30pc of Chennaites click online to shop

Chennai:

Online shopping is catching up in Chennai and about 30 per cent of the city’s population clicked the Internet to buy daily routine products during last financial year, according to a survey.

The survey, which was conducted in five metropolitan cities by Assocham, also predicted that during the current financial year 40-45 per cent of city’s population is likely to prefer the online medium for buying gift articles, magazines, home tools, toys, jewelry, beauty products and sporting goods.

The report states that shopping trends of Indian consumers have witnessed a significant change leading to a record 65 per cent rise in online trends over the regular shopping compared to last year.

“There is a 65pc more traffic on online retail websites and shopping on ground has taken a back seat. Apart from convenience, rising fuel price, security reasons, online discounts and availability with abundance of choice kept consumers indoors,” states the study.

According to the survey, India has more than 100 million Internet users, out of which around half opt for online purchases and the number is growing every year.  Interestingly, the report points out that India's online shopping is registering a phenomenal 100 per cent annual growth and this has forced many retail chains and consumer durable companies to join the web bandwagon to tap the e-shopping market.

“Customer behaviour is changing dramatically. People are not only using the Internet to book air tickets and movie tickets but also do not hesitate in placing orders for mobiles, laptops and other consumer electronics and home appliances," adds the survey.

The online shopping boom is not restricted to metros alone. Internet users in cities like Trichy, Jaipur, Dehradun and Nasik also preferr to shop online, the study says. The reasons for e-shoppers number to multiply is due to factors like home delivery which saves time, secondly ’24×7′ hours shopping with ease and availability factors for product comparisons, the survey adds.

Most products bought and sold off through online comprise gift articles (58 per cent), books (42pc), electronic gadgets (41pc), railway tickets (3pc), accessories apparel (36pc), apparel (36pc), computer and peripherals (33pc), airline tickets (29pc), music (24pc), movies tickets (26pc), hotel rooms (20pc), magazine (19pc), home tools and products (16pc), home appliances (16pc), toys (16pc), jewelry (15pc), beauty products (12pc), health and fitness products (12pc), apparel gift certificates (10pc) and sporting goods (7pc), adds the survey.

The survey further reveals that 35 per cent of regular shoppers are in 18-25 age group, 55pc in 26-35, 8pc in 36-45 and 2pc in the age group of 45-60. Eighty-five per cent of online shoppers are male as against 15pc female. The products that are sold most are in the tech and fashion category, which include mobile phones, ipad and accessories, MP3 players, digital cameras and jewellery, among others.