generous time and commitment. He encouraged me to complete the dissertation and provided me with his valuable time throughout the completion of the dissertation. Also, the dissertation enriched my knowledge and helped me in nourishing my concepts.

I would like to thank the participants of my primary research who fill the questionnaire and helped me to complete my primary research.

Also, I would like to thank my family members, friends and relatives.

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1. BACKGROUND/CONTEXT OF RESEARCH

Consumer behaviour involves the study of behaviour patterns and the attributes of the consumer while making a purchase decision. It involves the need, purpose, demand and other responses of the consumer towards the product, service or company, Major factors which create an impact on consumer behaviour involves personal factors, psychological factors and social factors. Internet marketing aims to influence these three factors associated with the consumers and hence create an impact directly or indirectly on the consumer behaviour (Grubor and Jaksa, 2018). Internet marketing is an umbrella term for online marketing. Any purchase or sale of the product which is performed online mode is internet marketing. The last decade has experienced rapid growth in internet marketing.

Internet marketing involves research related to the buying preferences and purchase patterns of the customer whereas it is an enhanced way to reach to audience in an agile and flexible manner. Internet marketing is a media channel that can compose all kinds of media channels in it. The rapid growth in internet marketing has been observed because of the raging number of internet users. According to statistics, by 2022, over 4.9 billion people around the globe are using the internet. The main purpose of marketing is to reach customers whereas each media channel focuses on reaching a maximum number of customers (Kayumovich and Annamuradovna, 2020).

As numerous people are on the internet, the consumer market to reach through internet marketing is wide and huge whereas internet marketing has the power to influence the consumer behaviour of all these people (Dilham et al., 2018). Apart from a huge audience, many other unique benefits can be availed with the help of internet marketing such as an option to personalize content, setting an emotional connection with the employees, setting a direct influence on customers, and building long-distance relationships with customers and its scope of reach.

Marks & Spencer is a London based Business firm that comes under the fashion and retail industry of the United Kingdom. The firm was founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer. The main stakeholder of the fashion industry is its consumers (Trengove, 2021). Hence, the firm needs to focus effectively on consumer behaviour along with the factors which are creating a direct impact on the purchasing patterns of the customers. The firm tries to create relatable and engaging content for the customers whereas the portfolio images are portrayed on the internet that which creates a desire in the customers to buy the product.

The existence of the brand and its products highly relies on customer satisfaction and the ability to manage customer preferences. Therefore, it is highly important to have a grasp of internet marketing to attain organisational growth. As international marketing positions the product of the brand in the market.

2. RESEARCH QUESTION

The research question which will be answered in the whole research is “ How internet marketing is creating an impact on the purchasing behaviour and rate of customer satisfaction of Marks & Spencer?

3. RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The research aim is to evaluate the influence of internet marketing policies on the Consumer behaviour of Marks & Spencer

Objectives of study involve:

• To identify the concept of internet marketing for brand promotion

• To evaluate the impacts of internet marketing based on the consumer behaviour of Marks & Spencer

• To identify the interrelationship between effective internet marketing strategies and consumer satisfaction

• To recommend effective ways of influencing consumer behaviour to Marks & Spencer through the utilisation of internet marketing

4. RATIONALE

Marks & Spencer is a competitor firm in the fashion and retail industry whereas consumer behaviour creates a direct impact on the operations and sales of the business organisation. According to the statistics, the activity of people on the internet is growing rapidly in the past years whereas the internet the requirement for internet in the market has enhanced enormously (Sturiene, 2020). Social Media is a big part of internet marketing as well as product advertising in Marks & Spencer. The worldwide users of social media have reached 3.43 billion users by 2023.

M&S has a huge market in China and India whereas statistics have shown that around 2023, China will have 800 million internet users and India will have 450 million internet users. Also, 94.82% in the united kingdom itself prefer social media as the prime mode of communication (Arrigo, 2018). All these factors made social media and internet marketing a great branding tool for the brands.

Internet is enabling the trend of fast fashion in the clothing industry whereas the new products and designs of Marks & Spencer are high on trends. These trends of Marks & Spencer are matched with the market trends and are displayed in front of the internet users with the help of internet marketing (Lal et al., 2020). The new products are advertised on the internet whereas the research is conducted to evaluate the impact of internet marketing on the consumer behaviour of Marks & Spencer.

