(25 November 2008 6:00 pm)

BANGALORE: eBay India head – category management Sharat Digumarti unveiled the eBay Census Guide in Bangalore. The guide documents the key findings and trends in buying and selling across Indian's in the Top 100 eCommerce cities and 28 states and six union territories.

The eBay Census is the first of its kind research, designed to throw light on online buying and selling behavior amongst Indians. By analyzing eBay activity within India, eBay has identified the top online buying and selling communities based on the number of transactions that have happened on the eBay India site over the last year.

India's Top 5 eCommerce Hubs are the metro cities of Mumbai, closely followed by Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai according to the survey. The major trends revealed by the eBay India Census are:

• eCommerce has become mainstream: Over 2421 cities had online transactions in 2007. The IT Hubs of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka were the most wired states of India with the maximum number of towns where eCommerce originates.

• eCommerce helps bridge distribution inefficiencies: Online
  marketplaces like eBay help create trade between metros and class B&C cities by bridging the demand and supply gap. Over a third of all products bought by eBayers in the hilly areas (North East, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh) are tech gadgets (mobile phones, digital cameras and USB drives). While women from metros are buying a lot of sarees, the sellers are spread across various cities and towns of India including manufacturing hubs and handicraft hubs like Devanagere (Karnataka), Chittaurgarh (Rajasthan), Lucknow (UP) and Kunnamkulam (Kerala).

• Rural India (Bharat) displays very different shopping behavior from urban India: metro eBayers and non-metro eBayers have distinct product preferences. Bharat is looking for a good deal in their online shopping habits and buy more value handsets and discounted branded apparel online. Non-Metro women are buying short kurtis, skirts while Women in Metros are buying hand woven sarees and shawls.

• Traditional Handicrafts find an unlikely partner in eCommerce: The handicraft industry in India has always been the forte of craftsmen belonging to smaller villages and towns. However, many of those sellers are now using eBay to reach out to retail buyers in top cities. Kashmiri entrepreneurs sell the most carpets across India. Jodhpuri craftsman sell the most ethnic wooden furniture.

• Women Shoppers online are balancing traditional values with more contemporary interests: Women eBayers bought the most Jewellery (Loose Diamonds and Gemstones as investments and Jewellery Sets, Rings & Pendants for daily and occasion wear) followed by Apparel, Women's Accessories and Health and Beauty.