Online shopping takes off in India: comScore

Retail web audience grows 18 percent in the past year as nearly 3 of every 5 internet users now shop online

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | December 22, 2011

comScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, has released a report on visitation to the top Retail and Coupon sites in India based on data from its comScore Media Metrix service. The report found that nearly 60 percent of online users in India visited a Retail site in November 2011, with the number of online shoppers increasing 18 percent in the past year. The report also found that Coupon sites are rapidly gaining in popularity, with 16.5 percent of the Indian online population visiting the category in November, led by Snapdeal.com and Mydala.com.

“The online channel is playing an increasingly important role in connecting retailers with potential customers in India,” said Kedar Gavane, comScore director for India. “To take advantage of this growing opportunity, retailers must ensure they are addressing the needs of potential customers, which include attractive pricing and the convenience of ordering online. The rapid growth of online coupon sites suggests that consumers in India are looking for deals, highlighting the need for online retailers to adopt effective marketing and pricing strategies for their goods.”

Number of Online Shoppers Climbs 18 Percent in the Past Year

In November 2011, 27.2 million online users in India age 15 and older accessed the Retail category from a home or work computer, an increase of 18 percent from the previous year, as consumers continue to turn to the web to shop for and purchase items and retailers continue to increase their online visibility through active marketing campaigns. Analysis of some of the largest Retail subcategories revealed that Coupons was the largest with 7.6 million visitors, an increase of 629 percent from the previous year as consumers rapidly adopt daily deal sites. Consumer Electronics ranked next with 7.1 million visitors growing 12 percent from the previous year, while 5.8 million online users visited Comparison Shopping sites, an increase of 25 percent from the previous year.

Amazon and Apple Top List of Retail Sites

Amazon Sites led as the top retail destination in India reaching 6.8 million visitors, representing 14.7 percent of the online population. Apple.com Worldwide Sites saw its audience reach 3.4 million visitors, followed by Samsung Group with nearly 2.8 million visitors. Other top retail destinations included Flipkart.com (2.7 million visitors), HomeShop18.com (2.3 million visitors) and Naaptol.com (2.1 million visitors).

*Excludes visits from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs

Snapdeal.com and Mydala.com Lead the Coupons Category

In November 2011, 7.6 million Indians visited Coupon sites, representing 16.5 percent of Internet users in the market. Snapdeal.com led the category with 5.2 million visitors, followed by Mydala.com with 1.4 million visitors and Crazeal.com with nearly 1 million visitors.

*Excludes visits from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs

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