Online shopping in India – The Indian online shopping trend

With the internet boom and technological advancement, the world is all operating online today. India being a chief IT player is stepping ahead keeping at pace with the global standards. Online downloads, browsing and online transactions has taken a leap in the past few years in the country. A prominent instance of the same is marked by the emergence and rise of online shopping in India. Buying gifts and other necessities was a western concept that took some time to seep in to the Indian subcontinent. Previously, Indians only used to opt in for online transaction for goods and services that were unavailable in the country. Today, customers purchase online books and gadgets online that can also be secured from the city malls. This shows a remarkable change in the buying behavior of the audience at large.

One of the reasons why online shopping in India took time to catch up was, the online payment options and the technology used for the same. There were online shopping portals where the third party operations in payment and billing were less stringent. This led to payment complexities and errors that resulted in loss of money. With the development in software and technological applications, the scenario has changed completely. It took time for the customers to let go off their inhibitions and shop at ease. The advent of the cash- on -delivery option however made more and more Indians to shop online.

However, it is seen that online shopping has steadily increased in the northern, southern and western part of the country, namely the metropolises of Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai. The eastern part, however took time to progress. One of the major reasons was that not every online shopping portal had delivery channels in this part of the country. Today, the eastern region is gradually rising up to online buying and other allied transactions.

Websites that cater to online shopping in India have several verticals from where customers can choose. The various domains are retail, electronic goods and gadgets, consumer durables and home appliances, fashion and apparel, beauty and wellness, books and paintings and so on. Lifestyle too is a domain that is progressing fast. There are online shopping websites in India that offers lifestyle goods such as scented candles, aromatherapy kits, spiritual and holistic healing kits, essential oils, incense sticks and many more.

Online shopping in India has allowed several entrepreneurs and dealers too promote their goods across various states and promote their business.