12 October 2022, Mumbai:
The Indian e-retail industry is expected to grow by 30 per cent annually. So says management consulting firm Bain. India might soon replace the US as the country with the second-largest online shopper base after China.
Some 180 million Indians shopped online in 2021. This number is estimated to grow to 400 million by 2027.An estimated 50 million online shoppers were added in 2021 alone. Of these, over 60 per cent were from Tier III cities and beyond. Going forward, a growing segment of online shoppers will also come from digital-native individuals under 25.
E-commerce in India is characterised by shopper micro-segments, novel business models, and use of technology. The recently concluded phase of online festive sales saw the adoption of novel business models such as social-led commerce, e-commerce through video, or live streaming from horizontal platforms. Although these channels are in their early days, they will serve as platforms to onboard and retain consumers in the long run.
Social and video-led live commerce are yet to gain traction in India, though they are hugely popular in China and Southeast Asian markets. Reseller models using social commerce help bridge the trust gap for consumers from Tier II and III cities.
