INTRODUCTION

Online selling is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to

directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a
mobile app. Most people think of e-commerce as selling or purchasing a physical
product online. But e-commerce also includes the sale and purchase of non-physical
goods, such as services and digital products. It’s when a business sells online. They
can sell their products through their own website, a third-party site, or both.

Social media is no longer known only as a media that facilitates its users to
present themselves on the internet but also as media to sell some products to
consumers known as an online selling or online shopping. As online selling is greatly
used in this time of pandemic, people are determining the advantages and
disadvantages of online selling. Online selling may have great advantages but it has
also its disadvantages such as delay in delivery, lack of touch and feel of merchandise
in online shopping, and there's massive competition of other sellers. These
disadvantages are commonly determined according to the sellers and customers
perception.

Over these past years E-commerce has developed very fast because of many
advantages related to buying on internet because of easier transaction and lower cost
as compared to other types of selling. Through online shopping everyone can buy
faster, have more alternatives and can order various product or services with lower
price (Cuneyt Koyuncu; Gautam Bhattacharya, 2017).

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 In the Philippines, e-commerce is mostly being implemented by major retailers
and multinational corporations for bank-to-bank exchange. A number of business-to-
consumer transactions have emerged through the years such as auctions, online
shopping, and online banking (Lacson, Pasadilla, 2006). This just shows that Filipino
businesses welcome this new opportunity in selling goods since 16% of the population
is using internet. This new marketing strategy will not only benefit those big companies
but also the small businesses who cannot afford to advertise their products.

According to Rangampet (2015), consumers acknowledge the need for buying

some products. They usually will look up to the internet to shop online and start to
search for the information about the things that they will buy and look for all the
alternatives and finally make a purchase which is best price to their needs. Before
making final purchase, consumers are influenced by several factors which limit them
before making the final decision as advertising and language.

With more and more consumers become increasingly familiar with the Internet
and its benefit, online selling as well as online shopping is becoming popular and getting
preference among a group of consumers seeking better value proposition regarding
information, convenience, cost, choice.

Online selling is an enjoyable activity, but only when consumers understand the
key aspects of e-selling. Online selling may benefit too many customers who have
limited leisure time and allow them to view more than one department via one click.
Online selling benefits both businesses and consumers.

NiBusinessInfo.co.uk stated that selling online has a number of advantages over

selling by traditional methods, including: reaching a global audience, thereby increasing
sales opportunities, competing with larger businesses by being able to open 24 hours a

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day, seven days a week, being able to receive payment more quickly from online
transactions, improving offerings using the data gathered by tracking customer
purchases and using online shop to showcase products to existing customers.

There are a number of benefits for customers when shopping online which are as
follows: more choice of products than in a traditional store; easier to get to a specific
store online rather than getting to a traditional store in a geographical area; less time
consuming and sometimes customers can get products online cheaper than the
products in traditional stores. Kacen (2013) showed the advantages of online selling.
Firstly, there is no specific time or place for customers for e-shopping, as long as they
are connected to the Internet they can shop whenever they want and wherever they
want, which is less time consuming with less cost. It is less time consuming since
customers are not required to visit the geographical store and is also inexpensive.
Further, they can also visit more than one store at the same time.

Customers have more choice of products than in a physical store, also, as the
authors stated, some customers believe that they could find products which are not
available in markets, in other words, unique goods. Thirdly, customers could know the
description of each item; the country of origin, how it functions, its price and features.

Finally, customers can purchase using a bank card, which does not take a long
time; they would also get a confirmation email, which includes details of their
purchased. So, customers would not have to stand in a queue to pay. Also their details
such as, name and address could be saved automatically. Online shopping has many
advantages; however, there are disadvantages as well.

Jia-xin (2010) claimed that there are products, which should not be purchased
online. It does not make sense when purchasing valuable items such as, gold,

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diamonds and luxury brands, which cost a huge amount of money. A further
disadvantage is; customer cannot check the items texture, quality and size, for example,
they cannot feel the material of clothes or see if the size fits them or not, as well as for
food which they cannot taste.

Last but not least, there is no shopping atmosphere, some customers’ shop not
aiming to buy, but they might be more attracted too if they have chatted face to face
with a salesperson and been convinced by their recommendations and advice for
specific products

Online selling and banking activities advantages are far beyond the
disadvantages but only if e-retailers/banks and their customers know how to be
protected from crimes. E-commerce activities are not secure, e-retailers/banks and their
customers are advised to protect personal identification and databases to prevent
cybercrimes. Information security fraud is the main issue in Internet activities.

