Mastercard Survey says Indian consumers feel most secure shopping online across APAC region

Online shoppers in India continue to feel most secure when compared to their counterparts across the rest of the APAC region. The Mastercard survey highlights security of payment facility and convenient payment methods as the two key factors considered during online shopping by Indian consumers. Mastercard Online Shopping Survey further revealed that more than four-fifth of the Indian consumers access the internet for online shopping while three-fourths of them tend to make online purchases using their mobile phones. The top three reasons for buying online through mobile phones have been cited as convenience, ease of shopping on the go and an increasing number of apps that make shopping online easier.

Speaking on the findings, Porush Singh, Country Corporate Officer, India and Division President, South Asia, Mastercard said, “It is very encouraging to see Indian consumers feel increasingly secure when shopping online. This aligns very well with Mastercard’s strong commitment to develop a safe and secure network for the Indian payments ecosystem.” He further added, “The Internet of Things is creating a more digitally-driven and digitally-connected world, with an estimated 300 million smart phones in use currently in India. Over the past three years alone, Mastercard has invested Rs 6700 crores towards developing new technologies that balance the need for increased security with the desire for greater convenience in payments. You see this today in chip cards, safe and secure mobile wallets and the creation of a seamless online shopping experience. We will further leverage new technologies to deliver greater security in online shopping with Mastercard Identity Check and host of other new features.”

In terms of consumer categories, women and those in the age bracket of 25-44 years, stand out as two significant segments who are more likely to access the internet for online shopping.

Across Asia Pacific, eight out of 10 consumers who have shopped online last year intend to make at least one online purchase in the first half of 2017. This trend is led by those in the emerging markets including China (97.3 percent), Vietnam (96.2 percent) and India (92.9 percent), followed by Malaysia (92.8 percent) and Thailand (87.1 percent).

Some significant Online shopping behavior trends in India

• 85.1 per cent consumers consider online shopping easy. About eight in 10 also consider online reviews of products, view it as convenient, tend to go to the same sites again and find online shopping easier than shopping with a catalogue
• Most online shoppers plan in advance about the products/ services to buy before making a purchasing decision. Looking for online reviews of products (up since 2014) and browsing the internet in general are the most common forms of research done by online shoppers, followed by recommendations from friends and family
• The top three categories in terms of relative share of online spends are airlines, home appliances/ electronic products and clothing/ accessories
• Clothing/ accessories is the leading category purchased online through mobile phones, followed by cinema tickets and phone apps. Other categories that are often purchased online through mobile phones include home appliances/ electronic products and personal/ beauty care brands.