NEW DELHI: Amazon, Apple and Samsung are the brand owners generating the greatest interest among India's online shoppers, new data has revealed.
According to figures published by comScore, the research firm, some 46m Indian consumers accessed the web from a computer at work or at home over the course of November 2011.
This is an uptick from the 41.1m recorded during November 2010, equating to a 13% improvement on an annual basis.
More specifically, 27.2m individuals – or 58.6% of the online population – logged on to ecommerce platforms during the same month in 2011, 18% higher than a year before.
Amazon led topped the charts for individual websites visited by Indian users, receiving 6.8m unique visitors, a reach of 14.7%. Apple's worldwide sites followed with 3.4m visitors, or 7.4% of the current Indian audience.
Digital properties operated by Samsung came next on 2.8m, just beating Flipkart, the first Indian company on the list, on 2.7m.
Homeshop18, Naaptol, Bookmyshow, Myntra and Priceindia also all secured the attention of more than 2m users, with Chinese-run Alibaba.com falling slightly below this total.
"The online channel is playing an increasingly important role in connecting retailers with potential customers in India," Kedar Gavane, comScore director, India, said.
"To take advantage of this growing opportunity, retailers must ensure they are addressing the needs of potential customers, which include attractive pricing and the convenience of ordering online."
Within the wider retail category, 7.6m shoppers accessed coupons sites, up from 1m in November 2010, representing an expansion topping 600%.
Snapdeal is easily the biggest player in this sector, with over 5m visitors in November, ahead of Mydata, claiming second on 1.3m, and Crazeal, occupying third on 989m.
"The rapid growth of online coupon sites suggests that consumers in India are looking for deals, highlighting the need for online retailers to adopt effective marketing and pricing strategies for their goods," said Gavane.