Ecommerce to jump 6&% at Rs2.52 cr this year

The ecommerce industry in India is likely to be worth $38 billion (Rs2,51,720 crore) by 2016, a 67-per cent jump over the $23 billion (Rs1,52,357 crore) revenues for 2015, according to industry body Assocham.

''India's ecommerce market was worth about $3.8 billion (Rs25,172 crores) in 2009, it went up to $17 billion (Rs1,126,11 crores) in 2014 and to $23 billion (Rs1,52,357 crores) in 2015 and is expected to touch whopping $38 billion mark by 2016,'' Assocham said in a statement.

Increasing internet and mobile penetration, growing acceptability of online payments and favourable demographics have provided the ecommerce sector in India the unique opportunity to connect with their customers, it said.

There would be over a five- to seven-fold increase in revenue generated through e-commerce as compared to last year with all branded apparel, accessories, jewellery, gifts, footwear are available at a cheaper rates and delivered at the doorstep, it added.

Assocham noted that the buying trends during 2016 will witness a significant upward movement due to aggressive online discounts, rising fuel price and wider and abundant choice will hit the e-commerce industry in 2016.

It observed that mobile commerce (m-commerce) is growing rapidly as a stable and secure supplement to the e-commerce industry.

''Shopping online through smart phones is proving to be a game changer, and industry leaders believe that m-commerce could contribute up to 70 percent of their total revenues,'' the statement added.

In India roughly 60-65 per cent of the total e-commerce sales are being generated by mobile devices and tablets, increased by 50 per cent than the last year and also likely to continue upwards, it added.

It noted that the browsing trends, which have broadly shifted from the desktop to mobile devices in India, online shopping is also expected to follow suit, as one out of three customers currently makes transactions through mobiles in tier-1 and tier-2 cities.

In 2015, 78 per cent of shopping queries were made through mobile devices, compared to 46 percent in 2013.

In 2015, the highest growth rate was seen in the apparel segment almost 69.5 per cent over last year, followed by electronic items by 62 percent, baby care products at 53 per cent, beauty and personal care products at 52 per cent and home furnishings at 49 per cent.

It revealed that Mumbai ranks first in online shopping followed by Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Kolkata.

On the mode of payment, almost 45 per cent of online shoppers preferred cash on delivery over credit cards (16 per cent) and debit cards (21 per cent).

Only 10 per cent opted for internet banking and a scanty 7 per cent preferred cash cards, mobile wallets, and other such modes of payment, it said.

Among the above age segments, 18-25 years of age group has been the fastest growing age segment online with user growth being contributed by both male and female segments.

The survey revealed that 38 per cent of regular shoppers are in 18-25 age group, 52 per cent in 26-35, 8 per cent in 36-45 and 2 per cent in the age group of 45-60.

Almost 65 per cent of online shoppers are male as against 35 per cent female.