About 49pc of Indian consumers prefer shopping through ecommerce, shows LocalCircles survey

The COVID-19 pandemic has given way to increased comfort and acceptance with the ecommerce mode of shopping in India, with consumers enthused by its numerous advantages, according to a survey.

Community social media platform LocalCircles— in its survey of consumers from 358 Indian districts — found that 49 percent of Indian consumers and their families preferred ecommerce for shopping.

LocalCircles undertook this survey to understand the impact the pandemic has had on Indian consumers, especially when the country went into lockdown on March 25, 2020, and the gradual easing of restrictions since then.

ALSO READ

Here's how ecommerce giant Flipkart is innovating to keep coronavirus at bay

On the trust regarding ecommerce shopping, the survey found that 86 percent of respondents preferred 'safe deliveries or no reason to step out.' The other top driving factors included competitive prices, ease of return policy, expanded product selection, faster deliveries, etc.

The Indian ecommerce industry received major traction ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with leading players like Flipkartand Amazonstating their business volumes exceeding the pre-COVID levels. In fact, the grocery segment of ecommerce received a big boost because of the pandemic.

The LocalCircles survey received over 1.3 lakh responses, with consumers from metros, Tier II, and beyond locations participating in it.

LocalCircles said, “In summary, 2020 has been the transformative year in the history of Indian ecommerce because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Something that would have taken three-five years in terms of consumer acquisition and penetration happened in just one year, as many preferred to order what they needed via ecommerce sites and apps.”

In terms of the kind of products purchased on the ecommerce platform, the survey revealed that 69 percent bought essentials and groceries, 54 percent bought medium value items like electronic accessories, apparels, while 32 percent purchased high-value discretionary items like white goods, furniture, etc.

The survey also found that 33 percent of shoppers purchased everything they needed through the ecommerce route, while 29 percent bought a majority of their products.

The big plus for the ecommerce industry has been that consumers were very positive about the product description, delivery dates, return policies, ratings and reviews, and interactive media.