india e commerce

ecommerce in india

India has an internet user base of about 243.2 million as of January 2014. Despite being third largest userbase in world, the penetration of Internet is low compared to markets like the United States, United Kingdom or France but is growing much faster, adding around 6 million new entrants every month.^[3] The industry consensus is that growth is at an inflection point
In India, cash on delivery is the most preferred payment method, accumulating 75% of the e-retail activities.^[5] However, COD may harm e-commerce business in India in the long run  and there is a need to make a shift towards online payment mechanisms. Demand for international consumer products (including long-tail items) is growing much faster than in-country supply from authorised distributors and e-commerce offerings

India's e-commerce market ^[8] was worth about $3.8 billion in 2009, it went up to $12.6 billion in 2013. In 2013, the e-retail segment was worth US$2.3 billion. About 70% of India's e-commerce market is travel related.^[9] According to Google India, there were 35 million online shoppers in India in 2014 Q1 and is expected to cross 100 million mark by end of year 2016.^[10] CAGR vis-à-vis a global growth rate of 8–10%. Electronics and Apparel are the biggest categories in terms of sales.
Key drivers in Indian e-commerce are:

• Large percentage of population subscribed to broadband Internet,^[11] burgeoning 3G internet users, and a recent introduction of 4G in few cities.^[12][13]
• Explosive growth of Smartphone users, soon to be world's second largest smartphone userbase.^[14]
• Rising standards of living as result of fast decline in poverty rate.
• Availability of much wider product range (including long tail and Direct Imports) compared to what is available at brick and mortar retailers.
• Competitive prices compared to brick and mortar retail driven by disintermediation and reduced inventory and real estate costs.
• Increased usage of online classified sites, with more consumer buying and selling second-hand goods
• Evolution of Million-Dollar startups like Jabong.com, Saavn, Makemytrip, Bookmyshow, Zomato Etc.