eBay India focuses on Chandigarh - the newest IT hub

Chandigarh, August 2007: eBay India, India’s leading online marketplace, hosted an event today aimed at evangelizing eCommerce with Chandigarh residents. Mr. Rathin Lahiri, CMO, eBay India shared the latest trends in eCommerce & introduced the entrepreneurship platform with attendees. eBay Power Sellers & Chandigarh residents Mr. Anuvrat Gupta & Mrs. Nidhi Gupta were also felicitated on the occasion by Mr. Lahiri.

Rathin Lahiri, Chief Marketing Officer, eBay India, said, “eCommerce is increasingly becoming mainstream with Indians. The increasing online demand for high value technology and lifestyle products is the new paradigm of shopping in India today.”

Key eCommerce trends seen nationally and locally:

I eShoppers are convenience oriented
Recent eBay consumer research revealed that a large segment of Indian online users did not shop online due to complexity. To address this consumer need, eBay has significantly altered the online shopping landscape by launching the simplest and most convenient way to buy online in India. With the new fast and easy Fixed Price shopping experience, eBay India is seeking to extend the segment of users it addresses to include these non-shoppers.

Already recognized by third party research firm Juxt Consult as the most user friendly auction website, eBay India has extended the user-friendly shopping experience to fixed price shopping by launching a significant enhancement to the checkout process and new shopping cart features. With the new features, users can buy a number of fixed price items from eBay’s wide universe of sellers in a significantly easier & faster format.

II Chandigarh eCommerce Trends
With Chandigarh increasingly becoming an IT Hub, the young male from Chandigarh wants the latest gadgets at great deals. Huge demand for electronics can be clearly seen through an increasing buying pattern of MP3 players, Mobiles and Accessories, Digital Cameras and Video Games amongst buyers from Chandigarh.

Extremely Style conscious, people from Chandigarh are value driven and find great bargains on the eBay site for lifestyle items such as Watches, Jewellery, Men’s accessories & Health and beauty products.

People from Chandigarh are collectors and this can be seen through a strong seller presence in the Coins & Stamps category as well as the Books & Magazines category.
Most Chandigarh sellers are technology savvy and are known to deal in Mobiles & Handsets, Computer & Peripherals, MP3 players and Video & PC Games.

III Increasing demand for new, In-season products from B & C cities
India isn’t one but a set of diverse markets. Product penetration varies from market to market. Distribution inefficiencies lead to adoption lags in distinct markets, thus the latest products in a metro could be in the launch stage in non metros. eCommerce helps bridge this gap and makes the latest products available in B & C cities.

Increasingly, Brands are setting up an online presence which enables them to fulfill the demand created by their national media campaigns from buyers in B&C cities. Brands are now looking at online marketplaces such as eBay India to increase penetration and fulfill demand from buyers in small towns.

IV eCommerce is increasingly becoming mainstream with eBay India witnessing a growing demand in Technology, Lifestyle as well as the Collectibles category. eBay India has 2 million registered users who are buying online. On any given day on eBay India, a piece of jewellery sells every 6 minutes, a mobile handset sells every 11 minutes and a stamp sells every 20 minutes.
Log onto www.eBay.in, to grab great deals on products like mobiles, jewellery, MP3 players & apparel.
eBay India (www.eBay.in), India’s leading online marketplace, is India’s biggest online trading community where anyone can sell or buy almost anything. eBay India is a trading platform offering auctions, fixed price and classifieds modes of person-to-person trading. There are a wide range of products listed on eBay India in an array of categories including Apparel & Accessories, Books & Magazines, Cameras & Optics, Cars & Bikes, Coins & Stamps, Computers & Peripherals, Consumer Electronics, Fitness & Sports, Health & Beauty, Hobbies & Collectibles, Home, Décor & Furnishings, Jewellery, Kitchen & Home Appliances. Mobiles & Accessories, Movies & Music, Musical Instruments, Services & Real Estate, Tools & Hardware , Toys, Games & Baby, Travel, Tickets & Vouchers, Video & Computer Games, Watches and Everything Else. eBay India is a 100% subsidiary of eBay Inc.

About eBay
Founded in 1995, eBay created a powerful platform for the sale of goods and services by a passionate community of individuals and businesses. On any given day, there are millions of items across thousands of categories for sale on eBay. eBay enables trade on a local, national and international basis with customized sites in markets around the world. Through an array of services, such as its payment solution provider PayPal, eBay is enabling global eCommerce for an ever-growing online community.

eBay is The World's Online Marketplace®.