India’s e-commerce industry is witnessing rapid growth, supported by the nation's progress in digitization and growing internet users.
In a recent survey conducted by Invest India, 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.”
Broadly, Invest India’s survey shows a fascinating vision of nation’s metamorphosis into a global e-commerce powerhouse by the end of this decade. This remarkable growth is attributed to multiple factors. In this article, we will discuss about those key drivers leading growth in e-commerce in India.
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. Internet connectivity will rise online shoppers both in urban and rural areas.
Every passing day, new technologies are taking over traditional methods. The same is happening for e-commerce sector. 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.
This is the combination of e-commerce and social media. Nowadays, social commerce is trending globally. Social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram are not only interaction platform anymore. Retailers are connecting to customers directly from one part of India to other. With direct interaction, real-time feedback features, e-commerce is growing swiftly in India.
In a competitive market, effective marketing strategy plays a crucial role for any brand. Starting an online store is not enough nowadays. Proper marketing strategy is helping retailers reaching customers in broader landscape. Let me be honest, brands are coming up with numerous innovative ways to grab the attention of customers, which is increasing sell.
This is another important factor behind the growth of e-commerce in India. Since the last decade, there has been rise in digial payment methods. Both retailers and customers are adapted to any digital payment services like Google pay, Phonepe, Paytm, Amazon pay, and so on. It is predicted that nearly 1.2 billion Indians will be using smartphone by 2026. The rise in smartphone and internet users are relying on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with local language content.
Currently, India's e-commerce market size is valued at $70 billion, which accounts for approximately 7% of the country’s overall retail market.
The combination of a rising internet user base, affordable data availability, a supportive digital infrastructure, innovative marketing paves the way for an exciting future for e-commerce sector in India.
