Indians say that shopping is the primary reason for accessing the Internet, and not social media. According to the survey conducted by American Express and Nielsen, 98% of participants said that shopping is the main reason for getting online, while 96% said that it was social networking. Banking, booking tickets and emails completed the list of top five reasons Indians use the internet, with 95% each. The survey, titled ‘Understanding Online Consumers’, was conducted across six Indian cities, namely, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad. It found 70% of Indian consumers opting to shop online with cards rather than cash-on-delivery, as they felt it is quicker, and offers safer refunds. It was also noted that almost all responding youngsters claimed to have shopped online in the past year. Manoj Adlakha, CEO of American Express Banking Corp., said “Shopping has always been the favourite pastime for India and now it has become the virtual pastime.”
The survey also found that Indian women are more likely to use cards for online transactions as compared to men, with 74% of women opting to use this medium for online transactions. It was also noted that 98% of women used mobile apps to shop online, while 81% of men used mobile apps.