The Indian eCommerce market rose 88 percent during 2013, according to a report in the India Times. This trend also helps to defy the slower economic growth and increasing inflation that the news media has been reporting. One of the reasons given for this huge increase in Indian eCommerce is the availability of more payment options. This is certainly good news for anyone in the Indian online space, especially those sites offering deals.
Industry Opens to Foreigners:
Huge retailers like Walmart have recently been allowed to enter the Indian retail industry. This is part of what is leading to the rapid modernization of business throughout the country. More and more businesses are now using the internet as a method of reaching their targeted customers. These changes are occurring through a wide number of industries, many of which had been previously dominated by mom-and-pop businesses.
Another factor in this rapid transformation of Indian business has been technology. There is now software which enables eCommerce businesses to easily build, manage, and oversee their own websites without hiring extensive outside technical or engineering help.
Rise of Daily Deal:
Another new and exciting trend in Indian online business is the rise of daily deal sites. Keeping the trend in mind, a lot of sites have come up with a special section with the best in online deals in India offering all kinds of amazing deals that might be hard to find at traditional retailers. This means that the only thing customers, and potential customers need to do is peruse the site and find anything that might be of interest. It is sort of the same theory as having a coupon or finding a sale. Of course, in this case the sale is online and it is delivered directly to the customer.
This also eliminates the need for any long and cumbersome searching. No longer would one need to visit numerous brick and mortar retail stores, many of which might not even have anything that you were interested in finding or purchasing. This also brings up the point of selection. A website offering online deals can pull their merchandise and inventory from a huge variety of sources. They do not need to have it all on hand in one of their own warehouses; rather, this business model can allow for strategic partnerships and relationships with other merchandisers and suppliers.
Indian Online Market Statistics:
The online market in India looks as if it should continue to grow for the foreseeable future. Between 2009 and 2012, the market has risen by almost seven times. According to reports, Mumbai has the most online shoppers, followed by Delhi, and Kolkata. All of these cities have felt the impact of online eCommerce due to factors such as aggressive online discounts, abundant online merchants, and increasing fuel prices. It is no wonder than that Queer Ink, India’s only online queer store is based in Mumbai. Earlier, Azaad Bazaar, India’s first online queer merchandise store, was also Mumbai based.
It is also quite interesting to look at the demographic make-up of these new online shoppers. It is primarily young people who are fueling this growth. It is estimated that 35 percent of the online shoppers are between the ages of 18 and 25, 55 percent are between the ages of 26 and 35. It is quite amazing to think that a full 90 percent of Indian online shoppers are under the age of 36. Furthermore, 65 percent of online shoppers throughout the country are male and only 35 percent are female.
Using Demographic Trends:
This means that if you want your business to flourish, pay attention to who your target market is. If your products and services can be aimed at a younger audience, this would likely help you sell more items when using online eCommerce. It also leads to the fact that an easy way to reach people is through the collaboration with daily deal and other discount style sites.
You should also focus on the products that are currently being sold successfully online. For the most part, this involves the technology and fashion industries. Popular items include mobile phones, iPads, accessories, MP3 players, digital cameras, clothes, and jewelry.
The Future of Online Indian Business:
Another really exciting thing about Indian eCommerce is the fact that there is still a huge potential for future growth. The country has a reported internet base of about 150 million people, as of August 2013. Even with this huge base, there is still only about a 10 percent internet penetration in the country. This spells a huge opportunity for retailers to move their offerings and operations online as soon as possible. Even those that are simply not able to build out a fully functioning website should still consider using or partnering with a daily deal site. This could be an easy and fast way to get an online presence and start building name and brand recognition.
According to Forbes India, India’s total adult population that is LGBT accounts to 30 million people with annual earnings of $ 32.36 billion, which means there is a huge potential for online queer stores to grow. Queer Ink already has various vendors selling their goods on the store and is currently running a discount sale.
One thing is for sure, India certainly has incredible potential in the area of online business. This is a trend that will continue growing in the future. All retailers should consider how to position themselves in order to best capitalize on this trend.