Want to Invest in eCommerce ? India is the place and how !
China is seeing unprecedented growth in the ecommerce sector with 31 percent growth in 2014 and reaching a market value of a whopping 2.1 Trillion. And the latest move, bringing together Magneto -the leading ecommerce platform –and Razorfish, a leading provider of web development and digital marketing services – explicitly defines this booming-market scenario.
The e-tail industry in neighbouring India is no different, with the last three years witnessing a significant increase in market-size. According to a recent report by Google, Indian ecommerce market is set be valued at $15 billion by 2016. To add to this, the race for the top-spot is hotting up as e-commerce giants from the east and west –Alibaba and Amazon –are set to battle it out in the land of opportunity.
This brings us to the question, ‘’ what makes India, ‘the place’ for ecommerce? “More details on http://fluidagain.com/blog/
As statistics clearly point out, 70 percent of India’s online shoppers are under the age of 35. This, very clearly, is a clear indicator that the time is now,for those waiting to invest in ecommerce in India as well as an invitation for global expansion. Let us try to understand some of the key factors that could decide the nature of impact ecommerce will have in India
Mobile commerce and the rise of middle class
The advent of smartphones and the growing middle class are two of the primary factors that have led to a sea change in the Indian retail industry. With more than 85 percent of internet users in India being active internet users on their mobile devices, users expect personalized services. Therefore it retailers are moving beyond the ‘one size fit-all’ approach and are focusing on personalized optimization.
As the middle class continues to increase its footprint across the nation, the purchasing power of the youngsters is rising rapidly. If the availability of all the products on a single website will help the online retailers succeed in big way, the ecommerce store-owners can cash in by offering returns and exchanges, which the traditional Indian retailers have failed to do so far.
Tier-2 and Tier 3 Cities and the emergence of new categories
Watching the sub-continent’s changing demographics over the last decade, points to the consistent blurring of the gap between cities and towns. Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities are seeing a sharp rise in the use of mobile devices and this should encourage retailers. The recent move by Flipkart to abandon web services from the 2016 is suggestive of a response to this increase in market potential of these cities. Surveys predict that Tier 2 and 3 cities are expected to contribute to more than 350 million2 e-tailing shipments in 2018.
In addition to the emergence of new online categories such as apparel, baby products, sports goods and furniture, with different dimensions and volumes, in spite of increasing the complexity of logistics, offers e-tailers, an opportunity to explore and expand their market in a big way.
Considering all these factors thoroughly would point to a golden opportunity waiting to be seized. And it would not be wrong to say: If you’re mulling on investing in ecommerce, India is ‘the place’ and ‘Now’ is the time.