A joint study by Yahoo and Mindshare deep dives into the online shopping behaviour of Indian consumers. Titled ‘Mobile Consumer Journey - 2016’, the study is based on research of the shopping behaviour of users across devices for 31 different categories, including travel, electronic devices and consumer packaged goods. The findings highlight the dominant play of mobile devices in the consumer’s purchase decisions.

MA Parthasarathy, Chief Product Officer, Mindshare South Asia, says, “The e-commerce landscape in India is perhaps the most dynamic in the world, largely due to the rapidly evolving mobile ecosystem.” Francis Che, Head of Insights, APAC, Yahoo, adds, “The consumer path-to-purchase is turning more complex and non-linear, with mobile at the centre of this evolution. As mobile devices become more important in the consumer’s last-mile purchase decision, brands need to build a targeted, more seamless shopping experience across all channels to strengthen sales and acquire new customers.”

According to the report, some of the key drivers to shop online include saving time or effort, attractive discounts and promotions and the convenience to shop anywhere, anytime. The barriers that keep them away from shopping online include non-authentic goods, unreliable delivery and lack of quality control.

The cautious and the bold

A city-wise break-up for mobile transactions shows that 75 per cent online shoppers in Kolkata are open to mobile transactions followed by Chennai with 64 per cent and Delhi with 57 per cent. Surprisingly, online shoppers in metros like Mumbai and Bangalore are ‘cautiously open’, with less than 35 per cent of them preferring mobile transactions to other mode of payments. However, the more customers browse through a mobile, the higher the conversion rates to buy. Of the total number of people buying through mobiles, 79 per cent preferred buying on a mobile device compared to 9 per cent on a PC or laptop and 12 per cent at a physical store. Also, online shoppers are more likely to use their mobile device to make regular or impulse purchases rather than expensive ones. Travel, music and movies dominate the transactions on mobile. But when it comes to insurance or health supplements, consumers prefer buying them on a PC or laptop. Users are less likely to buy financial services products on mobiles as they see these as complex purchase decisions.

The categories with a significant in-store purchases included the personal hygiene category with 30 per cent customers opting for the physical stores and luxury accessories, where 27 per cent of respondents preferred showrooms. The categories on the high growth quadrant for shopping using mobiles over other modes include apparel, electronic devices, baby and pet care products.

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