After the introduction of digitalization in India, there has been a big change in the method of payment. Now the number of people doing cash on delivery (COD) after shopping on e-commerce platforms has reduced significantly.
According to a report by data and analytics company GlobalData, only 20.4 percent of people in India used to pay through alternative methods during 2018. But, in 2023, this number increased to more than 58 percent.
If we talk about other payment options apart from traditional cash, then the trend of UPI, debit card and credit has increased a lot. Especially, more people in rural areas are paying for e-commerce purchases through UPI, because it is the easiest.
Important contribution of UPI
According to the report of Global Data, ‘Users are mostly using mobile wallet, which runs largely through UPI. It allows payment from mobile in real time by scanning the QR code. Such alternative payments are very popular in countries like China and India and are also being adopted in other countries of Asia Pacific.’
At present, China is at the forefront in terms of paying for e-commerce purchases through alternative methods. Last year, China had about two-thirds of the total e-commerce payments in the Asia Pacific region. In India, alternative payment methods have increased significantly after 2018. The same trend is seen in countries like Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, which are generally considered to be countries with more cash.
Decreasing trend of cash on delivery
Shivani Gupta, Senior Analyst of Banking and Payment at GlobalData, said, ‘Most Asian markets traditionally prefer to spend cash. But now, along with online shopping, the trend of paying through alternative methods is increasing in physical shopping like malls or stores. Here many Asian countries are also getting ahead of Western countries. The main reason for this is the easy access to smartphones and internet and the rapid spread of QR codes.’
Experts believe that now people do not like to keep more cash at home. They also try to avoid going shopping with cash. This is the reason why the trend of cash on delivery is decreasing and people are preferring to make payments through alternative methods.
