Retail in Asia

In Markets

Online shopping up in India this summer

The summer heat is forcing Indians to stay indoors, triggering a significant rise in online shopping sales. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) recently reported a 155 percent rise in online trends, compared to the same period last year (85 percent).

“This summer season, there is 155 percent more traffic on online retail websites and shopping on ground has taken a back seat due to rising heat. Apart from convenience, rising fuel price, online discounts and availability with abundance of choice keeping them indoors," said Mr. D S Rawat, Secretary General ASSOCHAM, during the release of the latest survey results.

Consumers from Delhi were found to be the top online shoppers, followed by Mumbai and Bangalore.

The survey, which interviewed 3,500 shoppers, showed that 78 percent of Delhiites prefer shopping online while 14 percent prefer to shop in traditional markets. Around 7 percent of respondents said they prefer to visit a mall for their shopping needs, while 1 percent said they prefer shopping at specialty stores.

In other cities like Mumbai, 45 percent chose to buy daily routine products through e-shopping in 2012-13, which is expected to increase to 68 percent this summer for apparel, gift articles, magazines, home tools, toys, jewelry, beauty products & sporting goods categories.

The survey noted that India has more than 110 million Internet users and around half are online shoppers. “Customer behaviour is changing dramatically. People are not only using the Web to book air tickets and movie tickets but also do not hesitate in placing orders for apparel, cosmetic, mobiles, laptops and other consumer electronics and home appliances," Rawat said.

Most products bought sold online comprise include: gift articles (58 percent), books (42 percent), electronic gadgets (41 percent), railway tickets (39 percent), accessories apparel (36 percent), apparel (36 percent), computer and peripherals (33 percent), airline tickets (29 percent), music (24 percent), movies tickets (26 percent), magazine (19 percent), home tools and products (16%), home appliances (16 percent), toys (16 percent), jewelry (15 percent), beauty products (12 percent), health and fitness products (12 percent), apparel gift certificates( 10 percent) and sporting goods (7 percent).

Those who are averse to shopping online cited various reasons such as: preference for actually buying from a store (30 percent), delivery costs too high (20 percent), don’t want to share personal financial information online (25 percent), lack of trust on whether products would be delivered in good condition (15 percent), don’t have a credit/debit card (10 percent).