India: Online purchases via mobile devices on the rise

According to data from ASSOCHAM and Grant Thornton, 200 million new Indian consumers will access the internet in the next three years, with the majority on them going online via a smartphone.

Research also unveils that online travel dominates the Indian ecommerce market, accounting for almost 71% of the ecommerce business in the country. This business has grown at a CAGR of 32% between 2009 and 2013. E-tailing, on the other hand, accounts for only 8.7% of organized retail and a small 0.3% of total retail sales.

The study points out that around 75% of Indian internet users are in the age group of 15 to 34 years. This category shops more than the remaining population. Peer pressure, rising aspirations with career growth and fashion trends encourage this segment to shop more than any other category and India. This category, therefore, clearly enjoys a demographic dividend that favours the growth of the India ecommerce sector.

According to results, the Indian ecommerce market is estimated to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 63% to reach almost USD 8.5 billion in 2016. Growth in the penetration levels of mobile and internet and increased consumer demand will drive this growth. The number of smartphone users in India is projected to exceed 200 million, ranking next to the US as the world’s second largest smartphone market by 2016 due to increasing penetration of affordable smart mobile devices in the country. The number of users making online transactions has also grown exponentially, and it is expected to increase from 11 million in 2011 to 38 million in 2015.