ECommerce Hits High in India, Opportunity for Brands [Report]

According to new data published by comScore, the research firm, around 46m consumers in India accessed the web via a computer device at work or at home over the month of November 2011 along with Amazon, Apple and Samsung winning the greatest interest among India’s online shoppers.

When compared to the 41.1m recorded during November 2010, the present rate equates to a 13% improvement on a year-on-year basis. Having to log onto ecommerce platforms and sites during November 2011 was 27.2m individuals, a figure boasting 58.6% of the online population. Further, this is 18% higher than a year before.

Receiving 6.8m unique visitors, a read of 14.7%, is Amazon which topped the charts for individual websites visited by Indian users, followed by Apple’s worldwide sites hitting up 3.4m visitors, equating to 7.4% of the current Indian audience.

Coming in at third place are the digital properties operated by Samsung on 2.8m, merely surpassing Flipkart, the first Indian company on the list, by a 0.1m, on 2.7m. Among others securing more than 2m users were Homeshop18, Naaptol, Bookmyshow, Myntra and Priceindia, with Chinese-owned Alibaba.com slightly falling below this level.

Kedar Gavane, comScore Director, India, said “The online channel is playing an increasingly important role in connecting retailers with potential customers in India. To take advantage of this growing opportunity, retailers must ensure they are addressing the needs of potential customers, which include attractive pricing and the convenience of ordering online.”

7.6m shoppers accessed coupons sites within the wider retail domain, up from 1m recorded in the same period last year, displaying a massive expansion topping 600%. Excitingly, the biggest player in this sector is Snapdeal boasting over 5m visitors in November, surpassing Mydata, claiming second on 1.3m, and Crazeal, running up thirdly on 989m.

Gavane added “The rapid growth of online coupon sites suggests that consumers in India are looking for deals, highlighting the need for online retailers to adopt effective marketing and pricing strategies for their goods.”

Data sourced from comScore; additional content by MP Staff