E-commerce marketplace in India expected to reach astronomical figure of USD 1.2 trillion by 2021

E-commerce is expected to be the next level of consumer growth driver beginning this year and the online marketplace in the country is expected to grow to USD 1.2 trillion by 2021, a report said Tuesday. The Deloitte India and Retailers Association of India report pegs India's e-commerce marketplace at USD 200 billion and said it is poised to grow to USD 1.2 trillion by 2021, the third largest consumer market in the world.

The report observed that despite the stress faced by the Indian rupee and the rising crude oil bill, Indian retail market would grow at a CAGR of 7.8 per cent between 2021 and 2026. The Deloittes 2019 consumer business focused report 'Unravelling the Indian Consumer' noted that Indias e-commerce marketplace is currently growing at CAGR 32 per cent and would further rise as the e-commerce space grows at a massive pace, boosting the overall consumer segment growth in the country.

It attributed the growth projection to changing purchasing patterns and noted that with increasing internet penetration in India, online buyers are rapidly increasing. Moreover, m-commerce is growing at an exponential pace m-wallets transactions in India increased from Rs 200 billion in FY16 to Rs 3,000 billion in FY18, it said.

High intensity online shopping pattern and heightened use of smartphones, given the increase in internet penetration across the semi-urban and rural segments, has helped to boost the sales, led by the millennial population across tier I, tier II and tier III markets. Social-commerce in India has been on the rise, it noted adding that 28 per cent millennials purchase products due to social media recommendations, and 63 per cent millennials stay updated on brands through social media.

The decision-making capability and adoption uptick going beyond the urban areas, it said adding that it is further facilitated by digital technology. Moreover, use of innovation by way of offering experiential retail has picked up of late with the use of advanced data analytics, bots and drones, beacons, cloud-platforms, Augmented reality (AR) and Virtual reality (VR) to understand the real need of the consumer, it said.

This further shows the maturity of business and the solid platform existing in the country for all types of market players such as consumers, distributors, logistics service providers and development of the ancillary sectors including transportation, logistics and cold chain facilities that will help India consumer business to the next level of growth. It observed that even though the retail industry is growing, its convergence is evident from the number of M&A deals that rose by 25 per cent between 2017 and 2018.

While the food, apparel, footwear and accessories space contribute a bigger share to the consumer retail pie, FMCG and automotive companies have much higher numbers for total market capitalisation when compared to the former, it noted.

(With inputs from agencies.)