Literature gap

The analysis through the secondary research has depicted that a lot of data in the research and the source of data was missing in the research whereas the books, journals, and articles in the secondary research were out of the research. Inaccessibility of sources generated a gap in the process. The gaps will be mitigated in further research.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

According to Julia (2021), Internet marketing is considered one of the affordable, assessable and accessible ways to reach the target audience. Also, the enhancement in the number of users is enhancing the use of internet marketing. There are various prospects of internet marketing that make it easier to reach the consumer market. There is a fine relationship between internet marketing and customer satisfaction (Li et al., 2021). Through internet marketing, it is possible to know the preferences of the consumers and sell the content on the internet according to their preferences. Internet marketing is the preferred method of marketing for many business organisations whereas the method is widely adopted by almost every firm either on a small scale or large scale. The process of internet marketing involves various processes whereas the main aim is to ultimately satisfy the customers.

Concept of Internet Marketing

As stated by Vangie (2021), internet marketing is a huge part of the promotion and marketing strategies of a business organisation whereas the internet market involves the promotion and marketing of a firm's product and service. The promotion is performed in internet marketing by generating leads, driving traffic and boosting sales. It has been stated that any transaction which is performed on an online level is under internet marketing (Dwivedi et al., 2021). Internet marketing is the media channel that directly or indirectly relied on digital channels to transfer and communicate the marketing and promotional messages. There is no single strategy involved in internet marketing whereas Internet marketing is an umbrella term for a wide range of marketing strategies and tactics. Many research or data analytics tools are involved in digital marketing.

According to Susan (2021), the main motive of the internet marketing is to transfer and deliver content to the right audience. Tactics in digital marketing involve emails, search engines, social media posts and blog articles whereas all the tactics and tools of internet marketing focus on delivering content and making it relatable to the audience. Internet marketing not only helps in reaching the target audience but also helps in depicting the target groups (Mason et al., 2021). Internet marketing is a collaboration between traditional marketing and modern marketing. It depicts the target group by analysing the interest of consumers. Internet marketing is showing relatable and engaging content to the customers. Also, it is showing that content to the customers will generate interest in the customers or matches the interest of the customers. One of the objectives of internet marketing is to reach potential customers whereas another objective of internet marketing is to transfer the target group of potential customers into real customers. Niel (2020), Stated that content marketing is involved in internet marketing and it helps in providing accuracy to the whole process (Wibowo et al., 2020).

Relationship between internet marketing and customer satisfaction

The base of any business organisation is set by the customers. Customers are the real power of any business. The strategies of Marks & Spencer are set by having a customer-oriented mindset whereas each operational process of the organisation is based on the motive of ensuring customer satisfaction.

According to Shawn (2021), Internet marketing pushes the organisation towards customer satisfaction. International marketing can catalyse the process of targeting, segmentation ad positioning. A customer is satisfied when the product or service fulfils its requirements, one of the main reason for the rapid growth of internet marketing is that its focus is directly on the requirements of the customers which help it to resonate the useful information (Chen et al., 2019). This is the basic need of the customers to gain useful information. Internet marketing is enhancing the awareness of customers whereas it is part of the whole purchasing journey of the customer. Susan (2021) Stated that internet marketing is performed by analysing and evaluating the search history of the consumers. Search engine optimization plays a great role in internet marketing. It helps the firm to come in the eyes of the customers whereas it also helps in being at the top of the other competitors.

Kristen (2021), depicted that a slight shift in marketing may result in an 81.1 % of shift in consumer satisfaction. Marketing is showing positioning your product as the most suitable product for customer requirements (Otto et al., 2020). Branding and positioning of the product are two core aspects of internet marketing. Branding is related to the resemblance of the brand. Marks & Spencer tale advantage of branding to be the most sought after choice of the customers. Internet marketing has the power to perform branding in such a manner that the customers resemble their name on an instant basis whenever they hear or think to buy a clothing, food and homeware related product. Therefore, internet marketing has a high influence on customer satisfaction whereas there is a significant relationship between internet marketing and customer satisfaction (Rita et al., 2019).

According to Ashni (2019), it doesn't matter whether the firm is big or small, customer satisfaction is equally important for a big brand as well as a small brand. Customer satisfaction is a crucial aspect that helps in growing and sustaining the business for the long term whereas internet marketing help in achieving the aspect, it helps in satisfying the customers. Internet marketing helps the firm to gather smart and loyal customers along with rooting out the competitors (Kurdi et al., 2020). Along with the requirements of the customers, internet marketing also focuses on the needs and wants of the customers whereas the problem which is faced by the customers helps in depicting measures and enhancing the performance of the whole organisation Mathew (2019), stated that internet marketing is required to be customer-centric. Internet marketing strengthens the bond between customers and organisations by providing the organisation with more defined and accurate measures of communication (Shokouhyar et al., 2020). Types of marketing involved in internet marketing are social media marketing, email marketing, search engine marketing, digital marketing etc. The main aspect of internet marketing is that it helps in communicating directly with the customers and conveying the message. It sets a direct relationship with the customers.

