MANGALURU: Consumers are increasingly opting for online shopping preferably mobile phones, electronic gadgets, consumer durables, apparel, home appliances and gift articles on the occasion of Diwali, the sale may touch Rs 30,000 crore as against Rs. 22,000 crore spent last year, a quick survey by ASSOCHAM National Council on E-commerce.

The survey conducted in 10 cities-Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Dehradun has revealed that online shopping industry in India is fast catching on, not just in the larger metros but also in the tier II and tier III cities. The respondents included 350 professionals, officers and executives across various industry sectors including manufacturing, real estate, automobile, healthcare, retail, hospitality etc.

The rise of high-speed internet has enabled more people from smaller towns to come online and buy goods this year. The use of smartphone has also helped its e-commerce industry to grow, said D S Rawat, Secretary General ASSOCHAM.

As per the ASSOCHAM findings, Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru lead in terms of the sales, but there is also a huge surge of interest from tier II and Tier III cities like Pune, Gurgaon, Noida, Chandigarh Nagpur, Indore, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Vishakhapatnam have increased by 60-65 per cent year-on-year, points out the paper.

The survey highlights that 35 per cent of regular shoppers are in 18-25 age group, 55 per cent in 26-35, 8 per cent in 36-45 and 2 per cent in the age group of 45-60. 65 per cent of Online Shoppers are male as against 35 per cent female. As per report, men and women between the age group of 25 and 34 years of age shop online the most during the festive season.

As per the findings, most products bought and sold off through online comprise mobile phones (78 per cent), electronic gadgets (72 per cent), consumer durables (69 per cent), gift articles (58 per cent), accessories (56 per cent), apparel (49 per cent), home appliances (45 per cent), adds the survey.

This festive season, shopping on ground has taken a back seat. There are various reasons for this lifestyle, lack of time, being away from home for work, nuclear families, etc. These have brought about a change in the festive shopping methods. Online shopping has brought about convenience and ease into the customers’ lives, said Rawat.

As per the data, about 65 per cent of Delhiites prefer online shopping over the regular shopping this year with available deals online than in brick and mortar, also advantage of free shipping with a “click” option.

There has been a five-fold increase in ordering through e-commerce as compared to last year, as branded apparels, accessories, jewellery, gifts etc are available at cheaper rates and are delivered at the doorstep within two-three days, said ASSOCHAM report.

Campaigning for digitalization in India and attractive offers on online payments during sales, credit cards have emerged as the favorite payment method while shopping this Diwali, adds the paper.

