“The Internet is no longer a niche technology as far as Socio Economic Class A and perhaps even B is concerned—it is more powerful than mass media as it is interactive and it is an utterly integral part of modern life. Almost no aspect of life remains untouched by online media. As our lives become busier and cluttered, it isn’t surprising that consumers turn to the unrivalled convenience of the Internet when it comes to researching and buying products,” said N.S.Muthukumaran, Director, Online Research, The Nielsen Company, India.

Online shopping has opened up new avenues. Especially in the realm of traveling, the Internet has made it very convenient to book tickets. 73 percent Indians have purchased airline tickets/reservations in the past three months, this percentage being the highest for any country in Asia Pacific.

More than 60 percent of Irish and UAE Internet users bought airline tickets/reservations on the Internet in the last three months, making travel the fourth most popular shopping category on the web globally.

“The accessibility to a wide range of comparable information online, makes traveling a category that is extremely suited to the Internet and is a lucrative investment option for marketers,” continued Muthukumaran.

Books (46%), Electronic Equipments (29%), Tours & Hotel Reservations (24%), Videos/DVDs/Games (23%), Event Tickets (23%), Clothing/Accessories/Shoes (21%), and Music (20%) are some other popular purchases made online by Indians.

Globally the number of Internet consumers buying books over the Internet has increased seven percent in the past two years but the biggest increase has been in Clothing/Accessories/Shoes, which increased from 20 percent to 36 percent.

Payment Methods

Credit Card is the most common method of payment for online purchases made by Indians with 84% opting for that payment option over others. It is also the highest percentage for any country in Asia Pacific for payments made through Credit Cards for online purchases.  Debit Cards (29%), Bank Transfers (24%) and Cash on Delivery (13%) are some other methods of payment that are popular amongst Indians.

Of those paying with cards, more than half (63%) use Visa. The other payment cards used by Indians for their online payments are Master Card, American Express, Visa Electron, Visa Debit, and Maestro.

Turkish online shoppers (who represent the economic elite in that country) topped global rankings for credit card usage (91%) for online purchases followed by 86 percent of Irish online shoppers and 84 percent of Indian and UAE online shoppers. 

Selecting Online Shopping Sites

The majority of Indian online shoppers are loyal to the sites that they shop from. 54 percent said that they buy from the same site while making an online purchase.

“Online shoppers tend to stick to the shopping sites they are familiar with. Capturing the online shoppers early and creating a positive shopping experience for them would prove beneficial in the long run for marketers,” said Muthukumaran.

48 percent of the Online Indians were influenced by special offers on sites. “India is a promotion oriented country and for an Indian consumer special offers enhance the value of their shopping,” continued Muthukumaran.

General Surfing (40%), Personal Recommendation (31%), Online Advertising (26%), Search Engines (22%), and Online Recommendation & Review (22%) are some other factors that influence online shoppers in India.

Usage of Internet

In India 20 percent of those surveyed access the Internet every day. The major usage of Internet by Indians every day is for Emails (85%), second highest percentage for Asia Pacific after Hong Kong (86%), Instant Messaging (57%), Accessing News, Sports or Weather Updates (46%), Logging into Social Networking websites (42%), Chat Groups (28%), and Reading Blogs (24%).

“Indians love networking with people. It is well known that Indians are one of the heaviest users of mobile phones. They exhibit similar propensity online as well, in areas which would help them stay connected with family and friends.” said Muthukumaran.