The statistics have shown that internet marketing set a positive relationship with the customers and has a significant effect on customer satisfaction. The growth in internet users has developed a variation in the buying patterns of the customers (Bhandari and Bansal, 2018). A good relationship between the customers and marketing help in engaging the customer within the firm and also helps in building a strong brand-customer relationship. Internet penetration has catalysed the prospect of market penetration whereas the relationship between customer satisfaction and internet marketing has highly contributed to the success of brands.

Ways to influence consumer behaviour through internet marketing

Online marketing had evolved at wider levels whereas the world has experienced a whole different framework of online marketing in recent years. Adeel (2021), Analysed that internet marketing creates a direct linkage with the customers (Veglis and Giomelakis, 2019). It has the accessibility to sending personal and customised messages to the customers which increases the chances of customer satisfaction through internet marketing. Internet marketing brought a new wave in the consumer market and has affected the buying patterns of the customer in a wide manner.

According to Jennifer (2021), the basic way in which internet marketing may influence consumer behaviour is by depicting the needs, wants and preferences of the customers. The essentiality of internet marketing is to showcase the product advertisement attractively and creatively such that it will draw the attention of the audience towards itself (Sheffield, 2020). Through research tools or data analysis of search engines, internet marketing has the feature to assess the customer data whereas Jitendra (2020), evaluated that the desired buying list can be depicted with the help of internet marketing and the advertisements related to the desired buying list may be displayed later on the social media. It has been observed that innovation has involved a wide variation in the dynamics of the market of the 21^st century whereas internet marketing is considered one of the biggest innovations in the marketing sector which creates a huge impact on consumer behaviour.

The alteration or addition in the product line of Marks & Spencer is highly popular among the customers whereas the firm takes advantage of internet marketing to reach a maximum number of customers and showcase their new products by relating them to the needs, wants and preferences of the customers.

Internet marketing provides flexibility and convenience to the customers. Customers take advantage of smartphones to make purchase decisions whereas the old and traditional methods of marketing such as billboards, magazine ads are not preferred by customers anymore (Erdmann et al., 2022). They have the option to purchase products when they are free or in their leisure time with the help of internet marketing. Analysing the consumer requirements and the period in which they use social media the most can be a good method to influence consumer behaviour. Through internet marketing, it is possible to display the advertisements in between stories or posts. It draws the focus of the customers. The link to the website or the store may be attached along with the advertisement which will enable the customers to check more options and have more choices.

According to Adeel (2021), internet marketing can satisfy customers and enhance the level of customer satisfaction by providing them with all the information together in one place. Customers find surfing and browsing on the internet a reliable and convenient method as it provides collective information about the product or service and reduces confusion among the customers (Sharma et al., 2019). Also, internet marketing helps the customers to acknowledge feedback and reviews of the previous customers. This creates a resourceful impact on consumer behaviour. Positive reviews lead to more possible purchase decisions.

Another way to create an influence on the customer behaviour is to display the features of the product or service with the help of demos, virtual reality models, videos etc. These methods make the advertisements interesting and agile.

Impact of internet marketing on customer satisfaction

Internet marketing enhanced the scope of marketing for various organisations whereas it provided the firms with an opportunity to deal on a global level. Internet marketing maximises the reach of the business organisations whereas it provides more views to the product or service design.

According to Jitender (2020), The purchasing journey of the customers is eliminating the aspect of restlessness from it. Consumers are demanding immediate solutions whereas a wide part of the audience of Marks & Spencer comes under the category of an impulse buyer. Therefore, the customer concentrates on finding the solution in a fast and agile manner (Alghizzawi, 2019). The customers have the option to give negative feedback or reviews if their queries are not solved on time or they are not satisfied with the product or service of the business organisation. The marketers are trying the technique of operation research management to maintain a persistent connection with the customers as one bad review may overshadow ten positive ones. Therefore, internet marketing provides a platform for the customers to convey their satisfaction levels.

Most importantly, as stated by Shawn (2021), internet marketing has changed the perception of customers toward new products. Earlier, the audience was reluctant toward the new products whereas they used to hesitate to in trying new products (Bala and Verma, 2018). Internet marketing assesses the information to the customers which makes them confident about the new product, brand or new features. The practice is providing a way for innovation and startups.

Marks & Spencer provides whole information about its new products to the customers and also displays the features of the new product to the customers in such a manner that it generates interest in the customers and helps them to make their mindset to try the new product.

