Men buy as women search more in India

BANGALORE: The Indian online market is yet to take off in a considerable way, a study said.

The Internet is used more for searching than buying products and services, the study by JustConsult revealed. Though a significant proportion of net users are also net consumers, only a few of them are driving the online shopping 'momentum'.

There are 4.2 million regular consumers on the net in India. They include 40 per cent of the total urban Internet users, the study said. Women form a small proportion of net users in India at present (15 per cent) and even fewer of them buy online.

While there are 43 per cent male e-consumers, only 31 per cent of urban female users buy online. Women tend to search more and are more guarded.

It also said that 25 per cent of the net population shops online consistently. However, only 5 per cent are heavy spenders. They contribute 42 per cent of the money spent online.

The heavy spenders make online purchases worth Rs 5000 or more per month. Two out of three heavy spenders are netholics.

The study said doubts on safety and threat of abuse of personal information are preventing many prospective e-consumers.

Of all e-consumers, 25 per cent spent over Rs.1, 000 per month while the rest bill less. The products that are bought most are books and CDs. Twenty-five per cent of net users buy these online.

The study was based on a survey conducted in April 2005 among Internet users in India. JustConsult said it sampled over 30,000 users as part of the survey.