Air tickets most shopped online: Study

India's online shoppers bought more air tickets over any other category in the first half of 2006, according to a report released by the world's biggest credit-card company Visa International and AC Nielsen.

Airline ticket customers formed 40 per cent of online shoppers in India in the six months to June 30, Visa said in a statement. This was followed by books with 29 per cent and music at 24 per cent.

In addition to being the overall category leader, online airline ticket purchases have also been attracting a significant amount of repeat purchases by consumers. Globally, airlines represent the largest merchant category of e-commerce transactions (close to $6.68 trillion for April 2006).

The report said consumers in India were clearly following the global trend as airline tickets continue to remain the most popular choice among consumers for online purchases.

The study also reveals that the key motivators behind online purchase of airline tickets include convenience (54 per cent), price (34 per cent) and better selection (11 per cent).

Online shopping has grown in popularity since the first half of 2005, with the number of shoppers increasing from 3,274,000 (first half of 2005) to 3,493,000 in first half of 2006 (up by 7 per cent).

Santanu Mukherjee, country manager - South Asia, Visa International Asia Pacific said, "Airlines can benefit from online ticket sales, enabling them to provide ticketing options directly to consumers via their websites and reach out to a wider cross-section of customers."

Visa has introduced a number of products and services to provide added security and ease of use to consumers for online transactions. The airline industry in particular could benefit from these products and services that would increase consumer confidence in online payments and incentivise greater usage, it said.