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

This chapter is concentrating on the methodology part that is been conducted to help the reader get the knowledge from where the information is been collected. The research methodology is been made to be more effective in the working processes of the research project. It is been used to look into how the research will work on the data collection of the research and the analysis will be further done (Diham et al., 2018). The research in this research proposal is been conducted to focus on the impact of internet marketing on consumer behaviour of marks & spencer. The research is been done with the help of the data that is been collected by the research taking into consideration all the aspects aims and objectives of the research project. The research is been conducted based on all the information taken from the secondary and the primary research was done by the researcher and further, it will be used effectively in the working of the research project.

3.1 RESEARCH PROCESS

The main research process emphasizes the choice of the topic as the impact of internet marketing on consumer behaviour of marks & spencer. Further, the researcher needed to look into the information related to the research topic and also decide the processes in which they will work on the research and the data collection for the same (Kayumovich and Annamuradovna, 2020). The research is been needed to be done with the help of both hypotheses and also needs to have the relevance to the real world for this the organisation needs to look into the research with the help of an effective research approach and methodology that will help them in being more effective in their working.

The research is been made with the help of the positivism research philosophy which made it effective for the researcher to work on the hypothesis created for the research project. The positivism philosophy is been chosen by the researcher to be more effective in the work as this will help in clearing out all the hypotheses and taking all the recent information about the research project topic (Grubor and Jaksa, 2018). The ontology of the same says that the research is been presented with the classification of the major explanation done. All the information is taken by the researcher based on real-time information and is from the real and existing world.

3.2 RESEARCH APPROACH

The researcher used the deductive research approach for this research project as it is the one that will help the research in being more effective in their work and also this will make the work more effective in the development of the hypothesis made for the research project (Kayumovich and Annamuradovna, 2020). Further, the work will help in the management of the research hypothesis and the better management of the work done in the same. The research needs to look into how they can be more effective in their work. With the deductive approach, the research will be effective in the work process and have how they can be more effective in their working.

3.3 RESEARCH STRATEGY

The primary research strategy focuses on the step by step selection and making process which the research needs to look into. Further, the subject selection is the influence of online marketing on Marks & Spencer's customer behaviour. Additionally, the researcher must do a study on the research subject and determine the techniques by which they will conduct the research and gather data for the same (Dilham et al., 2018). The study must be conducted using both hypotheses and must also be relevant to the actual world. To do this, the organisation must conduct the research using an effective research technique and methodology that will aid them in being more successful in their research project.

3.4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND TOOLS

The research is been done with the help of the mixed-method that helps the research in opting for both the methods that are the qualitative and the qualitative research method are to be used to be more effective in the working processes of the research. Further, the qualitative and the qualitative research is been divided into the primary and the secondary data collection method that is been used by the research as the primary to have a survey and the secondary data is also been collected to support the work (Trengove, 2021). The survey is been conducted on the employees of the company Marks & Spencer. They are been contacted with the help of emails that are sent to them. The secondary data is been collected with the help of newspapers, magazines, journals, newsletters etc.

3.5 SAMPLING APPROACH

The main and secondary data gathering methods employed by the study are as follows: primary data is used to conduct a survey, and secondary data is used to supplement the original data. The poll was done among Marks & Spencer workers. They are contacted by emails sent to them. Secondary data is gathered from newspapers, magazines, journals, and newsletters, among other sources. The primary data is been collected from the 30 employees of Marks & Spencer as the participants of the survey.

3.6 ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS

The research needs to be more effective in the protection of the research that is been done by them. Further, the data collected with the help of primary research needs to be protected. The data is been safely kept in the personal computer of the researcher and is been kept in a password-protected folder. The access to the data is only been given to the tutor and no one else can have the access to the information. The data will be kept by the researcher as long as the research is been conducted father the data will be given to the teacher and will be then after use destroyed by them.

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS

A survey of 20 people who are associated with Marks & Spencer is conducted by the researcher. The survey questions are related to internet marketing, awareness of internet marketing, use of social media and the impact of using social media on consumer behaviour.

1 Do you find internet marketing impactful in satisfying customers?

Effective	8
Very Effective	11
Not much effective	1

The survey involve 20 participants and analysed their review of internet marketing. 8 out of 20 participants find internet marketing effective whereas 11 out of 20 participants find it very effective in satisfying the customers. 1 out of 20 participants doesn't find it effective. Therefore, maximum research participants are satisfied with internet marketing and find it impactful in satisfying the customers.

Question 2 Do you use social media frequently?

