B2C e-commerce growing at 79%: IDC

GURGAON: The Indian B2C e-commerce spending is expected to grow by 88% in the year 2002 to reach Rs 238 crore. According to IDC forecast, the B2C e-commerce spending would cross Rs 2,300 crore by the end of 2006 at a CAGR of 79%. These estimates have been arrived after an extensive research undertaken by IDC, to map the B2C e-commerce market in India, amongst the Internet shopping websites and the people who have actually bought on the Internet.

To get the true picture of the consumer spending on the web, the analysis was done on the type of items purchased by Internet buyers and their frequency. The data showed that categories that were favored by 'early adopters' have become staples of B2C environment. Music CDs, gift items, books, consumer electronics top the list of items purchased in terms of volume of transaction.

Gifts and consumer electronics are at the top closely followed by travel. Munish Myer, Head - Internet, Communications & Convergence research at IDC (India) added, " What is interesting is that travel has emerged as the fastest growing category for the B2C e-commerce segment.

Currently it is estimated to be contributing 23% to the B2C market and is expected to account for nearly 60% of the B2C market by 2006. With Indian Railways and domestic airlines launching the online sale of tickets, this segment is expected to grow at a phenomenal rate of 140%." Mobile phone is the second fastest growing segment.

Not only is B2C e-commerce growing, but Internet assisted commerce has also grown by around 70% over 2001 and is estimated to be around Rs 210 crore for the year 2002. Financial services and home loans account for nearly 45% of this particular segment followed by auto and real estate.

To understand the experiences and behavior of Internet buyers, a survey amongst people who have actually bought through Internet was conducted. It is interesting to note that while approximately 40% of the buyers preferred shopping on the focused shopping sites an equal number of people did not have any specific preference between a shopping site and large portals offering shopping amongst other things. Baazee.com is a strong favorite with nearly 35% of the buyers having transacted on this site.

While, convenience is cited as the single most important reason for buying on the net, cash on delivery has emerged as the most preferred mode of payment, followed by credit card.