After Covid, 49% Indians Preferred Shopping Online Than Visiting Malls Or Stores: Survey

49% say e-commerce became the preferred mode of shopping in the last 12 months after Covid 19 hit the country.

A lot changed in our lives after Coronavirus hit the country. While we were locked behind doors, mobile phones and laptops occupied the major part of our lives, replacing almost everything and most of us found out if you have a phone with an internet connection, everything can be delivered to your doorstep, from clothes to food to appliances, you name it and it is there. LocalCircles conducted a survey to understand the major drift in the behaviour of the consumers in the past 12 months afte the pandemic came into our lives. 

As per the survey which received over 130,000 responses from over 42,000 unique consumers located in 358 districts of India, 49 per cent said they preferred eCommerce sites and apps for shopping in the last 12 months; 18 per cent said they called local retail stores and got home delivery, 31 per cent visited malls, local retailers and markets to shop, while 2 per cent couldn’t say. Forty eight per cent of the study participants were from Tier 1 districts while 31 per cent were from Tier 2 districts and 21 per cent were from Tier 3, Tier 4 and rural districts.

Why do consumers trust online shopping?

Despite the opening up of local markets, retail stores, and malls over the past few months, the findings of the survey by community platform LocalCircles show that consumers who used e-commerce services during the past year are continuing to use them.

“If we are to look into reasons why consumers trusted e-commerce sites and apps in the last 12 months, more than before, 86% of the e-commerce shoppers said safe deliveries or no reason to step out, 50% said competitive prices, 48% said ease of return or return policy, 46% said expanded product selection, 45% said faster deliveries, and another 45% said increased product information and relatable reviews," according to the findings of the survey released Monday.

What all are being purchased online?

Among the most popular categories of products consumers shopped online were essentials and groceries — 69% of the respondents said they had bought these online. About 54% said they had shopped online for medium-value items such as clothing, furnishings, and electronic accessories in the last 12 months, while 32% answered that they had purchased high-value items such as gadgets, white goods, and furniture.

Which shopping mode was easier to return products?

When asked about how returns and refunds worked in the last 12 months, the majority of the consumers in the poll said that they received their product return refund within 14 days from eCommerce sites or apps. Further, 81%  of consumers said that they were able to reach out to the customer service of eCommerce sites or apps for return and refund issues.  

64% consumers in the survey said they “always go through” ratings and reviews before buying something on eCommerce sites. 26% said “sometimes go through them”, 7% said “only check them for expensive or non branded products”, and 3% said, “never go through them”. The findings indicated that the majority of consumers.

What mode of payment did consumers use for online shopping?

LocalCircles also asked about the mode of payments consumers used to pay for their shopping on eCommerce sites and apps, 57%  said “credit card”, 15% said “debit card”, 11% said “net banking”, 11% said “UPI”, 4% said “wallet”, and 2% said  “cash”. 57% of consumers who shopped eCommerce sites and apps used credit cards for the majority of their purchases, mainly because of easy monthly installment on payments.