According to a recent study jointly undertaken by Forrester and ASSOCHAM, ecommerce revenues in India would increase by more than five times in four years, jumping from $ 1.6 billion in 2012 to $ 8.8 billion in 2016. An estimated 1.25 crore customers e-shopped items worth around Rs 5,000 crore in 2011. Over 2,000 people participated in the survey conducted at various urban centres across India.

The survey further found that eShopping during the forthcoming festive season is likely to go up by 350% for a variety of products like mobile phones, e-tablets, consumer electronics, home appliances, home decor, furnishings, apparel and ornaments the e-shopping. Gujaratis will take a lead in shopping online.

Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are also shopping more online during the festive season. Around the Raksha Bandhan festival, online shopping by NRIs contributed about 40-50% of total shopping, whereas during Diwali, it increases to 85%.

It said the number of e-shoppers was multiplying due to factors like home delivery which saves time, '24x7' shopping with ease and availability factors for product comparisons. Discounts on many articles sold around Diwali range from 10-15% to 80-90% depending upon product vertical. The other offers are lucky draws, free shipping, free gifts and gift vouchers.

“While this is still less than other countries in Asia Pacific, such as China and Japan, India’s CAGR is much higher than any other country. The customer behavior is changing dramatically. People not only use the Web to book air tickets and movie tickets but also place orders for buying mobile phones, laptops and other consumer electronics and home appliances. In India, customers wait for the festive season to get the best deals on all their shopping needs,” D S Rawat, Secretary-General, ASSOCHAM has said.