WGC Report Spotlights on Online Gold Market in India

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The World Gold Council (WGC) published a new report outlining the online gold market in India.

As per the new report, the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in major disruptions to the brick and mortar business model by Indian retailers. The crisis has acted as a catalyst to boost sales of gold through online platforms.

The Council observed that the online gold market in the country is still in its beginning stage, accounting only for around 1-2% of the overall gold sales in value terms. The data until third quarter of 2019 suggests that only 17% of urban gold jewellery purchases and 3% of rural gold jewellery purchases are made online. Consumers aged between 18 and 45 years accounted for 70-80% of online sales, while those aged above 45 accounted for the balance 20-30%, WGC report said.

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The report cites several barriers that prevent potential buyers from opting for the online purchase route. These include the desire to hold or touch the product, desire to have the product right away, concerns over return policy and prices along with lack of awareness about Internet Investment Gold (IIG) options available in the market.

The report concludes by saying that, increased penetration of digital strategies in order to ensure that gold jewellery reaches more consumers at the purchase consideration stage, would provide significant boost to online gold market in the country.