Did you know India ranks third in the world in terms of online users? Around 151.6 millions of people from India are avid Internet users. However, this number only makes up 12.6% of the total population of the country.
Online Shopping Trends
2012 was considered to be the ‘pitch point’ for Indian online market, as the year witnessed a whopping growth of online shopping by 128% as compared to the previous year. With such a massive increase, the Google India and TBS Australia have geared up to analyze the key eCommerce trends prevailing in India this year, so as to make sure the online retailers take advantage of the changing marketing norms in this country.
Below are a few of the trends turned up by the analysis. Do have a read!
- The survey suggests that 9 out of 10 online consumers intend to spend more on online purchasing this year than they did in 2012
- Actually people from non-metro cities in India are driving the trend of online purchasing. The report shows that the increase in online transactions has been made possible by people living small cities and towns across the country
- One of the reasons is that small cities are not equipped with facilities which metros have. For instance branded outlets are only located in select cities and metros. In such a case, Internet shopping becomes the only option to avail such brands
- Smart phones are going to become the next big tool to augment this growing trend, whilst being the source for large number of queries
- Since last two years, it is seen that consumers have shifted their likeness from electronics to apparels and accessories online. These two categories are going to overtake electronic items by the end of 2013 thereby becoming the leading shopping categories across the World Wide Web
- The increasing trend of online buying will also indulge some new categories, such as home décor furnishing, baby products and health and nutrition. These categories are expected to become leading purchasing verticals next to apparels and accessories. The survey indicates that 2 out of every 5 online customers have purchased from these categories atleast once
- Travel is one of the major elements involved when it comes to eCommerce success stories. The online travel shopping is a prominent factor in online businesses. Travel is and will always be the gateway for Internet shopping. Reports suggest that most of the new shoppers have made some business in travel before moving to other categories. Travel bookings are going to remain in the most popular category in purchasing in 2013
The top driving factors for online shopping in India
- Facility of CAD (cash on delivery)
- Fast delivery
- Significant discounts through online couponing
- Access to branded products
- Cash back guarantee on faulty items
The top drawbacks checking people from buying online
- Can’t review the product physically before proceeding to billing
- Lack of immediate access to the purchased items
- Can’t return the faulty items purchased from the store
- Doubtful on sharing card details on the Internet
- Inability to bargain to get a better deal
Below is a video summarizing the essence of this blog post. Have a look!
