Based on the volume of goods purchased and sold online, the city is the fifth largest e-commerce hub in the country.

Chennai residents buy everything from water filters, nose hair trimmers, tanzanite gemstones to men's underwear online. The findings, based on a census carried out by eBay to identify online shopping patterns, show that the residents predominantly buy technology products online (46 per cent).

Kancheepuram (the district hosts much of the IT Corridor and several educational institutions) comes second, after Chennai, in online shopping volumes. Among all States, Tamil Nadu ranks third in the country.

Addressing press persons here on Wednesday, Rajesh Ramachandran, General Manager – India Product Centre, eBay, said: “There is a strong evidence to show that online commerce is becoming mainstream.”

The numbers based on a study of all transactions that happened in eBay's virtual marketplace between July 2010 and June 2011 also show that brand conscious city residents are ordering lifestyle products from abroad. The purchase of such items account for 43 per cent of the transactions, which is the second most popular category. Pointing to women shoppers increasingly becoming web-savvy, Mr. Ramachandran said that Chennai virtually buys the most Tanzanite gemstones in the country. “Most sales are from shoppers based in Mandaveli and Mylapore. On the sales side, Chennai builds the world by exporting the most marble tiles in the country,” he added.