Online shopping getting more popular in Indian cities

NEW DELHI - "I have a very demanding job and I like to stay indoors over the weekend to spend time with my children. Shopping for grocery online gives me the luxury to make choices at my own pace and avoid crowd for a day," said Swasti Singh, an IT professional in New Delhi. Singh is among many of India's middle class that benefit from the booming e-commerce industry in the country.

With technology increasingly making life easier, the way people are going shopping in India these days has also been transformed. From clothes to electronics to books and CDs, everything is being shopped online and within the comfort of the living room.

The remarkable trend has proved to be a boon mainly for the country's new middle class, mostly working couples, who rarely get time to spend hours in the market especially on the weekends.

Go over any popular e-commerce portal and it will be difficult to miss dynamic marketing strategies that companies are rolling out to target working couples and young families for whom time is of essence.

In the current lifestyle, double income households have become a reality. More women are stepping out of their homes to work.

As per the census in 2011, 45 percent of households across India are double income households, a rise of almost 10 percent in one decade.

With digital consumers in India standing at nearly 100 million, offering home shopping for working couples has been a key market segment of the industry.

"It has become a part of lifestyle for this target group. Working couples want to save both time and money in unexpected ways. Besides, they are more informed these days and like to do a comparison before investing in anything. In all these ways, online shopping has been a very convenient experience for this group," said M. Dalal, founder of an online grocery portal.

It is also a dream come true for shoppers as there is an abundance of information about products, price transparency and a parade of special deals almost every week.

For men as well, online shopping has proved to be a profitable venture, both monetarily and emotionally.

"I started shopping online as a conscious decision to spend time with my family. When my children want their stationary, books or toys, I sit with them and we surf online. Buying clothes and grocery online has also meant comfort," said Akash Sharma, a financial analyst.

"We check and compare prices and actually end up saving money at the end of the month. When my life becomes easier by avoiding traffic, navigating supermarkets and standing in queues, why would I not use it to my fullest" he quipped.

It is not just a definite age group that e-commerce portals target for online shopping.

"I am a university teacher while my wife stays at home after a knee replacement surgery a year back. It was very difficult to manage home and work commitments. That is when my son based in Singapore suggested online shopping and now, from grocery to medicines, we get everything delivered at home. Life has become simple and I see it as quite an essential for people like me," said Ramesh Nagar, an avid online shopper.

Xinhua