Indians are buying more and more through online shopping stores, thanks to IRCTC for making users comfortable in buying online and Flipkart, EbayIndia to take the buying habit to the next level. Now Indians feel safe to use their Debit cards/ Credit Cards on making online purchase. According to a study conducted by Google India and TNS Australia, consumer interest in online shopping has seen 128% growth in the year 2011-2012, as compared to 40% growth in 2010-2011 and this trend is expected to see exponential growth in 2013.
The study was compiled by combining data from Google Trends and online research conducted by TNS Australia with a sample size of 800 respondents on behalf of Google India in November 2012. The respondents include Male (63%), Female (37%) under the age group 18 to 50 with 71% respondents in the age group of 18 to 35. Of this respondents 89% users were heavy Internet users with 67% users having access to their own money and 33% having access to someone else’s money. The sample size had a monthly average household income of Rs 55,051. The respondents were spread across Delhi (22%), Mumbai (24%), Kolkata (9%), Bangalore (17%), Ahmedabad (6%), Hyderabad (12%), Pune (7%) and others (2%).
First watch out the amazing video from Google India, summarizing Online Shopping Trends in India, 2013 –
- As the mobile Internet user base grows in India (890million+), they are becoming a contributor in the surge for online shopping with Google witnessing 2X growth in number of queries from mobile phones in the year 2011 to 2012. Currently, 30 per cent of all shopping queries in India come from mobile.
- In terms of product categories, consumer electronics generated the highest number consumer interest in Google search accounting for 34% search queries. Apparels & Accessories emerged as the second biggest product category with 30 %. According to the study it’s expected Apparels & Accessories to become bigger than consumer electronics in 2013 in terms of absolute query volumes. Other categories that Indians searched for online were Books 15%, Beauty & Personal care 10%, Home & furnishing 6%, Baby products 2% and Healthcare 3%.
- In terms of top product categories purchased online, apparels & accessories was the top category 84 %, followed by electronics 71 %, beauty & personal care 64%, books 62% and household products 61%. The research also highlighted that baby products 39%, health & nutrition 43% were also becoming popular with online buyers.
- 90% of online shoppers are planning to buy more products online which is a reflection of the positive experience of users.
- The frequency of purchase was higher for categories like apparels & accessories 34%, beauty & personal care 33% products in comparison to electronics 28%, which also makes these categories more profitable because of repeat purchase.
- The study reveals online ticketing emerged as the gateway for converting more users to shop online, as it was easier to convert online ticket buyers to shop online. Online ticket consumers were also likely to spend higher average amount of Rs 2,347 on their first product purchase in comparison to Rs 1,626 for Internet users.
- Online ticket buyers were also seen to be more comfortable with the use of debit cards 24%, credit cards 19% and cash on delivery 55%. For regular Internet users, cash on delivery was the most preferred mode of payment 74%, followed by debit card 18% and credit card 5%.
- In terms of motivators to shop online, consumers highlighted cash back guarantee as the number one benefit, ability to give cash on delivery, fast delivery, great deals and access to branded products were highlighted amongst the other benefits of shopping online.
- Consumers also highlighted some barriers that deter them from shopping online – the number one factor was inability to touch and try the goods before purchase, fear of faulty products, fear of posting their personal and financial details online and the inability to bargain were cited among the other reasons.
Fuelling to the online shopping trend, Google on 12-12-12 partnered with all major Indian online stores to launch ‘Great Online Shopping Festival India‘, a 24 hours online shopping festival wherein the online stores offers the best deals ever.