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Blame it on credit card frauds or people’s increasing reluctance to give out information on the Net, fewer people used the plastic to shop online in 2012.
A MasterCard survey of the online shopping habits of Indians finds that compared to 44.8 per cent who used credit cards for such shopping in 2010, only 34.2 per cent chose to do so in 2012. But this is better than the previous year when it was much lower at 28.8 per cent.
The survey covered 7,011 people (500 Indians) in 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, between November and December 2012, interviewing them on their online shopping habits during August-October 2012. Though the sample size is small, contrary to popular belief, Indian men beat women when it came to online shopping. While only 61 per cent women purchased 2.2 items each online in the three months, 75.1 per cent men had bought 3.4 products each. Those surveyed were in the 18-64 age group, but the regular online shoppers were concentrated in the 25-34 age bracket.
Expectedly, the most online spend was on airline tickets — an average of $238 in the three-month period — followed by payments to travel agencies ($129) and for hotels ($121). “These numbers are indicative of a booming travel industry and a willingness of consumers to make travel-related purchases online, which also holds greater potential for cross-border transactions. Mobile shopping shows room for further development too,” says a MasterCard spokesman.
Mobile shopping
The survey found that though three out of four respondents had Internet on their mobiles, cell phone shopping continued to remain low in India, with only 30 per cent of those with Net access shopping through their mobiles in that period.
Movie tickets, mobile apps and air tickets topped the purchase list. The ability to “shop on the go”, coupled with the availability of apps that facilitate shopping via the handset, has the potential to grow this market, finds the survey.
The most popular mode of payment for online shopping in India continues to be Net banking/debit cards at 41.1 per cent, followed by credit cards (34.2 per cent) and cash (14 per cent).
But country-wise, China splurges most on the Net with 102 Index points, followed by New Zealand (87), Australia (85), Singapore (84), and South Korea (82). At 78, India is not too far behind.
Rasheeda.bhagat@thehindu.co.in
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