50% of consumers in Delhi-NCR search online but buy offline

Around 50 per cent of the consumers in Delhi-NCR region use e-commerce websites as a medium of information and product search before buying them offline, says a Zinnov study.

According to the study, the tendency of searching online and buying offline is higher among urban respondents as 64 per cent of them use e-commerce websites to research on products that they are planning to buy offline, while just 20 per cent of non-urban respondents do so.

The trend is largely due to the consumer apprehensions of e-commerce transactions with 30 per cent consumers expressing concerns regarding the product quality and 28 per cent fearing wrong product delivery, the study highlighted.

Commenting on the findings, Zinnov Market Expansion Director Praveen Bhadada said, "About two-third of population is currently using e-commerce websites to research on products, largely due to lack of availability of credit/debit cards, trust on the delivery part and the trust on what they will get as the final product."

On e-commerce market generally, Bhadada said, "Consumer mobility is on the rise with 35 per cent consumers using mobility devices for e-commerce activities which lay a huge market for e-commerce players. What we have seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg and the e-commerce & mobility market is bound to grow exponentially."

Though only 5-10 key e-commerce players attract majority of the consumers, there's a massive opportunity for new entrants and premium services like same-day delivery will have a strong impact on driving sales and creating brand recall, he added.

Some of the popular purchases made online include books, travel tickets and packages, electronic goods and apparels.

Some of the key deterrents to e-commerce include quality concerns, immediate delivery and fear of wrong product and the habit that some people always prefer visiting a physical shop, the study said.