Online shopping to rise by 78% this year: Assocham-PwC

According to the Assocham-PwC report, smartphone and tablet shoppers will be strong growth drivers

Average online purchases are expected to increase by 78% this year on the back of attractive deals and aggressive marketing of merchandise, says a report.

"Unfazed by slowdown, average online purchases are expected to increase by 78% in 2016 from 66% in 2015 due to attractive deals and aggressive marketing of ever-expanding range of merchandise from clothes to jewellery, from electronics to books," said the Assocham-PwC report.

About 55 million consumers purchased something online in 2015 and the number is expected to grow to 80 million this year with better infrastructure in terms of logistics, broadband and Internet-ready devices, it said.

Factors contributing to the growth of e-commerce include aggressive merchandising and discounting from flash sales and daily deals, more online loyalty programmes and increasing popularity of smartphones and tablet computers among consumers, it said.

"The smartphone and tablet shoppers will be strong growth drivers. Mobile phones already account for 11% of e-commerce sales, and their share will jump to 25% by 2017," the report said.

It added that the overall e-commerce industry, valued at $25 billion has been growing at a compounded annual growth rate of about 35-40% each year and is expected to cross the $100 billion mark in five years.

"E-commerce is big business and getting bigger every day. Online shopping has been embraced by Indians with close to 8-10 million adults making a purchase via the Internet in the last year," Assocham Secretary General DS Rawat said.

The report said computer and consumer electronics, along with apparel and accessories, account for the bulk of India's retail e-commerce sales. These will contribute 40% of the total retail e-commerce sales in 2016 from the current level of 35%.

"Event tickets, music, consumer electronics, games and consoles, sports equipment, flowers, insurance, home appliances and furniture saw strong growth in the last year," it added.