<div>Indian shopping is finally moving online, and the trend is here to stay. So proves a report on the online shopping trends revealed by Google India on 28 January, by combining consumer interest observed on Google search and online research conducted by TNS. The study also shows that the existent users are satisfied with their online experience, with 90 per cent online shoppers claiming that they plan to buy more products online. <br /><br />As per the study, there was a 128 per cent growth in consumer interest in 2012. Rajan Anandan, VP & Managing Director of Google India, said: “With approximately 8 million Indians shopping online in 2012, online shopping industry in India is growing rapidly and will continue to see exponential growth.”<br /><br />The report 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.<br /><br />The apparel and accessories category has risen to the top by becoming second largest product category in terms of consumer interest in the country with 30 per cent of total market interest, after electronics which holds 34 per cent of the market. The report showed that in terms of product categories, this is the one to watch out for, since it is expected to overtake electronics in 2013.<br /><br />In terms of the top product categories ever purchased online, apparels and accessories was the top category with 84 per cent, followed by electronics at 71 per cent. The frequency of purchase was higher for categories like apparels and accessories at 34 per cent and beauty and personal care at 33 per cent, making it more profitable because of repeat purchase. <br /><br />Other categories that Indians searched for online in 2012 were Books, Beauty & Personal Care, Home and furnishing, Baby products and Healthcare. Home & furnishing and healthcare saw their growth double, and were the fastest growing categories in terms of query volume on Google search.<br /><br />Says Anandan, “We expect the growth to come from outside of top 8 metros as was evident in our recently concluded “Great Online Shopping Festival” which saw over 51 % of traffic from non-metros.” Non-metros seem to be fuelling the growth of online, with states like UP, West Bengal, Punjab, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand showing considerable online activity.<br /><br />As mentioned by Anandan, the tremendous growth of online shopping in small towns and cities is not counter intuitive, since these areas do not always have access to regularly updated stock as compared to metros. The online portal provides these unavailable products to their doorsteps, often at discounted prices.<br /><br />The report found a correlation between online ticketing and online shopping, with online ticket buyers being more comfortable with the online portal for transactions, thereby having a tendency to shop online. Besides having a higher average amount spent on their first product purchased of INR 2347, as compared to INR 1626 for other internet shoppers, online ticket buyers are more comfortable with the use of debit and credit cards, as opposed to cash on delivery. <br /> </div>
_20240920205457_original_image_22.webp)
