A recent survey has claimed that India is set to become the third largest nation of internet users in the next two years.
A large chunk of youngsters in the country are eager to adopt new technologies with rapidly changing lifestyles and easy availability of broadband services and increasing internet penetration will help India's online retail industry to grow worth Rs 7,000 crore by 2015, the survey says.
The Social Development Foundation (ASDF) of the country's apex industry body 'ASSOCHAM' conducted the survey in ten cities during January to June 2011.
Around 5,000 shoppers, in the age group between 16-35 years in the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad,Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Lucknow and Jaipur, were interviewed as part of it, 'ASSOCHAM' sources said.
"A booming economy and rising disposable incomes have contributed to the evolution of online shopping,” said D S Rawat, secretary general of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).
About 40 per cent of those surveyed across the cities said they prefer to shop online due to the convenience to shop anytime during the 24 hours and one could collect detailed product information.
Consumers in Mumbai ranked number one among top five cities, who prefer shopping online and cited rising fuel prices as one of the primary reasons they do not want to visit traditional shopping hubs.
Ahmedabad ranked second where almost 55 per cent of respondents said they prefer online shopping, followed by Delhi, where 45 per cent of consumers said they would prefer not to venture outdoors for shopping.
Shoppers in Bangalore ranked 5th with 30 per cent of respondents saying they prefer to shop online, whereas 35 per cent of shoppers (mostly youngsters) said they prefer to stroll through malls for their shopping needs.
About 15 per cent of respondents said they prefer to shop at neighborhood markets and around 20 per cent of them opted for shopping at specialty stores to buy specific commodities such as groceries, apparels, toiletries and stationary.
However, a 20 per cent of the respondents said they prefer to shop at local traditional markets because of the familiarity with the ambiance, easy access, variety of goods, early opening and late closing and shop owners’ relationship with loyal customers.
