Smartphone shoppers rise significantly in India

Online purchases made through mobile phones in India have grown by more than 100 percent over the past two years, indicating a steep upward trend in e-commerce propelled by expediency, reveals the MasterCard Online Shopping Survey 2014 released here on Wednesday.

The survey covers 14 countries across Asia Pacific.

China continues to lead the chart among mobile shoppers with 70.1 percent of the respondents polled having used the device to make online purchases. India (62.9 percent) and Taiwan (62.6 percent) follow next with Thailand (58.8 percent) and Indonesia (54.9 percent) rounding off the top five.

In India, the ability to shop on the go is 47.7 percent, the study revealed. The growing availability of apps that makes it easier to shop (45.3 percent) and convenience (38.1 percent) have emerged as the most compelling reasons for driving smartphone shopping.

Mobile phones/mobile gadget apps (28.8 percent) topped the list of items purchased through smartphones, followed by tickets for cinema/movie theatres (26.7 percent) and clothing/fashion accessories (24 percent), the report said.

"For online transactions, the most common payment methods used are debit cards and cash. New mobile technologies are also gaining traction among consumers in the region, with mobile banking apps having the highest awareness-familiarity levels (38.3 percent) followed by in-app shopping (28.7 percent) and digital wallets (24.4 percent)," it added.

The report for the Asia/Pacific region included interviews with 7,000 respondents from 14 markets aged 18-64 years, who were asked questions about their online shopping habits.

The number of Indian respondents, who have made at least one purchase in the last three months, has increased from 70.9 percent in 2012 to 94 percent in 2014.

"Digital payment solutions like mobile banking apps and digital wallets will go a long way to further enrich the purchasing experience for the ever-evolving consumer," said Vikas Varma, area head, South Asia, MasterCard.

"The survey shows that there is a strong need to provide not only secure, but also convenient payments solutions as consumers move to a more digital and sophisticated lifestyle. MasterCard is committed to providing consumers with expedient online payment solutions that enable a more seamless shopping experience in a secure manner," he added.

The MasterCard Online Shopping Behaviour Survey, which serves as a benchmark measuring consumers' propensity to shop online, was conducted across 25 markets between October and December 2014.