More than 60 percent of individuals favor using mobile apps for shopping due to the ease of navigation, user-friendly interfaces, and vernacular support, states a report by PwC India. Titled ‘How India shops online: Consumer preferences in the metropolises and tier 1-4 cities,’ the report notes that urban residents are attracted by perpetual discounts and the convenience of online shopping. In contrast, consumers from other regions in India are drawn to e-commerce due to factors such as limited product availability and stockouts in local offline stores.
In recent years, approximately 12.5 crore consumers in India have embraced online shopping, with a significant portion coming from tier-II, -III, and -IV cities.
PwC India mentioned that the report is derived from an online survey of 2,100 people, 100 qualitative interviews, and 400 in-person interviews conducted across India with leading experts and industry partners.
“The next phase of growth for e-commerce will be driven by the new digital savvy consumers of tier 2,3 and 4 cities in India. In contrast to urban dwellers, these individuals, constrained by limited access to physical stores and brand choices, consider online shopping a gateway to fulfil their aspirations,” Somick Goswami, Partner and Business Transformation Leader at PwC India, said.
The report also highlighted the significant role of social media platforms in driving product trials, with 62 percent of users experimenting with products after encountering them on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
The report added that urban and non-urban consumers in India showcase distinct preferences in social media channels for product discovery and trials.
Additionally, it pointed out that while urban residents and consumers from other regions in India show comparable acceptance of UPI payments, cash on delivery remains the favoured option among the latter to mitigate fraud risks.
“India’s online consumption gravity is decisively percolating to markets beyond metros. This report creates an industry-first insight on what are some of the unmissable category wise nuggets a brand needs to imbibe to success in Rest of India,” Ravi Kapoor, Partner and Leader – Retail and Consumer Goods at PwC India, said.
