COVID-19 pandemic led 68% of Indians to increase online shopping, says new survey

Indian consumers of all ages are shopping online more due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 68 per cent reporting an uptick since COVID-19 started, a survey by cybersecurity firm McAfee said on Tuesday.

The results, however, showed that consumers are not adequately safeguarding themselves online, considering only a quarter -- 27.5 per cent -- Indians use online security solutions.

While over half of Indians feel cyber scams are more prevalent during the holiday season, yet, 42.3 per cent are planning to do more of their holiday shopping online, showed the findings of the "2020 Holiday Season: State of Today's Digital e-Shopper" India survey.

"Shopping behaviours continue to evolve, with consumers skipping in-store purchases to a great extent and shifting a bulk of their festive purchases online," Venkat Krishnapur, Vice President of Engineering and Managing Director, McAfee India, said in a statement.

"With cybercriminals looking to take advantage of this surge in online transactions, it is crucial that users stay mindful of potential risks and undertake necessary steps to protect themselves and their families this holiday season."

The report is based on a survey of 1,000 adults over the age of 18 in India between October 9-19. McAfee Labs recently said that it observed 419 threats per minute in Q2 2020, an increase of almost 12 per cent over the previous quarter.

In order to stay safe, online shoppers should employ multi-factor authentication to double-check the authenticity of digital users and add an additional layer of security to protect personal data and information, McAfee advised.