A Study on Impact of Digital Booking and Online Payment on Lpg istribution

The integration of digital booking and online payment services has greatly impacted the LPG distribution industry in terms of efficiency, transparency, and ease of use. With the advancement of smartphones, internet accessibility, and government initiatives for cashless transactions, consumers are increasingly using mobile applications, web portals, and online payment services for LPG cylinder bookings and payments. Online services assist in reducing manual labour, preventing billing errors, and faster processing of orders, thus enhancing distributor-customer interaction and services. Despite the benefits, several contemporary issues impact the effectiveness of online LPG services. Consumers are faced with problems such as payment gateway errors, delayed confirmation of transactions, refund delays in case of failed transactions, server down issues during peak hours of booking, OTP authentication errors, and application usability. Additionally, digital literacy issues are common among rural and senior citizens, and network connectivity issues often disrupt the booking process. Moreover, cybersecurity threats, data security issues, and a lack of trust in online transactions often discourage consumers from availing online services. This paper explores the effects of online booking and online payment services on efficiency, delivery time, and customer satisfaction, and analysis of the contemporary issues and their effects on technology acceptance among LPG. The findings aim to provide practical recommendations to improve reliability, accessibility, and user confidence in digital LPG distribution systems.