Contrary to popular belief that only B2B e-commerce has a future, 70 per cent of up-market netizens are seriously considering buying online and 35 per cent say they already have, according to an online study conducted by brandquiver.com the on-line survey, carried out between mid-January and mid-February, also aimed at studying the level of awareness and usage of B2C sites by focusing on the awareness, attitude, purchase pattern and behaviour of e-shoppers, brandquiver.com, claimed to be India's first integrated brand consultancy for the Internet, said.

According to the study, mostly the products like music/video cassettes and books that are sold on the Internet. "Sixty per cent of the total purchase of products on the Internet, comprises cassettes and books," the study said.

Movie and travel tickets, CDs and computer related items make for 25-35 per cent of the purchase, while apparel, household goods/general appliances, electronic goods, toys, flowers, payment of bills and groceries sell the minimum (10 per cent), it said.

The awareness of online shopping sites was 91 percent with Rediff.com having 81 percent awareness, followed by sifymail.com and fabmart.com at 59 per cent each.

The findings of study reveal that e-shopping was on the increase, thus implying a good potential for B2C sites. The survey findings were also in Sync with Nasscom estimates, which predict a multi-fold growth in B2C e-commerce transactions and an increased spend on online advertising.

Commenting on the increase in Internet based transactions, brandquiver CEO, Mr. Ranjyoti Barooah, said, "The B2C e-commerce transactions are bound to go up with consumers getting more familiar with the Internet and the concept of shopping on the net." The study said male online shoppers out-number female shoppers in the ratio of 82:18; in the U.S., a more evolved market, the figure stood at 49:51 in favour of women. "How long it will take for the scales to tilt in India, is anyone's guess, but female netizens have buying power, are well-off and wealthy," it added.

A total of 1,328 respondents participated in the search, of which the effective sample size was 904. Most respondents were working adults (77 per cent belonged to the age group 21-40 years and 74 per cent were working). It claimed more than 90 per cent of the respondents belonged to Sec (socio-economic category) A, while nine per cent belonged to Sec. B with no participation from Sec. C.

The study also revealed that 60 per cent of those who shopped online had made purchases three or more times, while 20 per cent bought twice and 13 per cent bought on the net just once. It indicated that a person engaging in an online transaction was very likely to shop again. A majority of transactions studied were in the price bracket of Rs. 1,000 and below and close to 10 per cent exceeded Rs. 5,000.

The survey showed that the single largest driving factor for online shopping was convenience, followed by good bargains. However, people still have some apprehensions about buying online that include fear of poor quality and a sense of insecurity with regards to credit card numbers.