Google on Tuesday released an auto industry report based on the search query trend. In a chat with Piyali Mandal, Managing Director for Google India Rajan Anandan identifies key trends in cyberspace and specifies how the Internet search giant plans to leverage its web presence in the country. Edited excerpts:
What triggered this report and what are the broad trends you have observed?
There are 100 million users online and a huge number of them do research on products and services before making a purchase. Our study revealed that Indian consumers are ahead of the US and Europe in using the Web to research about car and bike purchases. The Google auto report aims to understand user behaviour — what they search for, and the most-searched car brands among others. In terms of search query volumes, the auto vertical has taken off in the last two years. Query volume for automotive verticals has increased by about 84 per cent.
What does this imply for car companies?
We have seen an over 150 per cent growth in revenues from the auto sector in 2010 and expect the share of auto advertising spends on digital to grow significantly in the next few years. With this kind of data, companies should increase their digital presence. The report is less about us trying to shape our marketing strategy and more about working with our clients — the manufacturers of cars and bikes and their advertising agencies. We are focused on helping others capitalise their web presence.
When will Google launch its e-commerce platform —Checkout — in India?
We will definitely bring Google Checkout to India. When we do that you will know.
What are the other trends you think are going to shape the internet landscape in India?
We are seeing a rise in the number of people buying products online other than doing research on the Internet. So, e-commerce will continue to grow. Last year, estimates revealed that e-commerce was a $5 billion industry. About 80 per cent of that was related to travel. The industry estimates that the number will hit $40 billion by 2015. The next big trend is mobility — in terms of people accessing the internet on their phones. About 40 million people are accessing the internet on their mobile phones. Online video is a huge trend. It is a killer app in India. YouTube has a significant share of users from India — 23 million and a typical user spends around 15 minutes of viewing. There is also huge opportunity in cloud computing.
Is the number of Indians buying products online rising? Is there a fear of the bubble bursting?
E-commerce is a massive trend globally, but it’s still maturing here. E-commerce is like a Test match. This is just the first ball of the first over in a Test. It’s still so early.
