How ecommerce is evolving in India- Quick Facts
Indians have taken a liking for the fact that one can explore a zillion products simply from their home and offices. What can be better than having your favourite merchandise being home-delivered effortlessly through an ecommerce platform?
Ecommerce – THEN and NOW
Ecommerce market share has been steadily growing for the last few years and as per forecast, the evolution shall be stupendous. India, with its 3rd largest internet user base, is expected to lead the ecommerce market in Asia Pacific region, after China and Indonesia.
- Indian ecommerce sector, which was valued at $3.8 billion in 2009, recorded a 55% growth in a span of 7 years and valued $16 billion in 2016.
- The sector is expected to reach a valuation of $47.5 billion by 2020.
- 6 million new consumers are being introduced to the Indian ecommerce platform every month.
- A study by Indian Institute of Commerce estimates that India shall generate revenue of $100 million by 2020 through the ecommerce platform.
A push by Modi government
Demonetization of existing currency (Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes) in the last quarter of 2016 had a booster effect on online sales. This move starved the country of physical currency and persuaded its people to use ecommerce platforms to meet their needs.
As India was predominantly a cash economy, this move adversely affected both online and retail sales for a short while. However, in the long run, it is expected to bring a change and usher Indians to adopt alternative payment methods and help India become a cashless economy, thus benefitting the ecommerce industry largely.
The Digital India Program launched by Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi is a definitive step towards providing Indians with easy access to information technology services, especially in rural and semi-urban areas. The mobile subscriber base and number of internet users in India is expected to double in the period 2016 to 2020.
The figures were measured at 1.12 billion and 391 million respectively as on 31st December 2016. With mobile users contributing significantly to ecommerce sales and continuous efforts for improved internet connectivity by the government, the online marketplace shall be accessed by a larger number of users henceforth, and the sector shall thus enjoy a speedy growth.
User friendly ecommerce site – a must to succeed
Besides dozens of external factors that influence the ecommerce sector, one that really matters for an online business to succeed is an easy to navigate, user-friendly e-Commerce website.
Synaptic India, an eminent web development company in Delhi believes that a good site with accurate product information can help online businesses gain higher number of views and larger number of transactions.
