Internet: The great leveller

E-commerce in India is fuelled by online sale of air tickets. Indians are increasingly opting for air travel (due to affordability) for business or leisure.

Overall online transactions have increased significantly. Traditional categories like gifts, clothing, flowers and books continue to grow while newer categories have done well. After the travel segment, electronics and apparel drive the e-commerce segment. While PCs and accessories are showing upward trends in the last few quarters, books and DVDs form a well-established niche segment.

The internet has become a great leveller for people in smaller towns who till now did not have access to things like latest books, music and gadgets. Internet penetration in the top eight metros, second and third tier towns, has lead to broad based participation of people in e-commerce across India.

As people are now more adept at using the search and browse tools in discovering products and price points online, smaller markets are using the web to access deals at par with the bigger cities.- Manish Agarwal.  VP Marketing, Rediff.com.