As Indian E-commerce Grows, Jewelry Sales Expected to Follow
June 27, 07
The volume of e-commerce in India is expected to rise by 150 percent to Rs 55 billion ($1.35 billion) in the 2007-2008 fiscal year, from Rs 22 billion ($539.46 million) in 2006-2007, due mainly to increasing online purchasing by 18-35 year old shoppers in Mumbai, Delhi and other major cities.
According to a report by the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (Assocham), over 30 percent of net users in Delhi are also e-shoppers compared to 20 percent last year, while in Mumbai the figure has risen to 40 percent from last year’s 24 percent.
The most popular shopping categories, purchased by 35-42 percent of all shoppers, are books, electronic items, apparel and tickets. Jewelry is also an important category, purchased by 15 percent of online buyers.
More significantly, jewelry is one of the categories in which significant growth is expected, according to Venugopal Dhoot, Assocham President. Other areas with expected growth are books, apparel, electronics, gifts, tickets, music and movies.
Mumbai led in most categories of items purchased online, except music, in which Kolkata led and jewelry, in which Delhi ranked number one.
The growing base of Internet users, estimated at 120 million and projected to rise to over 200 million by 2008, is one of the important forces driving this trend.
An earlier study, ‘India Online 2006’ by online research and advisory firm JuxtConsult, showed that the number of Indians shopping online grew 42 percent in 2005.