Mobile antivirus software sold most in 2016: Amazon

At a time when cyber crimes are affecting millions of devices globally, e-tailer Amazon.in said that mobile software witnessed a growth of over 100 per cent in 2016, with Android protection software topping the list.

"With the growth in purchase of smartphones, laptops, PCs, tablets and increasing internet penetration, Indian customers are increasingly buying various software products online to enhance and protect their electronic devices," the company said in a statement.

Antivirus protection kits were the most sought-after product across the country and top products sold in mobile software category are multi device/Android protection software by popular brands like Kaspersky, K7 and Quick Heal.

The single user subscription -- software that can be used by one consumer only -- sub-category saw more than 80 per cent growth with maximum demand from customers.

"Non-educational software which comprises of products like antivirus, internet security and total protection and other office use products saw a growth of over 85 per cent in the last one year," the company said.

Kaspersky, Quick Heal, McAfee, Eset, K7 and Microsoft were the top selling brands under this category are with Microsoft witnessing a growth of over 75 per cent and had a nearly four times spike in sales during Diwali.

There was high demand for non-educational software from tier II and tier III cities, with Ahmedabad and Chandigarh topping the charts once again.

Multi device software -- that can be run on multiple devices like phone, laptop, tablet, etc. with a single key -- grew over 2.5 times in the past year.

"Overall, we saw that customers are increasingly becoming aware of the different types and brands of software programmes available in the market and are conscious of avoiding pirated software," Amazon.in said.

While Mumbai led in the purchase of mobile softwares followed by Bengaluru and Delhi, Tier II and Tier III cities were close in terms of demand for mobile software products.

Ahmedabad and Chandigarh witnessed high demand for mobile software such as Kaspersky Android security and Quick Heal Android Security. Bhopal too has emerged as a growing market for this sub-category.