The Trend of E-Commerce for Retailers in India

The expected triple digit growth of eCommerce in India 2015 and the boost in online consumer base creating large number of opportunity of e-commerce startups in India. E-commerce wind just started sail, but what are the trends that will develop a easy opportunity for future start-ups?

In recent years the e-commerce market has pickuped actively and becoming part of consumer daily life. The mobile wave had turn the online retail sector into a mobile shop and change the moment of shopping. It doesn’t make difference either, The customer is online or in the physical store? Moreover, in Show Room concept – which consists of window shopping in stores but in online shopping the trend in Webrooming (reverse process). In physical store the customer has lots of pre-sales communication with the retailer but in eCommerce the customer has no pre-sales communication rather the overall communication process is auto driven. A study by Chitragana.com assesses the effect of webrooming, which count around 400 billion webrooming in the India in 2014 and expected to multiple by 3X in 2015 with effect of mobile commerce.

With these new trends of consumption , there is now a blurring of boundaries between e-commerce and traditional commerce. To adapt these retailing changes, retailers face different challenges and need to adopt effective strategies to seize these new opportunities.

• The Product Customization : The potential demand and growth of eCommerce build a product customization need for the customer. The customer now require access to personalized products and soon it will become part of the daily lives of consumers. The customization of products is not possible for large brand and it will create a big opportunity for the small to medium scale retailers.
• The demand from neighbouring countries : The rise of mobile and the development of new technologies has break down the geographical boundaries, and it is accelerating the emergence of cross-border trade. Begin a fastest growing economy, availability of each and every type of product and the competitive prices allow the start-ups to capture neighbouring countries in a very easy manner. India is big product exporter for Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and other small counties in Indian ocean, the e-commerce allow Indian supplier to acquire consumer of neighbouring countries is very comfortable way.
• The advantage of marketplaces : Marketplaces have become “hyper” in India and across the globe . It allow retailer to quickly liquidate the inventory and instant reach to the customer. The collaboration of own eCommerce site and integration of same with multiple marketplace within the country and outside the country may facilitate many product segment to quickly build a easy market.

How Indian Retailers Are Adapting to eCommerce Disruption

The disruption of traditional Indian retail by eCommerce has followed a more nuanced path than analysts initially predicted. Rather than wholesale replacement, we are seeing a complex coexistence and integration of digital and physical retail. The most forward-thinking Indian retailers have recognised that eCommerce is not the enemy of physical retail — it is its evolution.

Key eCommerce Trends Reshaping Indian Retail

• Kirana digitisation: Over 3 million kiranas have adopted digital ordering and payment systems, transforming traditional neighbourhood stores into nodes in modern supply chains
• Retailer-as-fulfilment-hub: Large format retailers are leveraging their physical store networks as dark stores for same-day and express delivery
• Private label eCommerce: Retailers are using online channels to launch and test private label products with significantly lower risk than traditional shelf placement
• Live commerce: Live streaming with instant purchase capabilities is driving impulse purchases, particularly in fashion and electronics categories

Navigating the eCommerce transition as a traditional retailer? Chitrangana helps retailers build profitable digital commerce strategies.