Online shopping has been booming in India. If we look a little deeper into the promising growth of e-commerce sites, the one obvious reason will be the plethora of choices offered. It’s the availability of various brands under different product categories, which initially cuts the ice with internet users. For, they can access the latest in design, technology, fashion, and quality and that too from the comfort of their homes or office.
E-commerce sales in India are expected to grow from $14 billion in 2015 to $55 billion in 2018, says a report by marketing research firm eMarketer. In India, it is expected to account for 3% of total retail by 2020. This 3% growth will mean orders per million are expected to more than double from five million in 2013 to 12 million by 2016.
What initially started as a shopping concept of buying books online has grown to a multi-fold shopping platform. Yes, we are talking about the wide diversification of the online products. The growth in the e-commerce sector is expected to be driven by established categories like durables and electronics, apparels and accessories, besides traditional products such as books and audio-visuals.
According to a research by Internet and Mobile Association of India, Home and Furnishing 6%, Beauty and Personal 10%, Books 15%, Apparels and Accessories 30%, Electronics 34%, Baby products 2%, Healthcare 3%, constitute the world of internet shopping (in terms of share in India).
Newer product categories like grocery, hygiene, and healthcare are also gaining prominence. Then there are special categories like lingerie, costume jewellery and, more precious Indian jewellery is slowly finding its foot in India. It is also significant to note that lingerie and Indian jewellery is already fetching good results for exports.
Mobile phones and its accessories along with other gadgets are a huge selling point for e-commerce. The category contributes Rs 9,936 crore or 41 per cent to the e-tailing industry, according the research report by IAMAI.
The next most sold categories are apparels, footwear and personal items which contributes 20 per cent or Rs 4,699 crore to the industry.
Consumer durables along with kitchen appliances contribute another 14 per cent or Rs 3,404 crore.
“Out of the remaining 25 per cent, laptops/net books/tablets, home furnishings and books contribute another Rs 2,780 crore, Rs1,059 crore and Rs 648 crore respectively,” IAMAI report stated.
