E-Commerce and the Changing Landscape of Retail

ABSTRACT The rapid proliferation of e-commerce has transformed the retail industry by reshaping consumer expectations, redefining competitive dynamics, and accelerating digital innovation. This thesis explores the evolving role of digital features—such as price transparency, user interface ease, reviews, and payment security—in shaping consumer satisfaction in online retail. Employing a mixed-methods research design, the study combines quantitative survey data from 105 respondents with qualitative insights from expert interviews and case studies. Descriptive analysis reveals that consumers assign moderate importance to most digital features, with mean scores clustering around the midpoint of the scale. Correlation and regression analyses suggest that while features like customer reviews show a weak positive association with satisfaction, price sensitivity is negatively correlated—indicating that cost-conscious consumers may be harder to satisfy. Gender and shopping frequency were not statistically significant predictors of satisfaction, underscoring the role of experiential and psychological variables beyond basic demographics.