Ecommerce is fast becoming one of the most preferred modes of shopping in India, buoyed by increased customer adoption over the past 12 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a new survey shows.

Despite the opening up of local markets, retail stores and malls over the past few months, the findings of the survey by community platform LocalCircles show that consumers who used ecommerce services during the past year are continuing to use them.

Nearly half of all respondents answered that ecommerce websites and apps have become their preferred mode of shopping over the last 12 months, while a further 18% said they prefer getting goods delivered home from their local retailers.

Safety, competitive prices and ease of returns ranked as the top reasons for shoppers to trust in ecommerce services more than before, the survey which got 130,000 responses from over 42,000 unique consumers located in 358 districts of India showed.

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“The pandemic has created faster adoption of digital channels by both buyers and sellers, including in the non-metro cities. The significantly enhanced availability of value-priced merchandise has led to distinct consumer preferences,” said a spokesperson at ecommerce platform Snapdeal.

Customers have started paying more for higher-quality items, while many others have turned to shopping from value brands rather than premium ones, the spokesperson added.

Among the most popular categories of products consumers shopped online were essentials and groceries — 69% of the respondents said they had bought these online. About 54% said they had shopped online for medium-value items such as clothing, furnishings and electronic accessories in the last 12 months, while 32% answered that they had purchased high-value items such as gadgets, white goods and furniture.

Marketplaces too have reported high growth in such categories over the last year.

“As customer consumption patterns and habits evolved, over the last year, sellers have seen high demand in categories such as groceries, work from home and online schooling enablers like laptops, smart devices and headphones. We also saw significant demand for personal grooming products, wellness products, masks and sanitisers and fitness products on Amazon.in,” an Amazon spokesperson said.

The survey found that 33% of respondents purchased everything they needed through ecommerce, while a further 29% said that over 75% of their spending was on online platforms over the last one year.

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