Indian Ecommerce Industry Analysis

The Indian e-commerce industry has been on an upward growth trajectory and is expected to surpass the US to become the second largest e-commerce market in the world by 2034. India’s e-commerce industry is expected to grow from US$ 38.5 billion as of 2017 to US$ 200 billion by 2026. India’s internet economy is expected to double from US$125 billion as of April 2017 to US$ 250 billion by 2020, majorly backed by ecommerce. Online shoppers in India are expected to reach 220 million by 2025. Average online retail spending in India was US$ 224 per user in 2017.

E-commerce industry in India witnessed 21 private equity and venture capital deals worth US$ 2.1 billion in 2017 and 40 deals worth US$ 1,129 million in the first half of 2018. E-commerce startups in India received US$ 786.87 million of funding in the first half of 2018. Online retail sales in India are expected to grow by 31 per cent to touch US$ 32.70 billion in 2018, led by Flipkart, Amazon India and Paytm Mall. Online retail is expected to contribute 2.9 per cent of retail market in 2018.

Much growth of the industry has been triggered by increasing internet and smartphone penetration. Internet penetration in India grew from just 4 per cent in 2007 to 34.42 per cent in 2017, registering a CAGR of 24 per cent between 2007 and 2017. In Q1 2018 overall internet penetration in India was 38.02 per cent. The number of internet users in India is expected to increase from 493.96 million as of March 2018 to 829 million by 2021. The e-commerce retail logistics market in India is estimated at US$ 1.35 billion in 2018 and is expected to grow at a 36 per cent CAGR over the next five years.

A young demographic profile, rising internet penetration and relative better economic performance are the key drivers of this sector. The Government of India's policies and regulatory frameworks such as 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in B2B e-commerce and 100 per cent FDI under automatic route under the market place model of B2C e-commerce are expected to further propel growth in the sectors. As of August 2018, the government is working on the second draft of e-commerce policy, incorporating inputs from various industry stakeholders.