BackIndia to have 500 mn online shoppers by 2030, says report
Of the total online retail market of $50-60 bn, 60% comprises products and the rest comes from services
PremiumNEW DELHI : As many as 500 million Indians will be shopping online by 2030, up from the current 150 million, as the internet reaches a vast swathe of the country’s population, a new report said.
According to a joint report by MMA India (Mobile Marketing Association) and media agency GroupM India, the number of Indian internet users will expand from the current 622 million to 900 million by 2025.
With affordable data prices, consumers are increasingly becoming more digital, the report titled Modern Marketers’ Guide to Connected Consumer Journeys’ said.
The online retail market is set to expand threefold in the next four to five years, majorly driven by under-penetrated categories such as grocery, education and health.
Of the total online retail market of $50-60 billion, 60% comprises products and the rest comes from services. Travel, transport and tourism and consumer appliances and electronics contribute 50-60% to the business and these categories have the highest e-commerce penetration. Categories such as grocery, education, health and home & living contribute only $9-13 billion to the overall online retail pie.
Tushar Vyas, president, growth and transformation, GroupM South Asia, said that consumers now have multiple sources for discovery and information research and it consists of highly connected non-linear moments. “The growth in internet users, reduction in data prices and changing consumer behaviour are the key growth drivers for the evolution of e-commerce in India. We understand the changing online retail market and how it is set to grow 3x in the next four-five years, mainly driven by under-penetrated categories like grocery, education, health," he said.
The report said online retail is shifting from electronics to grocery. It added that 73% customers have bought products from online shopping platforms in the past 12 months.
The deciding factors include product quality (63%), price and product information, return and cancellation policy, and product warranty (55%).
The biggest retail trend is the increasing popularity of the direct-to-consumer (DTC) model. Working through a middleman can block access to end-consumers. Brands with a DTC model can leverage direct relationships through loyalty programmes, special discounting and promotions and unique and category-specific shopping experiences.
In the past three months, Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra emerged as the top three online shopping destinations, the report said. Groceries, fashion and health, beauty and personal care were the most searched product categories.
The findings also highlighted that urban users are relying on online platforms for product research. 62% of urban users are researching products online before making any purchase either online or offline. 50% of offline shopping across categories involves online product research.
According to the report, conversational commerce, voice search, video streaming and augmented reality and virtual reality will also help brands drive their e-commerce strategies.
Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world 🌏 Click here to know more.
