Indians still prefer neighbourhood markets for vegetables despite online shopping boom: Report

Despite the rapid expansion of online shopping platforms, Indian households continue to rely overwhelmingly on traditional markets for buying fresh vegetables, fruits and other perishable food items, according to a State Bank of India (SBI) research report.

The report found that online purchases accounted for just 1.32% of vegetable purchases and 1% of fresh fruit purchases.

Online purchases of eggs, fish and meat were even lower at 0.59%, while dry fruits accounted for 0.62%, the report said.

This reflects “continued reliance on traditional retail channels for perishable items and the fact that people still prefer to visit markets for such food products,” the report added.

On the other hand, online purchases for clothing (19.97%) and footwear (12.05%) are relatively higher, indicating strong preference for digital platforms for personal-use durable items.

The findings indicate that Indian households continue to prefer visiting traditional retail outlets for perishable food products despite the growing penetration of digital platforms.

Overall, 45.6% of Indian households reported using online purchase or payment facilities for at least one consumption item, while 54.4% said they did not use such facilities.

Digital adoption was primarily concentrated in consumables and services, which accounted for 39.68%, followed by durable goods at 23.3%.

Food items accounted for just 7.1% of digital purchases, the report said.

Among food categories, online adoption was relatively higher for served processed food at 2.62% and packaged processed food at 1.65%.

The trend was also visible in the purchase of non-food items, with clothing recording 19.97% online adoption and footwear 12.05%.

However, digital purchases remained limited in high-value durable categories such as furniture (0.18%), medical equipment (0.32%) and recreational goods (0.52%.

The SBI Research analysis is based on the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2023-24 conducted by the National Statistical Office between August 2023 and July 2024.

“The increasing adoption of digital platforms for purchasing goods and services indicates a gradual transformation in household consumption behavior, with digitalization facilitating greater access to a wider range of products and services primarily concentrated in consumables & services, followed by durable goods,” the report noted.