Online shopping to double by 2016 in India: Boston Consulting Group Report

There is no doubt that Indian Consumer Internet space is surely on an upswing, with more than 200 million Internet users and estimated to likely have the second-largest Internet user base in the world, and the largest in terms of incremental growth, with 330 million to 370 million Internet users in 2015 the market is here to grow.

Online shopping by urban consumers will more than double over the next two years in the country to 14 percent from 6 percent last year, says a Boston Consulting Group report.

According to the BCG digital influence study 2013-14, online shopping is expected to rise to 14 percent by 2016 from 6 per cent in 2013. It also said already 25 percent of travel and tourism-related sales are digitally driven in the country currently.

Digital influence is rapidly expanding to small urban towns and rural areas, as the number of mobile users have increased. More than 34 percent of total Internet users in the country are from small towns, while 25 percent are from rural areas.

Of the total urban Internet users, around 57 percent are of ages 25 and above, and 45 percent use only their mobile devices to access the Internet. The study also said by 2016, the urban Internet user base would rise to 47 percent from 28 percent in 2013.

According to the report, discounts are not the only driving force for people to switch to online shopping, as was previously thought, but factors like convenience and access to wider assortment is also largely influencing shopping decisions.

Giving a snapshot of the key sectors driving online shopping, the report said the airline ticketing led the chart with 25 percent of sales being completed online last year, while the same stood at 6 percent in regard to cars, though 32 percent searched online before buying. However, only 8 percent of the mobile/PC sales were online during the same period.