India's e-commerce market rose 88% in 2013: Survey

India's e-commerce market grew at a staggering 88 per cent in 2013 to $ 16 billion, riding on booming online retail trends and defying slower economic growth and spiralling inflation, according to a survey by industry body Assocham.

"The increasing Internet penetration and availability of more payment options boosted the e-commerce industry in 2013," Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.

"Besides electronics gadgets, apparel and jewellery, home and kitchen appliances, lifestyle accessories like watches, books, beauty products and perfumes, baby products witnessed significant upward movement in last one year," Rawat said.

According to the survey, India's e-commerce market, which stood at $2.5 billion in 2009, reached $8.5 billion in 2012 and rose 88 per cent to touch $16 billion in 2013. The survey estimates the country's e-commerce market to reach $56 billion by 2023, driven by rising online retail.

As per responses by 3,500 traders and organised retailers in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Kolkata who participated in the survey, online shopping grew at a rapid pace in 2013 due to aggressive online discounts, rising fuel prices and availability of abundant online options.

Among the cities, Mumbai topped the list of online shoppers followed by Delhi, while Kolkata ranked third, the survey found.

The age-wise analysis revealed that 35 per cent of online shoppers are aged between 18 years and 25 years, 55 per cent between 26 years and 35 years, 8 per cent in the age group of 36-45 years, while only 2 per cent are in the age group of 45-60 years. Besides, 65 per cent of online shoppers are male while 35 per cent are female.

To make the most of increasing online shopping trends, more companies are collaborating with daily deal and discount sites, the survey pointed out.

The products that are sold most are in the tech and fashion category, including mobile phones, ipads, accessories, MP3 players, digital cameras and jewellery, among others, it found.

India has Internet base of around 150 million as of August, 2013, the survey said.

"Having close to 10 per cent of Internet penetration in India throws a very big opportunity for online retailers to grow and expand as future of Internet seems very bright," Rawat said.

Those who are reluctant to shop online cited reasons like preference to research products and services online (30 per cent), finding delivery costs too high (20), fear of sharing personal financial information online (25) and lack of trust on whether products would be delivered in good condition (15), while 10 per cent do not have a credit or debit card.

Cyber security to get more complicated in 2014: ISACA

Cyber security is set to get a lot more complicated in 2014, a global IT association has warned all businesses - big or small, asking them to brace up.

IT and cybersecurity professionals should resolve now to gear up for accelerated change and complexity in 2014, especially in cyber security, data privacy and big data, according to non-profit ISACA, to ring in the New Year securely.

"The pace of change expected in 2014 will put incredible pressure on technology professionals in the workplace with a focus on keeping IT risk in check while at the same time delivering value to the business," said Bhavesh Bhagat, CEO of EnCrisp, co-founder of Confident Governance and member of ISACA's new emerging business and technology committee.

ISACA, that provides guidance to help business and IT leaders maximise value and manage risk related to information and technology, has predicted on certain areas businesses should be preparing for in 2014.

It has asked businesses to prepare for privacy 2.0 as attitudes towards data privacy are unlikely to reach a consensus in 2014. Instead, be prepared to accommodate both those with little expectation of privacy and those who view their personal data as currency and want to control how that currency is spent, it said.

Slim down big data: Explosive data volumes were the No. 1 issue posed by big data in ISACA's 2013 IT Risk/Reward Barometer. Unmanageable data creates redundancies and is difficult to secure, it said.

ISACA has also asked businesses to eliminate the excess data and consolidate what remains, to promote sharing and protect using better controls.

Plan to compete for cybersecurity and data analytics experts: The need for smart analytics people and cybersecurity defenders with the right certifications is only going to grow in 2014.

It said businesses that plan on hiring during the new year need to make sure their compensation package and job descriptions are competitive.

Rethink how your enterprise is using your information security experts: With some elements of IT security operational responsibility (includingmalware detection, event analysis and control operation) increasingly being outsourced to cloud providers, smart leaders are enabling their internal security experts to become hunters instead of just defenders.

This allows them to proactively seek out the most hard- to-detect threats, build internal intelligence capabilities, construct better metrics and invest in operational risk analysis.

Ramp up for the Internet of (even more) Things: With past research showing 50 billion devices expected to be connected to the Internet by 2020, start working now on a policy governing connected devices, if your enterprise does not have one now, it said.

Why you should read online terms & conditions

It was widely reported some years ago, how nearly 7,500 people unknowingly sold their souls to Brit online gaming software retailer, Gamestation. As a prank, the retailer added an 'Immortal Souls' clause to the terms and conditions (T&C), legally awarding itself the 'souls' of customers who bought from it. Funny as it may seem, the prank highlights the dubious nature of the terms and conditions that we agree to, most often without actually reading them. Many reports suggest that fewer than 12% of people bother to glance through the terms and conditions.

While companies need to protect their interests given the frivolous lawsuits in vogue, you should know when terms and conditions become more than standard operating procedure and turn into ransom notes. The consumer is forced to agree to the terms in order to proceed to the next step, whether it is to use a service or install software. Consider the terms and conditions listed by one of the most popular DTH service providers in India: "We reserve the right at any time, without prior notice to you, to add or vary all or any of these terms and conditions or to replace, wholly or in part, the offers made to you or to withdraw them completely."

Take a moment to read it again. By accepting these terms, you are literally agreeing to anything and everything the service provider may ask of you, now or in the future, as long as you are availing of its services. There aren't too many ways out of the situation, other than opting for another service provider. However, needless to say, it is time you started reading the terms carefully, and more frequently. Here are some of the things that you should look for before clicking 'I accept'.

Free mobile apps

Many so-called free apps for your smartphone or tablet are supported by ads. Read through the terms—the app could be accessing your personal information, mainly to deliver targeted ads. Also, as mobile ads will be delivered whenever the app is active, it will add to your data usage at the end of the month.

