E-commerce market to touch Rs 50,000 cr in 2011: Report

MUMBAI: The domestic e-commerce market which was estimated to at Rs 19,688 crore in 2009, is expected to touch Rs 50,000 crore in 2011, according to a recent white paper by First Data Corporation and ICICI Merchant Services.

"E-commerce in the country has seen about 60 to 70 per growth over last year. It is growing at the rate of 2-3 percent on a month-on-month basis and almost 50 percent annually," the white paper authored by First Data India and ICICI Merchant Services said.

The paper said the online travel industry, which is booking of flights, railway tickets, hotels and cars constitute almost 80 per cent of the total e-commerce industry here.

Discounted pricing, speed of delivery, security and convenience of payment, as well as quality of service, are some of the reasons which the paper has cited for growth in online transactions.

"The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation website is an impressive example of how consumer behavior has changed as consumers take advantage of the convenience, speed and security of online ticketing. Today, almost 40 percent of all bookings received by IRCTC are done online, of which approximately 80 percent are processed by ICICI Merchant Services and First Data," the paper said.

The paper also claims that the country is the most secure destination for Internet transactions in the world and Internet banking transactions are almost double that of credit card and debit card transactions.