Sitting in the comforts of your home, today you can browse through the best brands in the world. You can purchase everything you need without having to worry about making it all the way to the mall and finding a parking spot!
Online purchasing as a phenomenon has revolutionized the way businesses and consumers operate in today's world.We are no longer confined by geography or any other dimension for satisfying our shopping needs.
The best deals from world over are a click away, all you need is the appetite to shop backed by a credit card and an Internet connection!
The growth of the online shopping domain has been a slow but steady one in India. The main reason for the same is the low Internet penetration rate in India and the traditional psyche of the consumers who like to "touch and feel the product"
However, the inevitable paradigm shift from traditional shopping arcades to virtual platforms has taken place, as shown by a survey conducted by Market Research firm - AC Nielsen.
The key findings of the survey are:
More than eight out of ten Indian online consumers plan to shop online in the next twelve months
More than a quarter indicate they spend upwards of 11 percent of their monthly shopping expenditure on online purchases
71 percent Indians trust recommendations from family when making an online purchase decision, followed by recommendations from friends at 64 percent and online product reviews at 29 percent
Half the Indian consumers (50%) use social media sites to help them make online purchase decisions.
Online reviews and opinions are most important for Indians when buying Consumer Electronics (57%), Software (50%), and a Car (47%).
More than four in ten Indians are more likely to share (post a review/ Tweet/ review) a negative product or service experience online than they were to share a positive experience
In the next six months Indians are most likely to buy Books (41%), Airline ticket/reservations (40%), and Electronic equipment like TV, Camera, etc. (36%) online
When shopping online, one third of Indians (33%) purchase most frequently from websites which allow them to select products from many different stores.
The benefits of online shopping are many - the most evident benefit is obviously the ease of use and convenience to shoppers. Online shopping allows users to access, compare and analyze various products all at once.
The market has opened up with innovative initiatives from eBay, Futurebazaar, Dealsandyou, Rediff shopping, Yebhi and so forth have escalated the the interest and expectations of compulsive shopaholics.
What is interesting is that the phenomenon of online shopping has caught up not just in a few metros but also in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.
However, on the flip-side, security concerns over online payment continue to pose threat to the growth of these online shopping portals.
The other concerns are:
- The probability of the final delivered product not meeting the expectations of the customers, as you never really see the product till it comes home!
- Risk of mishandling and shipping issues
- Hidden costs and Shipping fee
- Risk of an online fraud
- Spyware concerns - Your personal data can be compromised
- Returning merchandise - The process is much more cumbersome and time consuming than going to a shop and asking for an exchange or return.
With the advent of technology and use of sophisticated payment and distribution channels, these concerns will be taken care of. The future of online shopping is certainly a bright one - with the brick and mortar businesses getting a hang of e-commerce, soon enough everything from a needle to a helicopter will be up for grabs online!
The author of this article is a Social Media Strategist from an Internet Marketing Agency chiqavirtual.com chiqavirtual.com
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