Rarely	2
Frequently	10
Once a day	3
Once in an hour	5

The survey involved the activity on social media. 2 out of 20 participants use social media rarely whereas 10 out of 20 participants use social media frequently. 3 out of 20 participants use it once a day whereas 5 out of 20 participants use it once an hour. The responses conclude that the participants use social media widely and spend enough time on it.

Question 3 How many hours of your day are consumed by social media?

1 hour	2
3 hours	4
5 hours	5
8 hours	9

The question concentrates on the time spent by a participant on social media. The motive of the question is to check the activity of the participants. 9 out of 20 participants spend almost 8 hours a day on social media whereas 5 out of 20 participants spend 5 hours a day on social media. 4 out of 20 participants spend 3 hours a day and only 2 out of 20 participants spend 1 hour a day. The responses of the participants depicted that a maximum number of participants are active on social media.

Question 4 Are you okay if the organisation assess your search history to give you the right suggestions?

Yes	11
Sometimes	6
Never	3

The question resolved the comfortability level of the participants in showing their search history data. 11 out of 20 participants were okay and have no issues with it whereas 6 out of 20 participants liked the idea sometimes only. 3 out of 20 participants are not at all in the favour of organisations assessing the search history. The response is mixed and it highly depends on the participant's personality and behaviour.

Question 5 Which Social Media app do you use the most?

Instagram	15
Facebook	2
Linked In	1
Gmail	2

The activity on each social media is depicted by knowing the most preferred social media site. 15 out of 20 participants use Instagram the most whereas 2 out of 20 participants use Facebook and Gmail the most. 1 out of 20 participants uses Linked In the most. The response has depicted that Instagram is the most preferred site whereas the firm may focus on using Instagram for social media promotion and advertising.

Question 6 Do you trust social media advertisements?

Yes	9
Fully	7
Sometimes	2
Not at all	2

The convenience level of the participants towards the social media advertisements is moderate. 9 out of 20 participants are in the favour of social media advertisements whereas they don't get disturbed by the advertisements. 7 out of 20 participants are fully in favour of social media advertisements and find them relevant and meaningful. 2 participants are sometimes comfortable whereas 2 are not at all comfortable.

Question 7 Do social media advertisements influence your purchasing decision?

Yes	10
Sometimes	8
Never	2

The responses of the 20 participants evaluated that social media advertisements do have an impact on the purchasing decision. 10 out of 20 participants are influenced whereas 8 out of 20 participants got influenced in some cases only and 2 out of 20 participants were never influenced.

Question 8 Are you aware of the term search engine optimization?

Yes	7
A little bit	5
Not at all	8

The responses of the participants depicted the awareness the participants related to the search engine optimization. 7 out of 20 participants are aware of the term whereas 5 out of 20 participants are a little bit aware. 8 out of 20 participants are not at all aware of the term. The responses evaluated that the participants are not much aware of the technical terms.

Question 9 What is your reflex after seeing the advertisement for your desired product?

I should buy it	4
I am buying it	4
I should look for other options	5
I should wait for the price to drop	4
I should not buy it	3

The responses analyse the reflex of the participants after first seeing the display ads or products. 5 out of 20 participants move to other options and then make a purchase decision whereas 4 out of 20 participants wait for the price drop. 3 out of 20 participants forget the idea of buying the product and 4 out of 20 participants think they should buy the product whereas again 4 participants immediately buy the product. The responses suggested that the participants concentrate on getting the best deal.

Question 10 Rate your past experiences of online shopping out of 10

5	2
7	3
9	4
10	11

Most of the participants are satisfied with the past online experience whereas 11 out of 20 participants have excellent online experience, 4 out of 20 participants have a good experience whereas 3 out of 20 participants are not much satisfied and 2 out of 20 participants are not at all satisfied.

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION

The research involved the changing scenario in the consumer market due to the influence of internet marketing. It analysed the change in buying patterns of the consumer and how the variation in the buying patterns of the consumer are related to the impact of internet marketing. Buying patterns of the consumer are dependent on the consumer behaviour whereas the researchers analysed that internet marketing can impact the mindset of the consumers which changes their response towards the product or services of the business organisation.

Concept of internet marketing for brand promotion

The secondary research involved the concept of marketing as a classification of marketing whereas it discussed the change of marketing level from offline to online while performing all the transactions on the online level either buying or selling or other processes associated with the marketing such as branding, advertising is done on the online level are the part of internet marketing. The research depicted various methods of marketing involved in internet marketing such as social media marketing, email marketing, online marketing, Twitter marketing etc. Also, it demonstrated the way the internet assesses a maximum number of audiences. The primary research conducted provided the aspect of internet marketing with a different viewpoint. It evolved the perspective of internet marketing as a tool for brand promotion. As the market is experiencing a slight or wide shift in its dimensions in various sectors, the sector of marketing is experiencing a regular shift whereas it is not possible to rely only on secondary data to attain whole information about internet marketing and how the internet marketing can be utilised as a tool for brand promotion.