Photo sharing and printing websites

You own the intellectual property rights to your photographs, but what happens if you upload them to a photo sharing website? Who owns them if you upload them to a stock photo site? Or to a photo printing website? You might be shocked to learn that several photo sharing/printing websites retain the right to use your photographs in any way they see fit in a 'perpetual and irrevocable' manner. So, check before uploading.

Sharing personal information on e-mail

Ever notice how the text ads in your e-mail inbox are creepily 'right on the money'? All the baby clothing store ads appear if you've had a baby. Camera stores materialise if you're a photographer and local restaurants pop up if you're discussing a dinner date with a friend. Targeted ads, especially those with accurate location and demographics, can earn a lot of money. By agreeing to the terms, you become the conduit.

Buying online/booking tickets

This is one area that can have a lot of ambiguity. Do manufacturer warranties apply to products bought online? What happens if there is a defect or you need to return the item? If case of airline tickets, prices are volatile and you need to read the fine print to make sure that you can return and get a refund. Many 'special fare tickets' are sold on the condition that they will not be returned/refunded.

 

Protecting Twitter & Facebook accounts

A rising trend points towards websites allowing you to sign in and start using their services by using your existing Twitter, Google or Facebook ID. Though you skip the registration process (which encourages more users), the website identifies its visitor and gets more information. This is officially allowed using Facebook, Google connect and Twitter sign in. However, you may find automated posts and tweets being sent on your behalf. Check the permissions you are granting the site or app before allowing access to your account. If it says 'Allow app/site to post/send tweet' or 'Grant permission to post on your behalf', cancel and run.

Online shopping

Have you ever thought how your name and e-mail address find their way to various websites that you have never heard of? Whenever you sign up for newsletters, to comment on an article you read, or for a community forum, your personal information can be misused. Not only could this website start sending you e-mail spam (special offers, notices), but could even sell your e-mail ID to third parties without your consent.

Microsoft Word gets an Assamese clone

A group of volunteers from different parts of Assam have made an innovation of sorts by designing an Assamese word processor similar to the Microsoft Word with a spell checker and word suggestions to boot. 

Named Jahnabi, the word processor has came as a boon for those who need help in writing the language and can be easily used by those with a rudimentary knowledge of Assamese. 

"The website www.jahnabi.org has received more than 60,000 hits and the free-of-cost software downloaded by more than 1,000 people since it was launched online on November 25 last," says Mridul Kumar Sharmah, one of the members of the team. 

The Unicode compliant software with a size of 7 mega bytes has at present nearly 2.5 lakh Assamese words and 108 readymade Assamese phrases in its dictionary and counting. 

"The programming of the processor is based on dotnet platform and C# language containing around 15,000 lines of code," Utpal Phukon, the only programmer in the Jahnabi team, said. 

It took almost 25 days to complete the beta version of the software and the final software was designed in four months, he said. 

The software contains automatic suggestions for words. Just type the alphabet K and all the words beginning with Ka would appear like Kalam and Kamal. There are also 600 Assamese idioms. The user has the option to create a shortcut for frequently used idioms. There is also a facility to add words to the user?s dictionary. 

"If one types the alphabets K and M, words like Kamal and Kamtapur would be listed. All one has to do is click on the word which is required from the list. This makes it easy for people who do not have an in-depth knowledge of the language," Sharmah said.

Facebook dominates in US rush to social networking

The surge into social networks is gaining pace among Americans, with Facebook dominating but with many people using multiple platforms, a study showed Monday.

A Pew Research Center survey found 73 per cent of Americans over age 18 on the Internet use at least one social network -- or about 63 per cent of the total adult population.

Facebook is the preferred network, used by 71 per cent of online adults, or 57 per cent of all American adults, according to Pew researchers.

However other platforms like Pinterest, LinkedIn and Twitter are making gains, and a growing number of people are using multiple social networks.

Pew found that 42 per cent of Internet users (or 34 per cent of all American adults) use two or more of the five most popular social networks.

Use of Facebook rose to 71 per cent of online adults from 67 per cent a year ago, the study found.

A large part of the growth for Facebook came from older Americans: Roughly 45 per cent of Internet users over 65 are using Facebook, up from 35 per cent in late 2012.

Four other social networks, including Facebook-owned Instagram, are battling for the number two spot for US users.

LinkedIn is used by 22 per cent of online American adults and is especially popular among college graduates and those in higher income households. That is up from 20 per cent a year earlier.

Pinterest usage grew sharply to 21 per cent of online adults, from 15 per cent a year ago. Pew said that women are four times as likely as men to be users of the bulletin-board style social media platform.

Some 18 per cent of online adults use Twitter, up from 16 per cent a year ago, Pew said, with adoption levels particularly high among younger adults and African-Americans.

Instagram use rose to 17 per cent of online adults from 13 per cent a year ago, according to the survey. Much of this growth came in the 18 to 29 age bracket and among African-Americans.

Pew found that Facebook and Instagram drew high levels of "user engagement," with a majority of users checking in on a daily basis.

Some 63 per cent of Facebook users visit the site at least once a day, and 40 per cent do so multiple times throughout the day.

That compares with 57 per cent of Instagram users who visit the site at least once a day and 46 per cent of Twitter users.

The researchers also found considerable overlap among the leading social networks. For example, 93 per cent of Instagram users also use Facebook, as do 83 per cent of LinkedIn members.

Some 53 per cent of Twitter users also use Instagram, and 53 per cent of Instagram users use Twitter, the survey found.

The report is based on telephone interviews conducted from August 7 to September 16 among 1,801 adults age 18 and older. For the total group, the margin of error is estimated at 2.6 per centage points and 2.9 points for Internet users.