Security concerns, heavy discounts, abundant choices and rising fuel prices are some of the reasons why many Internet savvy Indians have shifted to online shopping this Diwali, says an Assocham survey.
This could expand e-commerce business by 250 per cent this festive season in major cities, it said. "Online buying trends have witnessed a significant jump this Diwali due to aggressive online discounts, rising fuel prices and abundant online choices keeping shoppers indoors. Plus there are security concerns, besides other inconveniences in big cities," Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.
Based on feedback received from 1,200 traders, the survey said that online shopping could grow by 250 per cent during this festive season in big cities like Delhi-NCR, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Pune, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Cochin, Chennai, Udaipur and Jaipur.
"Shopkeepers in major economic hubs clocked sales worth Rs 5,000 crore in last few days through online shopping in October 2013," Rawat said quoting the survey.
Other reasons for e-shoppers multiplying are factors such as home delivery which saves time, along with '24x7' hours shopping with ease and availability factors for product comparisons, it said.
As many as 71 per cent of those surveyed in Delhi who are Internet savvy said they prefer shopping online, while 21 per cent preferred to shop in traditional markets during Diwali.
In other cities like Mumbai, 55 per cent population used to the Internet chose to buy daily routine products through online shopping in 2012-13, which is likely to grow to 69 per cent in current fiscal, it said.
The survey further said that 38 per cent of regular shoppers are in 18-28 age group, 52 per cent in 29-38, 8 per cent in 39-49 and 2 per cent in the age group of 50-60. Besides, 78 per cent online shoppers are male as against 22 per cent female.
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