E-commerce is fast catching up in India and the recent reports suggest that India saw a growth of 128% in online shopping in the year 2011-2012. In larger scheme of thing this may just be a tip of the ice berg but for the present time it is substantial. As internet penetration is going beyond tier 1 cities to tier 2 and tier 3 cities compounded with advent of many e-commerce players this number is set to grow exponentially. Increase in disposable income and easy access to the e-commerce platform through various devices like mobile, tablet etc have also contributed to the growth of this sector.

 

The expansion of online product categories gives people more choices to purchase the product they are looking for. This also fuels the growth of overall online shopping. The report suggests that almost 90% of the online shopper would like to purchase more products through this e-commerce channel. This sentiment of people reflects the confidence they are putting on online shopping. Though people bought products across various categories but some of the top categories included Apparels & accessories, Electronics, beauty and personal care, books and household products.

Online shopping websites have come up with many marketing strategies to attract customers by offering them heavy discounts, bringing flash deals, money back guarantee, fast delivery etc. These factors add confidence and motivate people to purchase online giving a much needed acceleration to this sector. Google India VP Rajan Anandan says in 2012 almost 8 million people purchased online and looking at this the year 2013 will be a great year for e-commerce sector. The recent “Great Online Shopping festival” in India saw 51% traffic from non-metro cities. All this show that future for e-commerce in India is healthy and poised for future growth.

 

The above figure shows top categories of online products.