The forthcoming Indian festival season is expected to see a surge in online shopping, particularly in larger cities, with e-commerce sales projected to rise by 350% even as footfalls in malls decline by 50-55%. This is the conclusion of a survey carried out by Assocham, one of the leading trade and industry associations in the country across 10 cities in the country.

The survey estimates that online transactions during the 2014 festive season may cross Rs. 10,000 cr, while the overall e-commerce market may touch Rs. 1,00,000 cr a year in India over the next three to four years from Rs 12,000 cr last year.

Among the categories that are expected to see strong sales, branded apparel, accessories, jewellery, gifts and footwear are at the top, particularly because these categories are offering discounts as well as doorstep delivery in two to three days, the report said.

The survey was conducted in 10 cities  and revealed that the Delhi-NCR region recorded the highest decline in footfalls at malls (49.5 per cent), followed by Ahmedabad (48.2 per cent), Chennai (46 per cent), Mumbai (42 per cent) and Hyderabad (39 per cent).

Assocham Secretary-General D.S. Rawat said that the change in shopping patterns is being driven by a “whole new audience (which) is connected 24 X 7 through smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices, leading to the evolution of e-commerce into mobile commerce”. Ease and speed of payment and quick delivery, were other factors driving the online surge.