Indian shoppers shaping lifestyle around ecommerce

Perhaps the Indian consumer is still a long way off from his Korean counterpart who has been known to shop at virtual stores set up in subways and train stations, paying for purchases via mobile, with the products delivered home at a convenient time. But a survey from Nielsen reveals that the Indian shopper is not as much of a laggard as some marketers and communication people believe when it comes to the online space. In certain categories, like mobile phones for instance, India fares better than the rest of the world when it comes to making online purchases.
More significantly, 25% of the people surveyed in India claimed they'd even buy food and beverages, long regarded as exclusives to the offline world via an internet connected device, such as mobile phone, personal computer or tablet.

Among the factors contributing to the rise of grocery shopping online is the thrift driven mindset of the Indian consumer which extends to the money spent on travel to an offline destination.

As Adrian Terron, executive director, retail and shopper, Nielsen India puts it, "Typically urban and above average in affluence, today's online Indian shopper isn't just regarding ecommerce as an alternative channel. She is recreating and reshaping her lifestyle in the intangible but infinitely engaging e-tailing stratosphere. No longer shackled to a shopping cart or arduous traffic snarls, e-commerce in India is now becoming the desirable fusion of product, service, content, commentary and conversation meshed together within the browser window of her connected device."

The diversity of purchases have gone beyond the usual categories and mark the advent of 'Me'-tailing in India, described by Terron as "the creation of a shopping basket that is not restricted to what a single brick and mortar store has on offer. It's a shopping experience that is curated and created by shoppers to suit their specific needs." The online world is starting to have a pervasive influence even over offline shopping. Indians again show a higher than global average propensity to research products online, claiming to do so on a daily basis.

Terron believes, "No doubt, offline retailing will always draw in its constant stream of shoppers who are either not yet online, are still seeking the tactile reassurance of touching and feeling what they buy, or are seeking physical interaction.

Yet, this growing shift is a signal to brand owners and retailers that being connected to your shopper online and in a manner that makes you part of their everyday lives, has the potential to pay off."

(The Nielsen Global Survey of Digital's Influence on Grocery Shopping polled more than 28,000 consumers in 56 countries throughout Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and North America. This Nielsen survey is based on the behaviour of respondents with online access only.)