It’s a weekend, a perfect day to relax and get cosy with your loved one but she has something else in mind - shopping. Don't you wish you had Harry Potter’s magic wand to get the shopping home delivered without moving from the couch.

Potter may have been privileged enough to inherit the wizard legacy, but muggles (non-wizarding folk) have to be satisfied with the internet and the fancies it offers.

Once the Net came out of the universities and research labs, cyberspace opened up huge opportunities for the business community. The concept caught on with the dot.com boom and people incorporated the 'ecommerce' factor into their business models.

B2B and B2C was meant to make life easy for the PC and Net user. But is the Indian consumer really hooked on to e-shopping? According to a study conducted by Nasscom, B2C e-commerce transactions are expected to blow to Rs 1,800 crore in 2001-2002.

The Nasscom estimates could become a reality going by some findings of an online survey of over 1300 Net users by Brandquiver. The survey was conducted on some of the e-commerce enabled sites like Indiatimes.com.

With more and more Indians becoming netizens, almost 80 per cent of the surfers have visited one site or other with B2C offerings. And out of these 35 per cent have made at least one online transaction over e-commerce enabled sites.

If that's not mind blowing, then try this: more than 70 per cent of Net users surveyed are ready to try commerce on the Net. So, the revolution is knocking at our doors and India only has to open them to let it in.

Also, over 50 per cent Indian surfers prefer their homes to log on to the Net, while close to 60 per cent use it from their workplace. There has been a shift in the attitude towards cyber cafes too. Almost 35 per cent users visit cafes - 49 per cent of these being students.

Dial up connections still have 72 per cent of the market, the rest being covered by leased, ISDN, cable modem and DSL lines.

Just a couple of months back, doubts were being raised on the future of Amazon.com. Amazon is considered to be the symbol of retail commerce over the Net. So, clouds of gloom engulfed the B2C prospects all over. But the conditions were not as bad as they appeared.

Industry was in high spirits in January, 2001 when the online retail giant announced a 16 per cent rise in its subscribers base with sale volumes reaching $960 million, a hike of 40 per cent over the previous three months.

The Brandquiver study shows over 60 per cent surfers prefer to buy music cassettes and books on the Net. While movie and travel tickets, video-cassettes, CDs and computer related items are favourites of over 25 per cent.

Clothing, household goods/general appliances, electronic goods, toys, flowers, payment of bills and groceries are still to catch the consumer's attention. It's the touch-and-feel factor which is keeping these items out of the Net shoppers' cart.

Doubts are frequently raised on issues of security of financial transactions and privacy over the Web. The IT ministry has introduced the IT Bill with the aim to tackle such issues.

But the study shows that though the majority knew about IT laws and the Bill in question, almost 39 per cent were unaware of their rights. Ignorance can be bliss at times, but here it acts as more of a deterrent and though 55 percent agree to shopping on the Net, happy with e-security measures, a major chunk wants more security and credibility before trying their hand at commerce on the Net.

A sustained campaign to inform and encourage consumers to log on the Net actually includes a B2C transaction will help the spread of e-commerce. But this depends heavily on how companies build their rapport with consumers and how flexible and smooth the transactions are.

As in the normal consumer behaviour, established big names or the local retailer enjoy the trust of Net shoppers. The primary objective of these retailers is to initiate consumers into B2C transactions and then it has to be nurtured into a habit. The aspect of limited liability, as well as backing by reputed names could help in overcoming consumer fears.