The primary data in the research discussed that internet marketing is acting as a catalyser in boosting the aspect of brand promotion. Primary research concentrated on real and practical data. The survey of the people depicted that the main reason for using internet marketing as a tool for brand promotion is that it maximises the reach of a business organisation whereas it also enhances the chances of the potential customers viewing the product or service relevant to them. The primary research discussed that almost 4.9 billion users are internet users whereas they spend high time on the internet. Also, people are considering social media as a way of communication and saving time from their busy schedules to use social media. It also analysed that Instagram is the most utilised social media site among the internet users followed by Facebook and LinkedIn. Both secondary and primary research concluded that internet marketing makes the audience about a brand or a new product or service of the brand which results in brand promotion.

Marks & Spencer promotes the additional features of its modified or new product through internet marketing. Secondary research explained the theoretical concept of internet marketing whereas primary research analysed how internet marketing can be related to brand promotion. The objective of using internet marketing as a tool for brand promotion is better fulfilled with the help of primary data as the primary data deals with the present situation of internet marketing whereas the secondary data is based on the past situation of international marketing.

The dimensions of internet marketing are facing regular variation whereas it is not possible to perform research and interpret data based on secondary research only and it requires primary research to interpret the data which is applicable in the present situation.

Impacts of internet marketing based on the consumer behaviour of Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer's whole operations are customer-centric whereas internet marketing helps the business organisation to attain its objectives by practising the customer-centric approach. The secondary research analysed Marks & Spencer have its network in domestic as well as global arena whereas there are numerous online and offline stores involved with Marks & Spencer. The whole market of the firm highly relies on internet marketing. Internet marketing is providing new toes to the marketing unit of Marks & Spencer. Secondary research analysed that internet marketing helps the firm to set direct and strong connections with the customers. Also, it provides the firm with an opportunity to communicate directly with the customers.

Secondary research discussed that the firm is having a positive influence of internet marketing on its consumer behaviour whereas the negative impact is less in comparison to the positive impact of internet marketing on customer behaviour. According to the primary research, the customers get a platform with internet marketing to convey their opinions and views related to the product. The firm needs to satisfy the customers because the customers have the power to give bad reviews or feedback on the product of Marks & Spencer.

Internet marketing help the firm in knowing the needs, wants and preferences of the customers which ultimately leads to customer satisfaction. The main aim of Marks & Spencer is to satisfy the customers whereas it helps the firm to meet the requirements of the customers. Customer satisfaction generates good reviews and feedback on the product which helps in boosting the sales of the product. Therefore, internet marketing is directly or indirectly creating a positive impact on the consumer behaviour of Marks & Spencer. The secondary research involved the norms, policies and framework of internet marketing in the business organisation whereas its impact on the employees and work-staff of the firm is analysed with the help of primary data. Secondary data sometimes lack the practical approach whereas the addition of primary data into it mitigates the deficiency of the practicality and analysis of the present situation in the research.

The primary data helped in understanding the scenario of internet marketing and its impact on operations of the firm along with the consumer behaviour and ways in which the shift in consumer behaviour is initiating a sales boost in the organisation whereas the secondary data involved the approaches and practices of the organisation.

Identify the interrelationship between effective internet marketing strategies and consumer satisfaction

Internet marketing involves a wide part of relationship marketing. It plays a great role in setting a relationship between the consumers and the organisation. Though internet marketing itself generates the revenue of the firm by ensuring customer satisfaction, the organisation needs to understand the need for effective internet marketing strategies to generate a more influenced nature of the customers towards the firm. It is required to impose the strategies of internet marketing according to the target groups and the preferences and needs of the target groups. The secondary research in the above research analysed that the firm needs to develop a strong marketing campaign to ensure a positive response from the customers whereas it analysed and depicted the effective marketing strategies or approaches of the internet marketing. It also involved that internet marketing help in creating a unique and strong experience for the customers.

The primary research involved the recent techniques of internet marketing and ways to assess more data relevant to customer satisfaction. It involves the utilisation of research tools and search engine optimization to make the process of international marketing efficient and effective whereas it involved how the market is changing its buying practices based on data extracted through internet marketing. The primary research of the objective analysed that internet marketing is directly proportional to the shift in relationship marketing whereas this shift is directly proportional to customer marketing. It analysed that a 1% shift in the improvisation of strategies of internet marketing leads to an 81.1 % shift in ensuring customer satisfaction. Secondary research involved the purchasing journey of the customers from the generation of an idea to the last step of buying the product whereas primary research involves the internal and external factors which may create a shift in the customer's behaviour pattern.

