Small towns to contribute 50 per cent of eBay India's business

Kolkata, Aug 31 (UNI) Leading online e-commerce site eBay India is expecting the small towns to contribute 50 per cent of overall business in the country in the next five years.

eBay India (formerly Baazee.com), having two million registered users from over 240 cities in India, gets around 30 per cent of buyers from 'B' and 'C' category towns now, director Ambareesh Murty said.

"With the growth of e-commerce market and internet connectivity in India, we expect the semi-urban and small towns to contribute 50 per cent of business in the next five years," Murty said.

The business to consumer (B2C) e-commerce market is set to grow to Rs 2300 crore in 2006-07 from Rs 1180 crore in 2005-06 according to a study by IAMAI Power Shopper 2005.

e-Bay India offers auction, fixed-price and classfied format of sell for the products and services.

Approximately 12,800 sellers use e-Bay India as a primary and secondary source of income, according to AC Nielsen International Research, June 2006.

e-Bay's seller segments include unemployed graduates, rural communities, retired and physically challenged persons, Murty said.

Murty said mostly jewelleries, watches, apparel, accessories, coins, stamps and musical instruments were sold from India.

e-Bay India is the wholly owned subsidiary of e-Bay Inc, which has a global presence in 33 markets and 203 million registered users worldwide.

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