Boom in online shopping alters the way Indians make purchase decisions, reveals survey

Cochin (Kerala) [India], April 15 (ANI/BusinessWire India): 43-year-old Remya recollects buying a washing machine twelve years ago from a nearby white goods store solely based on the salesman's recommendation. But this year, when she wanted to buy smart TV for her home, she did not ask any salesman.
Rather she took to some YouTube videos, blogs, went through the brand websites and bought the TV online. The boom in online shopping has changed the way Indians make purchase decisions. While advertisements on various platforms play an important role in creating awareness, consumers are resorting to digital platforms for researching more about the products.
The
among home appliance buyers showed that 23 per cent of the respondents depended on brand websites for finding necessary information about the product they wanted to buy, while 22 per cent sought guidance from YouTube videos.
Reviews on e-commerce portals too had a significant influence on buying decisions, with 21 per cent saying that they relied on them. Peer recommendation influenced as much as 17 per cent of the purchases, while 9 per cent sought references from blogs. It's evident that digital platforms are becoming an all-encompassing ecosystem that completely assists consumers from the beginning to the end of their buyers' journey.
Online platforms as a whole have seen a significant rise in traffic since Covid-19. Parvathy Pothan, CEO of Smart Home Guide says, "As consumers aren't able to get the look and feel of products from the stores, they are resorting to unboxing videos and reading product reviews on blogs to make informed purchase decisions."
The allure of online shopping is not limited to discounts alone. While in the store one is often pressured to buy something quickly, one has the pleasure of taking enough time to make a decision when buying online. This proves to be especially convenient for big-ticket purchases where due diligence is required. The survey reports that 49 per cent of home appliance buyers took 1 week or less to finally buy something, while 27 per cent took as long as 2 weeks.
Influencing Factors
Indians are generally known to be price-conscious. Even so, as per the survey, the price wasn't the topmost consideration when it came to big-ticket purchases. While the price was the top influencing factor for 33 per cent of buying decisions, brand credibility was more important for 38 per cent of the buyers. The findings show that Indian consumers are looking for value-for-money propositions where durability and affordability go hand-in-hand.
The survey has also pointed to an interesting finding in terms of the buying habits of Millenials compared to the older generation. While the majority of millennials bought new appliances to upgrade the existing ones, the older generation was not so keen on upgrading for new features. The majority of those aged 45 plus bought new appliances only because the old ones broke down.
Though covid-19 has brought an overall gloom on real estate, moving to a new home motivated as much as 17 per cent of buyers to invest in a new appliance. Out of the respondents who moved to a new home, the majority bought large appliances like TV, washing machine and refrigerators.
Online shopping reached unprecedented heights last year due to Covid-19 and related restrictions. With more than 50 preferring to buy online rather than opting for offline stores, this trend is likely to change the way Indian SMEs sell. All indicators signify that the positive trend of online shopping is likely to prevail beyond the pandemic.
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