More Indian men shop online than women: MasterCard Survey

A recent research by MasterCard reveals that fewer

people used the online medium to shop in 2012. A survey of the online shopping habits of Indians finds that compared to 44.8 percent who used credit cards for such shopping in 2010, only 34.2 percent chose to do so in 2012. But this is better than the previous year when it was much lower at 28.8 percent.

The survey covered 7,011 people (500 Indians) in 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, between November and December 2012, interviewing them on their online shopping habits during August-October 2012. Though the sample size is small, contrary to popular belief, Indian men beat women when it came to online shopping. While only 61 percent women purchased 2.2 items each online in the three months, 75.1 percent men had bought 3.4 products each. Those surveyed were in the 18-64 age group, but the regular online shoppers were concentrated in the 25-34 age bracket.

The survey also found that though three out of four respondents had Internet on their mobiles, cell phone shopping continued to remain low in India, with only 30 percent of those with net access shopping through their mobiles in that period. Movie tickets, mobile apps and air tickets topped the purchase list. The most popular mode of payment for online shopping in India continues to be Net banking/debit cards at 41.1 percent, followed by credit cards (34.2 percent) and cash (14 percent).

Country-wise, China splurges most on the net with 102 Index points, followed by New Zealand (87), Australia (85), Singapore (84), and South Korea (82). At 78, India is not too far behind.