E-commerce market may cross $50 billion in 2018

Mumbai: The digital commerce market in the country is expected to cross $50 billion in value by the end of 2018 from the current level of $38.5 billion, on the back of a growing internet population and increased online shoppers, says a recent study.

The digital commerce market in India has grown steadily from $19.7 billion in 2015 to $13.6 billion in 2014, as per a joint study conducted by Assocham and Deloitte.

The increasing mobile and internet penetration, m-commerce sales, advanced shipping and payment options, exciting discounts, and the push into new international markets by e-businesses are the major drivers of this unprecedented growth, it said.

Banks and other players in the e-commerce ecosystem are providing a secured online platform to pay effortlessly via payment gateways.

However, it pointed out that the Indian e-commerce sector is heavily dependent on the cash on delivery (CoD) mode of payment as it is the most preferred choice for Indian consumers due to lack of trust in online transactions, limited adoption of credit and debit cards, and security concerns, among others.

"More than 50% of online transactions are done on CoD method and it is available across 600 cities and towns of India," the study said.

On the increase in preference of mobile transactions, the study said one out of three customers currently makes transactions through mobiles in tier-1 and tier-2 cities. In 2017, 82 % of shopping queries were made through mobile devices, compared to 76% in 2016.

The survey highlights that 28% of regular shoppers are in 18-25 age group, 42% in 26-35, 28% in 36-45 and 2 %in the age group of 45-60.

While 65% of online shoppers are male, 35% are female. The products that were highest sold in 2017 included mobile phones, apparel, food items and jewellery, among others, it said.