India leader in purchasing through social media: Study

Indian online shoppers rank on top when it comes to buying products from social media sites, according to global technology company Pitney Bowes' second annual Global Online Shopping Study.

As many as 27 percent of the people surveyed in India said they would consider buying products on social media, followed by Brazil (15 percent) and Russia (14 percent), the study revealed.

Social media is popular among millennials (18- to 24-year-olds) in their purchasing decisions.

In a survey of 12,000 adults from 12 nations, the study found that search engines lead in helping online shoppers find products, online marketplaces and retailer web sites for buying while mobile and social media are gaining traction.

As many as 62 percent of the respondents said search engines are their preferred route to find products while 66 percent respondents chose online marketplaces and 62 percent chose retailers' web sites for the actual purchasing.

Russia (78 percent), China and the US (76 percent) are the top markets for online marketplace purchases while Australia (81 percent), Britain (72 percent) and Canada (71 percent) are the most likely markets to utilise retailers' own portals for purchasing, said a statement announcing the survey findings.

"In today's global marketplace, e-commerce is continuing to connect the world's economies in new ways, making it possible for brands to sell, compete and expand their footprint," said Lila Snyder, president, global e-commerce, in the statement.

Nearly a quarter of the people surveyed preferred mobile devices to make online purchases.

Britain (37 percent) leads in purchasing through mobile devices, followed by India (36 percent), China (34 percent) and the US (29 percent).

Just like social media, online purchasing through mobile device is again popular with millennials (33 percent).

However, the biggest barriers for online shopping adoption are high shipping costs (64 percent), delayed delivery (39 percent) and additional fees owed during delivery (48 percent).

Another area of concern deterring online shopping is product return policies and processes (33 percent), the statement said.

India again leads (46 percent) in product return concerns, followed by Germany (44 percent) and the US (39 percent).

Negative customer comments, reviews and ratings is another key area deterring online purchasing -- with 31 percent of the online shoppers taking them seriously.