In order to make E-commerce activities enjoyable users must try to reduce

fraudulent risks. Information regarding security could be the most important issue in an
organization. The five components of information security, which are,
organization/infrastructure, policy and procedure security baseline of system
components, security awareness and training, and compliance; this are stated by
Kilmeyer (2006). It is not enough to install software security protection products; users
should have security awareness. Also, online sellers should provide customers with
information of risks that might happen during online shopping and/or banking. In e-
commerce activities, user identification is always needed to complete a transaction in
online shopping or to make online banking practices. User identification needs to be
protected so that criminals cannot access other accounts, whether it’s an online banking
or online shopping account.

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 Online buying and selling have become important parts of many people's lives.
Virtual stores allow people to shop from the comfort of their homes without the pressure
of a salesperson. Both businesses and customers have embraced online sales as a
cheaper and more convenient way to shop. Still, just like anything associated with the
Internet, there are benefits and dangers associated with selling online and shopping
online.

Selling online is more than setting up a website and uploading product images; it
requires passion, expertise, and marketing chops to succeed. The Coronavirus disease
2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused the rise and fall of several industries
worldwide. Even though e-commerce platforms have long been on the rise, the process
was fast-tracked when quarantine guidelines were put into places.

The researchers of this study are mainly concerned to the advantages and
disadvantages of online selling according to the sellers and customers perception. The
success of this study will be beneficial to online sellers, online sellers can understand
and recognize how online selling helps them. For customers who would continue to do
online shopping as well as they can know the advantages and disadvantages of online
selling. And to future researchers that they can have the results of this study serves as
guide who will continue to study in similar nature.

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 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This research seeks to determine the advantages and disadvantages of online selling
according to the sellers and customers perception. Specifically, this answers to the
following questions:

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of online selling according to the
sellers and customers perception?

2. How effective is selling online than selling face to face according to the sellers
and customers perception?

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 RESEARCH METHODS

The study employed the descriptive-survey method and the data was gathered
through the use of questionnaires. The study was a mix of both qualitative and
quantitative method. The design was utilized to determine the advantages and
disadvantages of online selling according to the sellers and customers perception. City
of Tagbilaran, Bohol was the chosen as the locale of the study because it has many
online sellers as well as the researchers are from within this area. Tagbilaran City is led
by Mayor John Geesnell Baba Yap. The participants of this study were the 15 chosen
online seller and 15 randomly chosen customers to be a total of 30 respondents. They
were asked to suffice the data for the study. The study will be accomplished for the year
2020-2021.

Two self-designed questionnaires were used for the study. One for the sellers
and also one for the customers. The content of the questionnaires are about the
advantages and disadvantages of online selling as well as how online selling helps
them as a seller and a customer. Four-point Likert scale is being used ranging from (4)
strongly agree, (3) agree, (2) disagree and (1) strongly disagree. An additional
qualitative question was also included at the last part of the questionnaire. Intervention
of the respondents like how they understood the questions or statements in the
questionnaire can create a great impact on the study. The researchers should explain
well to avoid misunderstandings. Also, giving the wrong and inappropriate answers
alters the result of the study and may affect its credibility. The researchers asked
permission to the respondents to asked questions to generate the data needed for the
study. After getting the approval, the researchers sent to the respondents the
questionnaire via messenger. The researchers also did some face to face interview to
those respondents who are just their neighbor following safety health protocol. The data
gathered was arranged, tabulated and statistically analyzed.

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Statistical Treatment

T-test Statistical Treatment formula is being used in the study to determine if

there is a significance difference between the advantages and disadvantages of online
selling according to the sellers and customers perception.

The data in the questionnaires were gathered, tabulated and subjected for
treatment. The results were recorded and compared by getting the mean of the two
group in the questionnaires obtained used:

where:

x̄ - mean

Σ- summation

xi – the mean of a group

n- number of respondents

The formula of t-test is

M 1−¿ M
t= 2
¿
sM 1−¿ sM ¿2

where:

t- computed t test sM1- the standard deviation of group 1

M1- the mean of group 1 sM2- the standard deviation of group

M2- the mean of group 2

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 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This part of research shows the results and discussion of the data gathered by
the researchers through the questionnaires answered by the online sellers and
customers. The data gathered were group as two; the online sellers and the customers.
Table 1 is all about the sellers gathered data.

