Navigating the Digital Marketplace: Customer Journey Mapping of Women Entrepreneurs in Bihar

Author : Dr Trisha Tripti, Dr. Anam Fatima

Abstract : The emergence of social commerce has transformed the entrepreneurial ecosystem by lowering market-entry barriers for women owned enterprises in developing economies. In Bihar, women entrepreneurs increasingly leverage social networking platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram to establish customer relationships, promote products, and generate sales through trustbased interactions. As these enterprises grow, many gradually move towards structured e-commerce ecosystems supported by digital payments, integrated logistics, inventory management, and customer relationship management. Despite this evolving digital landscape, limited empirical research has examined how this transition reshapes the customer journey and influences customer experience and business performance among women entrepreneurs in resource-constrained regions. Grounded primarily in the Customer Journey Mapping (CJM) framework and supported by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) Theory, this study examines customer interactions across the key stages of awareness, consideration, purchase, fulfilment, postpurchase engagement, and customer advocacy. Adopting a descriptive and analytical research design, the study draws upon primary data collected through structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with women entrepreneurs across Bihar, complemented by secondary data from government reports, digital commerce databases, and scholarly literature. The study examines how the shift from relationship-driven social commerce to structured e-commerce influences customer experience, transaction processes, service reliability, customer satisfaction, retention, and loyalty. It further explores the role of digital capability, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, digital trust, and institutional support in facilitating this digital transition. While social commerce enables entrepreneurial entry through community networks, relationship-based marketing, and relatively low operational costs, structured e-commerce offers greater transaction security, transparency, service standardization, and operational scalability. However, digital literacy gaps, inadequate logistics infrastructure, limited technological readiness, and financial constraints continue to impede digital transformation. The study contributes to the literature on digital entrepreneurship, women’s economic empowerment, and customer experience by integrating Customer Journey Mapping with technology adoption perspectives to explain how women entrepreneurs navigate evolving digital marketplaces. The findings provide useful implications for policymakers, entrepreneurship development institutions, digital platform providers, and MSME support agencies seeking to develop inclusive digital ecosystems and promote sustainable women-led enterprises in emerging economies.

Keywords : Women Entrepreneurship, Social Commerce, E-Commerce, Customer Journey Mapping, Digital Transformation, Technology Acceptance Model, Diffusion of Innovation Theory, Customer Experience, Digital Entrepreneurship, Customer Behaviour, MSMEs, Bihar.

Conference Name : International Conference on Customer Experience and Personalization in E-Commerce (ICCEPE - 26)

Conference Place : Delhi, India

Conference Date : 29th Aug 2026