E-Commerce Landscape In India – An Overview
According to a recent First Data Corporation white paper, India’s e-commerce market was worth about Rs 50,000 crore in 2011. About 80 per cent of this was travel related (airline tickets, railway tickets, hotel bookings, online mobile recharge etc.). Online retailing comprised about 15 per cent. India had close to 10 million online shoppers and was growing at an estimated 40-45 per cent CAGR vis-à-vis a global growth rate of 8-10 per cent. Electronics and apparel were the biggest categories in terms of sales. It also says that nearly 150 million people in India or around 75 million households are ready for ecommerce in India today. At the outset, we would like to know:
- How are the e-commerce companies gearing up to make the most out of this growth potential?
E Commerce is growing faster than predicted, i.e. over 400% over the past 3 years. An analysis of social media conversations in India indicate that a fourth of the buzz on online retailing is now being garnered by discount sites or ‘deal-tailers’, India’s e- commerce industry is on the growth curve and experiencing a whopping growth. Online ‘Travel’ which currently is ‘Ticketing’ led is the biggest segment in e- commerce and is booming due to (a) Poor offline alternatives (b) Large Internet adoption.
The e-commerce entities of today are rising to this exponential need by:-
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Creating a niche and niche proposition for the audience and drop the ‘panacea’ for all shopping kind of models
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Evolving an order of magnitude lift in User Experience, and making it core to the offering
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Providing for customer centricity and intrinsic value proposition like ‘cash on delivery’ model
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Micro-marketing and personalization by extensive usage of analytics
2) Is there a danger attached to it?
NO. In fact the e-com distribution model is a win-win proposition for all stakeholders. With real-estate, and other offline overheads spiraling, the customer is forced to bear the brunt. Also in the Digital World customer vetoed models work, as attention cannot be bought! Hence it’s a great opportunity for:-
-Retailers
-Brands
-Customers
-Other logistics entities etc
-Society as a whole
- Is there a fear of a bubble burst? If so, what strategies these e-commerce companies are adopting to pre-empt that?(from digital marketing point of view)
No. Thankfully the distribution, logistics, delivery and core proposition evolution have matured over time.
Apart from a weak value proposition and abysmal user experience, in the past following issues slowed down the growth:-
– Secure payments, and associated frauds
– Failing delivery commitments like pilfered / faulty products
– Insignificant online population
– Low adoption to an unconventional shopping habit
e-Commerce entities of today understand acknowledge the above and plan for the same by:-
- Crafting a truly viable, and profitable value proposition
- Provide outstanding User Experience, by way of easy and intuitive task fulfillment
- Understanding customer behavior and managing expectations by extensive use of analytics
- Leverage on mature payment systems that have almost mitigated online payment frauds
- Use the burgeoning online population through media vehicles like Social Media, and devices like Mobile, Touch pads etc
Xerago is a chennai based marketing solutions provider offering analytical, direct and interactive marketing services. Xerago has a management team with a strong business and marketing background with both functional and industry expertise.
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