No. of No. of No. of No. of

Seller Seller Seller Seller
Advantages who who who who Interpretation
Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
1 Selling online is a good way to communicate 4 10 1 0 Agree
customer.
2. An online selling also involves less staff costs. 4 11 0 0 Agree
3. Reaching a global audience, thereby increasing 6 8 1 0 Agree
sales opportunities.
4.The business can be operated from anywhere. 9 4 2 0 Strongly Agree
5. Ensures a faster and easier store management. 3 12 0 0 Agree
Disadvantages
6. Waiting for the products to be sold. 5 10 0 0 Agree
7. There's massive competition to another online 7 6 1 1 Strongly Agree
sellers.
8. Lack trust issues of the customer. 1 8 6 0 Agree
9. Cancels of orders/fake orders. 3 11 1 0 Agree
10. Delayed pay-out duration. 2 12 1 0 Agree

Table 1: Data gathered through the Sellers

The Four Likert Scale:

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 Strongly Agree- 4 points Agree- 3 points
Disagree- 2 points Strongly Disagree- 1 point
Table 1 shows how many online sellers checked strongly agree, agree disagree
and strongly disagree. The advantages who got the highest number of online sellers
are: ensures a faster and easier store management who got 12 online sellers checked it
and; an online selling also involves less staff costs who also got 11 online sellers
checked it. The disadvantages he got the highest checked of online sellers are: delayed
pay-out duration who have 12 online sellers checked and; cancels of orders/fake orders
who have 11 online sellers checked.

Table 2 is all about the customers gathered data. The data were analyzed and being
used to determine what advantages and disadvantages of online selling according to
their perception.

No. of No. of No. of No. of

Custome Custom Customer Customer
Advantages r who er who who who Interpretation
Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
1. Can shop 24 hours a day. 4 1 6 4 Disagree
2.Buying online is less to encounter people. 7 8 0 0 Agree
3.Online shopping is convenient. 2 12 1 0 Agree
4. The price is at the lower rate or affordable. 2 10 3 0 Agree
5. Wide product variety. 1 14 0 0 Agree
Disadvantages
6. Lack of physical contact to the product. 8 6 0 1 Strongly Agree
7. Delivery and shipping costs may 5 9 1 0 Agree
sometimes be a difficult.
8. Security and credit card fraud are also huge 2 3 10 0 Disagree
risks when dealing with online shopping.
9. Frauds in online shopping. 1 12 2 0 Agree

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10. Shipping times can be lengthy. 3 12 0 0 Agree

Table 2: Data Gathered through the Customers

Table 2 show how many customers checked strongly agree, agree, disagree and
strongly disagree. The advantages that got the high checked by the customers are:
wide product variety who have 14 customers checked it and; online shopping is
convenient who got 12 customers checked it. The disadvantages that got the high
checked are: frauds in online shopping who have12 customers out of 15 and; shipping
times can be lengthy who got also 12 customers out of 15.

Respondents Mean Variance Tabular Level of Computed T- Decision

Value Significance Test
Seller 32.2 11.36 There is a
1.75 0.5 1.701 significance
Customer 30.2 7.49
difference.
Table 3: Relationship between the Sellers and Customers

Table 3 shows the relationship between the sellers and customers on the
advantages and disadvantages of online selling according to their perception. By using
the formula, results shows that the tabular value which is 1.75 is greater than the
computed t-test which is 1.701. Thus, the decision is there is a significance difference.
The researchers were able to determine that there is really a significance difference
between the sellers and customers. This means that sellers and customers have a
different perception on the advantages and disadvantages of online selling.

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Qualitative Question: How does online selling helps you as a seller or as a customer?

For the qualitative question, online selling helps most of the sellers to boost their
confidence in communicating to their customers and can have a business that could buy
their wants and needs. This means that online selling helps many sellers to attain a
good marketing strategy as well as it serves as a livelihood for them in this time of
pandemic. On the other hand, online selling helps most of the customers in terms of
being convenient in buying and it saves time in shopping. Online selling really helps
people, not just financially but also socially.

The researchers conclude that online selling has great advantages but it also has
disadvantages and it is according to the sellers and customers perception. Online
selling is more popular nowadays because of the pandemic which led people to mostly
stay home and won’t go out. It makes people do some easy and convenient shopping
instead of going out and go to malls. It also helps sellers to have a wide audience that
could see its products and services. It’s indeed an unfortunate year that the world is
experiencing. As the COVID-19 crisis has led people to limit physical interaction, online
selling as well as online shopping is highly recommended in this time of pandemic.

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Elias Vathias & Eleftheria Katsarou & Stathes Hadjiefthymiades, 2017. “A secondary
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Jia-xin, Y., Hong-xia, Z. (2010, November 7-9). Research on the Advantages and
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