The FINANCIAL — India faces serious hurdles on the path to universal access to the internet, but that hasn’t stopped a majority of those who are online from considering online purchases of a variety of products.
According to the August 2011 report “The Checkout International: Indian Shoppers” from The Integer Group, a retail branding agency with offices worldwide, 42% of consumers in urban India had purchased travel-related tickets online, while another 33% would consider doing so in the future.
According to eMarketer, travel tickets were the most common online purchase among consumers in India, but a majority have purchased or would consider purchasing clothes, electronics, mobile phones or tickets for movies, shows or concerts.
eMarketer estimates that the number of online buyers in India will reach 21.5 million in 2012, driving $14.2 billion in business-to-consumer (B2C) ecommerce sales, including travel, for the year. Retail ecommerce, which excludes travel, will reach $2.4 billion.
Travel will continue to account for the majority of online sales through 2015, but as online retailers improve services and selection, online buyers will look to the web for a wider variety of products and better prices.
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