Online shopping to soar post lockdown, says YouGov, reveals products that will benefit most

Online shopping is likely to pick up pace once the lookdown is over, with people avoiding malls and shops to maintain social distancing, a new survey has revealed. However, the shift in buying choices will reflect in only certain categories with gadgets and appliances likely to benefit the most. YouGov’s latest survey reveals, compared to the time before the lockdowns, close to half (44%) of urban Indians said they are more likely to shop online once the lockdown is over. In addition to this, 21% said they are less likely than before to shop in physical retail stores.

Among the different regions, East and West India (51% and 50%, respectively) are more likely to say they will shop online in the future as compared to residents in North and South India (41% and 40%, respectively). Likewise, inclination to move online for shopping appears to be stronger among tier-1 city residents (51%) than tier-2 and 3 residents (41% each).

Gadgets (68%), Beauty & personal care (58%), Apparels & accessories (56%) and Home & kitchen appliances (51%) are the top categories where a majority of respondents have indicated their likeliness to buy online, once the Covid crisis is resolved.

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In other categories, such as Automobiles (83%), Salons & Spa services (78%); Alcohol (74%), Hardware (71%) and Gardening & fertilisers (64%), consumers are likely to prefer shopping offline in physical stores.

At present,  one in three urban Indians (30%) have bought or are planning to buy beauty and personal care products online since e-commerce delivery resumed in their area amidst the Covid lockdown. Demand for these products is the highest in tier-1 cities at 37%. Apparels and accessories emerged as the second most commonly ordered non-essential products in the lockdown (at 28%), followed by gadgets, kitchen appliances and health supplements (25% each).

“The current Covid crisis and the subsequent lockdowns have helped accelerate the momentum for e-commerce. A few categories will see a more significant and permanent shift towards online sales channels while for others consumers will revert to traditional buying behaviours. Brands need to understand the changing behaviour of consumers and must address their concerns in order to increase their confidence and make their shopping experience worthwhile,” Deepa Bhatia, General Manager, YouGov India, said.