Will the Indian e-commerce market be ruled by “Made in India”?

S Mohini Ratna
Editor, VARINDIA

Retailers have to expand globally. The world is becoming flat and the Indian e-commerce industry still has a long way to go. This industry is expected to be the largest part of the Indian internet market by 2020, with a massive projected value of $100 billion.

India is ranked the second largest smartphone market after China. Users are moving from laptops and desktops to mobile devices for activities such as checking emails and shopping that is helping the growth for the Indian e-commerce industry. It is also a fact that, online shopping is very convenient with a value addition for the e-commerce companies by offering deep discounts, cash-on-delivery, and a 30-day return policy across most platforms, which is helping the segments to grow further.

Technology is bridging the gap in India's fragmented logistics sector, and this sector is booming.The logistics industry is touted to be worth $307 billion by 2020. The increasing popularity of online retail companies have survived purely on Private Equity (PE) funding. Online retail is expected to be at par with the physical stores in the next five years and has grown 23 per cent to $17.8 billion in 2017.

Global market places are definitely on the rise and they are here to stay. They provide a perfect starting point for selling your products abroad. In addition, they can help to find out whether there is a market for your brand before you have to invest in your own online shop. Marketplaces attract customers to a large number of products available, typically at lower prices. The world's largest conglomerate such as Alibaba and Amazon are dominating the industry. 

With the number of Internet users in India expected to touch around 600 million by 2020 and smartphones penetration to touch 600-700 million in 2020 mostly in lower tier cities and rural areas, this is expected to bring newer opportunities. Hence, retailers and brands are focusing on how to leverage the rise of marketplaces for the benefit of their business.

Both the retail, online and unorganized retail companies have to work together to ensure better prospects for the overall retail industry, while generating new opportunities to the customers. Marketplaces have both advantages and disadvantages, but Istill believe that they will positively drive retail towards innovative thinking and acting.

The recently concluded Star Nite Awards acted as a platform to showcase the potential of the partners and VARs in the country and was a grand success.
With this I wish all the readers a Merry Christmas and a very happy and prosperous News Year 2019!.