In India, digital commerce is substantially growing due to proliferation of Smartphone. Online shopping has become third most popular searched category among Smartphone users in the country after emails and social networking. Indian users are often using their Smartphone for comparing online products on their device. Undoubtedly, the penetration of Smartphone around the country has changed the way of living of Indian folks.
A survey conducted by eBay India over 4,500 users around the country in May of this year has revealed that over 94% Smartphone users in the country use their device for internet access. Among these users, 64% were using 3G services on their Smartphone, and astoundingly, 80% respondents (included in the survey) claimed that they would always like to be on the internet through their Smartphone.
In India, users are more willing to do online purchase through their Smartphone device. 68% Smartphone users (respondents during survey period) had used their device for online purchase in the country. Smartphone users are more likely to purchase gadgets online through their device. 68% respondents accepted, they used their device for online gadget purchase, followed by 40% and 34% those purchased ‘cloths and footware’ and ‘books’ respectively. Â From the survey, it’s pretty clear that Smartphone users prefer to access internet at their home. 84% respondents (during the survey)Â accepted that they would like to access internet on Smartphone at their home, while 66% said that they would prefer from work place.
87% Smartphone users (respondents) used to compare the prices of products online, while 70% were interested to access ‘online shopping websites’ through their mobile device. 57% respondents during the survey period said that they checked the price of products online before appearing to the shopping malls. 30% respondents said that they got better deal online, whereas 49% said, they ‘mostly’ find better online deal.
In terms of mobile commerce, 84% Smartphone users (respondents) had used their device for checking products price, followed by 65%, 57%, 55% and 48% those used to search for the location of store, research products features, find deal, and check for product availability respectively. Indeed, Smartphone has revolutionized the lifestyle of Indian folks. Proliferation of  Smartphone is fueling to Mobile and digital commerce across the country.
Despite of this, it’s astounding me a lot that the firm has predicted a trend of Smartphone in India just by conducting  survey over 4,500 respondents. The reason is quite obvious, over 11 million Smartphones were shipped in just 2011, and conducting the survey over 4,500 respondents is just like “a rain drop in the ocean”. It’s not trustworthy to accept that just 4,500 respondents (participated in the survey) will determine the trend of Smartphone. The survey will be more effective if it would have been conducted over at least more than 2% of  Smartphone users across the country.
Insightful post!