105 Million Use COD While Shopping Online, says Report

Even as India focuses on increasing online payment, cash on delivery (COD) has been increasing with 105 Million million users opting for COD. In broader context, around about 12 per cent of internet users started online shopping using COD but avoided other online transactions.

This is as per ‘Internet in India Report 2024,’ jointly prepared by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and KANTAR. The reason behind the increase in COD as per Biswapriya Bhattacharya, Director B2B and Technology, Kantar Insights – South Asia is that many younger users, who are active in e-commerce, lack direct access to UPI. Often, they either use their parents' UPI accounts or opt for COD, with most choosing the latter. Additionally, in smaller towns and rural areas, there’s apprehension about paying upfront. “COD assures users of receiving the product before making the payment, offering flexibility to cancel orders without hassle,” said Bhattacharya. 

Additionally, with the increasing penetration of e-commerce platforms in rural areas, selling items through social media is something that has been decreasing in the country. The report says that online shopping via social media apps is slowing down, with only 1 in 5 online shoppers using them in 2024. Bhattacharya believes that the reason behind this slowdown is that due to a lack of guarantees and reliability. While it initially gained traction in areas where e-commerce networks were weak, the expansion of e-commerce into smaller towns and rural areas has diminished its relevance.

The report indicates that India will surpass 900 million internet user base by 2025 as compared to 886 million active internet users in 2024.  Over the next five years we will see around 200-300 million internet users by 2030, believes Bhattacharya. And rural India will drive this growth. Currently, rural India has seen twice the growth of urban areas, with 90 million users currently online.

As the internet user continue to grow, internet shutdown is something that is also prevalent in the country. In 2024, the country saw 60 internet shutdown as per data from the Internet Shutdowns Tracker. However, internet shutdown doesn’t have an impact on the number of internet users in the long run, believes Bhattacharya. 

“Shutdowns are temporary and adoption is more important. From a perspective of usage, it won’t be impacted. There is definitely a short term impact not a long term impact,” he added.

The report also sheds light on India’s love for AI usage. It says that 39 per cent of Indian users have been using AI to make themselves more productive and efficient. As AI adoption increases, what becomes important is that, it is crucial for companies to ensure their AI solutions are both accurate and ethical, added Bhattacharya. The other findings of the report indicates that 57 per cent of internet users prefer accessing internet content in Indic languages in urban India. This in turn, gives wider scope formative companies to explore this area.