E-commerce is helping the retail business to evolve in such a manner that is comfortable and cost-effective for both retailers and customers.
Recently, Invest India’s survey shows a fascinating vision of nation’s metamorphosis into a global e-commerce powerhouse by the end of this decade. It was predicted that e-commerce sector is set to touch $325 billion in this country by 2030. According to Invest India, “India boasts the world's second-largest internet user base with a whopping 881 million users. This positions India to become the third-largest online retail market by 2030, fueled by a rapidly expanding internet user base and a flourishing digital economy.”
The remarkable growth in e-commerce is helping both retailers and customers. In this article, we will discuss how e-commerce is empowering both the sides of business.
No Need for Retail Store: Retailers don’t have to keep a physical store to display their products. Any website or e-commerce platform is enough for it. With rising rent and electricity price, retailers are moving over from physical stores to cost-effective e-commerce space.
Retailers Going Local to Global: The combination of e-commerce and social media or social commerce is trending globally. Retailers are connecting to customers directly from one part of India to other through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. With direct interaction, real-time feedback features, e-commerce is growing swiftly in India.
Shopping at Anywhere Anytime: India has more than 800 million internet users currently, which is around 46% of total population. In 2010’s, the internet users were only 7-8% of Indian population. Due to rise in internet users, people are relying more on shopping through online mode.
As per recent prediction, nearly 87% of Indians will be getting Internet access by 2025, which will further enhance Ecommerce sell. Furthermore, the time spent on internet has also increased. Meanwhile, the cost of internet is cheaper than other countries too. Due to this, customers can check and complete purchase at any time anywhere. This is eliminating long checkout lines in shopping malls, saving time and commuting cost.
Flexible Purchasing Option: When a customer is visiting a shopping mall, that person is responsible for carrying majority of the item to home. However, a product bought via online mode is directly delivered to customer's house. Due to that flexibility, people are buying a variety of items via e-commerce platforms. With cash on delivery option easily available, customers are relying on eCommerce broadly. Consumers are getting self-checkout and contactless payment options allowing an improved and quicker shopping experience.
Satisfied Customers: We are living in the artificial intelligence (AI) era. AI is providing personalized experience for users before buying any item through online. As they are getting virtual assistance with augmented reality (AR), people are not taking the effort of visit shopping malls to purchase. With few clicks, customers are getting essential at their doorstep.
India’s e-commerce industry is witnessing rapid growth, supported by the nation's progress in digitization and growing internet users. Post-pandemic, online shopping has become the most preferred option for consumers globally. At the same time, retailers are focusing on e-store rather than costly physical stores. This is increasing sales and revenue.
Broadly, E-commerce has totally upgraded the traditional shopping method where both customers and retailers are getting benefitted.
