Online retail consumers to cross 100 million by end 2017: Assocham study

With e-retail market likely to jump by 65 percent in 2018, the number of consumers purchasing online is expected to cross 100 million by 2017 end, says an ASSOCHAM-Resurgent India study . With increased participation from people across the country, this year will see large scale growth in the Indian e-commerce sector. This industry will continue to drive more employment opportunities and contribute towards creating more entrepreneurs through the e-commerce marketplace model, the report adds.

The report also adds demonetisation and a reduction in cash transaction along with improvement of net banking facilities, can be good opportunities for the Indian e-commerce sector. The study suggested that in 2016, about 69 million consumers purchased online. This is expected to cross 100 million by 2017 with the rise of digital natives, better infrastructure in terms of logistics, broadband and Internet-ready devices to fuel the demand in e-commerce.

The report also adds that by the end of 2018, Indian e-retail is expected to touch 17.52 billion dollars. It further goes to say that the total retail sales is growing at an impressive rate of 15 per cent registering a double digit growth figure year after year. Mobile commerce is likely to jump to 45-50 per cent in 2017 against the current 30-35 per cent of e-commerce sales. The study adds that 50 per cent sales come from mobile with majority being first time users. It also observes a surge in the number of people shopping on mobile across India with Tier II and III cities displaying increased dominance. According to the joint study, Bangalore saw the highest preference for online shopping in 2016 followed by Mumbai and Delhi.