Indian users spend almost Rs. 1 lakh per year on online shopping

According to a new study by credit card giant Visa, the average Indian Internet user spends $2,066, or approximately Rs. 96,000, on buying goods and services through the Internet every year. Purchasing digital downloads was the most popular form of consumer e-commerce, the study found. Seventy-six per cent of respondents from India, the highest among Asia-Pacific, have bought a form of digital entertainment over the Internet in the last 12 months. Music downloads (63 per cent) emerged as the most popular digital entertainment purchase.

 

The study also found that travel was a leading cause of e-commerce usage from July 2008 to June 2009. Airline tickets accounted for roughly 22per cent of the expenditure, while travel information, accommodation, online agent services and other modes of transport constituted another 22per cent. 

 

“Travel remains attractive for many consumers even as the global economic outlook remains cautious. Being able to search for a good deal, compare prices and save money is definitely a driver for consumers to go online,” said Uttam Nayak, Country Manager, South Asia, Visa.

The top three reasons for shopping online, cited by a majority of Indian respondents are the freedom to shop anytime (75 per cent), the ability to compare prices and save money (74 per cent) and save time (74 per cent).

 

A large amount of Indians also shopped on overseas sites, with 51per cent of this segment frequenting U.S. sites. The top three reasons for this were that products and services were not available on local websites (51 per cent), it was cheaper for them to purchase from overseas websites (17per cent), and because overseas websites offered better discounts (17per cent).