The primary research help in assessing the recent scenario of the market whereas the secondary research was only limited to a particular time. The secondary research is limited to the default approaches whereas the primary research help in making the approaches more relatable to the current environment and the present factors which may help the firm in gaining a profit margin. The primary research was not limited to the known parameters but it covered the future parameters too which may make the process of international marketing and the journey of the purchasing decision of the customers more challenging. It covered all the parameters which are required by the business organisation to follow the customer-centric approach and convert the potential customers into positive sales. The primary research also covered the ways to generate customer value with the help of effective marketing strategies and the ways to enhance the brand equity and brand loyalty which were not covered in the secondary research.

Effective internet marketing strategies involve effective market research and a framework of consumer choices which help in meeting the expectations of the customers and ensuring customer satisfaction.

Effective ways of influencing consumer behaviour to Marks & Spencer through the utilisation of internet marketing

It has been observed from the whole research that internet marketing has a direct connection with customer satisfaction whereas it helps in providing a wider reach to the organisation. Internet marketing help Marks & Spencer to deal on a global level whereas it also generated an opportunity for the firm to understand the requirements of the customers which leads to the effective formation of strategies. The utilisation of internet marketing generated a new wave in the Marks & Spencer whereas it depicted various ways to reach the customers and influence their buying behaviour.

The secondary research related to the topic analysed that four factors which are highly involved with the consumer behaviour are cultural, social, personal and psychological whereas the primary research analysed that the main requirement to influence the consumers is to add relatability and engagement in the product whereas the advertising content is required to be relatable and customer engagement. Primary research developed the role of content in internet marketing. Content plays a great role in setting a defined relationship between the customers and business organisations. The product line of Marks & Spencer and the advertisement of new products involve the content which creates a desire in the employees to buy the product. Marks & Spencer has its online app whereas the wishlist of the customers also plays an enhanced role in depicting the desired buying list of the customer.

The primary research evaluated that assessment scopes are the major way to manipulate and influence the consumer behaviour whereas it is very important to assess the buying patterns of the target groups or try to assess the patterns of the new target group during the time of market development or product development The assessment of data is help in generating a suggestion to the customers. Each prospect of consumer behaviour and its relationship with internet marketing in Marks & Spencer are directly or indirectly linked to each other. The assessment is performed to depict the needs of the customers along with the desired product. The assessment is also useful in knowing the preferences and choices of the consumers. The data collected through the assessment is utilised in displaying product suggestions to the customers. The suggestion in internet marketing is an online strategy that generates a direct impact on the mindset of the customers whereas it has the power to convince the customer to buy the product.

The other aspect of evaluation covered in the secondary research is the presence of multiple data. The secondary research observed that internet marketing can play the role of multiple media channels whereas it may do the work of media mix. Performing the work of media mix is a good way to influence the customers of Marks & Spencer through internet marketing. The brand is not much aware of the platform where they have the probability of being connected to the maximum number of customers. Therefore, the firm may utilise social media marketing as a way to influence a maximum number of customers. It is required for the firm to identify which platform has the higher density. The brand may encourage the customers to make a purchase decision on that platform. According to statistics, Instagram is the most utilised platform where Marks & Spencer can display its advertisements and influence the customers.

Here, the data collected through both primary and secondary research were equivalent whereas both the researches involved the assessments to improvise the process of customer relationship management with the help of internet marketing. The research widely discussed the four objectives and sub-objectives to accomplish the goal of customer satisfaction. The base of each objective was set on two aspects which were internet marketing and customer satisfaction.

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

6.1 CONCLUSION

The above research is based on two main aspects of today's market which are internet marketing and consumer behaviour and the relation between these two aspects. Also, the main objective of the above research is to analyse the current policies and strategies of Internet Marketing of Marks & Spencer and its impact on the consumer market of the firm. The impact on the consumer market is analysed by understanding the consumer behaviour of the customers. Marks and Spencer is an old and established London, United Kingdom-based firm which is a tough competitor in the fashion and retail industry of the United Kingdom whereas the firm possesses a good domestic and global network. Therefore, to maintain a wide network and its presence in the market the firm is required to ensure customer satisfaction and provide maximum reach to its customers. It has been observed in the above research that internet marketing is turning out to be an enhanced marketing and branding tool for Marks & Spencer and other competitors in the market.

