Mobile phones driving more people to online shopping: Google

Google India on Monday released a report which says online shopping grew 128 per cent in 2012, as compared to 40 per cent growth in 2011. The report says mobile phones are contributing to the surge in online shopping with Google receiving double the number of queries from mobile phones in 2012. As many as 30 per cent of all shopping queries in India come from mobile phones.

The most popular product category for online shoppers was consumer electronics, with a 34 per cent share of orders. But Google said apparel and accessories, at 30 per cent last year, is expected to be the top product category in 2013.

Consumers said money back guarantee was the number one benefit of online shopping, along with ability to pay on delivery, fast delivery, discounts and access to branded products. Consumers said they avoided online shopping due to the inability to touch or try the goods before purchase, fear of faulty products, fear of posting personal and financial details online and the inability to bargain.

Other categories Indians searched for online were books (15 per cent), beauty & personal care (10 per cent), home & furnishing (6 per cent), baby products (2 per cent) and healthcare (3 per cent).

Rajan Anandan, VP & Managing Director of Google India, said: "With approximately 8 million Indians shopping online in 2012, online shopping industry in India is growing rapidly and will continue to see exponential growth. By looking at the trends in 2012, we expect 2013 to be a strong growth year for players focussed on fast-growing categories like apparel and accessories and niche product categories like baby products, home furnishings, health and nutrition. We expect the growth to come from outside of top eight cities as evident in our recently concluded Great Online Shopping Festival, which saw over 51 per cent of traffic from non-metro cities."

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