Despite the weakened economy, Indians are entering into the festive spirit with 45 percent expected to spend more during the upcoming holiday season than they did last year.
According to a PayPal survey released today, the average Diwali spend amongst Indians this year is $213 with household items, health and beauty, entertainment and vouchers or gift cards topping the Diwali gift list.
Whilst two of out five Singaporeans respondents would rather not have to shop for holiday gifts and items at all, 70 percent of Indians are keen to keep the holiday spirit alive without fail.
Indians are savvy online shoppers
Out of the four countries surveyed across South East Asia, Indians also appear to be the savviest at online shopping with three quarters intending to shop online during the upcoming festive period, citing time (75 percent), crowds (65 percent) and access to a wider range of products (60 percent) as the main reasons for avoiding the shops.
Online merchants take note!
Despite favouring their home grown talent, with 69 percent of online shoppers in India perceiving local merchants to be at least on par if not better as overseas merchants, they still view lower prices, free shipping and greater choice as areas where online merchants are much stronger. Indian online shoppers are looking for product quality guarantees, evidence of good website payment security and competitive prices when it comes to their online shopping experience.
?Many online merchants will be gearing up for the festive period and encouragingly it looks like spending is due to rise in India,? said Mario Shiliashki, General Manager of PayPal Southeast Asia and India. ?In today?s e-commerce climate, consumers expect their online shopping experiences to be better than those found in the offline world, with access to a wider range of products and more competitive prices, whilst at the same time guaranteeing their security and convenience. PayPal understands the needs of both merchants and buyers globally and, as a result, connects the two securely, conveniently and quickly.?
To allow Asian merchants to connect with international online buyers and drive cross border trade, PayPal also recently launched an online Asia Mall at http://www.paypal-apac.com/apac-mall. Major Asian online retailers offer a range of promotional offers to PayPal customers on this online mall, from 20 percent discounts to free warranties and free shipping.