The research concluded that 4 out of 5 people are on social media today whereas the economy has experienced rapid growth in internet users in the last few years due to social media. It also concluded that social media is the core mode of communication for the major population. Therefore the internet is the aptest media channel to reach the customers and internet marketing may help in transforming their purchase decision into a positive decision for the customers. Internet marketing can accelerate the process of brand promotion. Internet marketing enables the possibility of setting an emotional and strong connection with the customers with the help of relatable content. Also, it can turn the potential customers into the loyal customers of Marks & Spencer by displaying them the new products and clothing trends of the firm continuously.

The research concluded some effective ways to impact consumer behaviour with the help of Internet Marketing to Marks & Spencer which involves the use of research tools and creative content to attract the customers and form an active internet market. The firm may adopt effective internet marketing strategies as it has a direct connection to customer satisfaction and holds a straight linkage with the maximization of the customer market. Overall, the researchers concluded that internet marketing plays a great role in the journey of customers making a purchase decision.

6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS

The addition in the product line of Marks & Spencer is highly known and popular among the customers whereas the firm is required to manage the online framework according to it. The direct reach to the customers is possible to be attained through social media. Also, according to statistics, 99.4% of the customers are excessively using social media. Marks & Spencer is required to focus on social media more whereas some social media sites are highly popular and more utilised than other sites. Marks & Spencer should focus on those sites to maximise its sales and know the preferences of consumer behaviour.

According to statistics, Instagram is the most utilised social media site on the internet whereas most firms are using Instagram as a marketing platform. After Instagram, Facebook and Linked-in are the most utilised social media platforms which are widely popular among Marks & Spencer audience. The firm should focus more on these social media platforms as it will help the firm in being one of the preferred choices of the customers. Also, Marks & Spencer may use tools of social media marketing to capture a wide audience on social media.

The firm may take advantage of search engine optimization to be on the top list of the customers and to excel their name in the search engine. The firm should utilise and take advantage of Facebook Ads and Linked In Ads to showcase their latest designs to the customers. Marks & Spencer needs to create creative advertisements on Instagram, Facebook and Linked In to attract a maximum number of customers. The firm may also add a strong message along with the advertisement to make it more relatable to the audience and be on the top of their search list.

6.3 IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

The research is based on the prospects of consumer behaviour and internet marketing whereas the whole research aims to analyse the influence of internet marketing on the consumer behaviour of Marks & Spencer. The study involved primary and secondary research whereas as the use of the internet is gradually increasing, the scope of internet marketing and reaching out to a wide number of people is also increasing. Data analytics is a crucial part of internet marketing whereas both aim to concentrate on the consumer preferences and showcase to them their desired product. The research analysed how internet marketing is utilised for brand promotion along with the pros and consequences of internet marketing and how it is creating an upward or downward shift in the buying patterns of the consumer. The study involves detailed research on the interrelationship between customer satisfaction and effective strategies of internet marketing.

The research involved the needed research but many corners of the topic are not touched. They require future research. It is required to add more conclusions to the primary research in the study. The rapid growth in internet marketing is resulting in the changing behaviours of the consumers and leaving scope to do further research. The entire field of internet marketing in Marks & Spencer is accommodated with ongoing trends and research tools. Therefore, the short intervals also contain numerous topics of research in the field. For future research, it is required for the researchers to focus more on the primary data collections processes. The primary data will help in enhancing the knowledge of real data more than the recorded and factual data. Also, future research is required to be universal.

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APPENDIX

Questionnaire for primary research

Question 1 Do you find internet marketing impactful in satisfying customers?

• Effective

• Very Effective

• Not much effective

Question 2 Do you use social media frequently?

• Rarely

• Frequently

• Once a day

• Once in an hour

Question 3 How many hours of your day are consumed by social media?

• 1 hour

• 3 hours

• 5 hours

• 8 hours

Question 4 Are you okay if the organisation assess your search history to give you the right suggestions?

• Yes

• Sometimes

• Never

Question 5 Which Social media app do you use the most?

• Instagram

• Facebook

• Linked In

• Gmail

Question 6 Do you trust social media advertisements?

• Yes

• Fully

• Sometimes

• Not at all

Question 7 Do social media advertisements influence your purchasing decision?

• Yes

• Some times

• Never

Question 8 Are you aware of the term search engine optimization?

• Yes

• A little bit

• Not at all

Question 9 What is your reflex after seeing the advertisement for your desired product?

• I should buy it

• I am buying it

• I should look for other options

• I should wait for the price to drop

• I should not buy it

Question 10 Rate your past experiences of online shopping out of 10

• 5

• 7

• 9

• 10