CHENNAI: That inhabitants of Chennai have a penchant for jewellery shopping could be gauged from the huge crowds that throng jewellery marts in the city even when gold prices touch the stratosphere. Adding more credence to this notion is a revelation made in a study by eBay India, one of the top e-commerce websites in the country, that purchase of Tanzanite gemstones rank highest among imports through online shopping in the city. Releasing the eBay census 2011, a study of consumer behavior based on analysis of transactions that took place on its website between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011, Rajesh Ramachandran, General Manager of the company's India product centre, said that Chennai now ranks fifth among cities in the country on the volume of online shopping made, a drop by one position since its previous census. Among some interesting trends that have come out from the city-based analysis was the fact that technology products hold 46 per cent share of all domestic online transactions made on the website. The largest share of imports belonged to lifestyle products, including cosmetics and fashion watches and women made a majority of such purchases. Among individual items bought from the domestic market, nose hair trimmers and phone scratch guards ranked among the top five with water filters topping the chart. Chennai has become the largest exporter of marble tiles online with nature stamps and silk sarees close on its heels in terms of volume. Interestingly, men in Chennai are the highest importers of underwear in the whole country, Ramachandran said. Consumers in Chennai were also brand savvy with Apple being the most popular brand followed by Reebok and Nokia. Providing the Tamil Nadu picture, Rajesh said while Coimbatore might have a higher Internet penetration, it was Kanchipuram that followed Chennai as the second largest e-commerce hub in the State. A large international market for products such as vintage coins and silk sarees was helping Kanchipuram to achieve this feat.
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