The growth of the Indian e-commerce market has been revised up, considering the positive push due to coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, according to estimates by GlobalData, a leading data, and analytics company.
An analysis of GlobalData’s E-Commerce Analytics reveals that the e-commerce market in India is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.6% between 2019 and 2023 to reach INR7 trillion (US$98.4bn) by 2023.
As consumers are increasingly shifting from in-store to online spending to avoid exposure to disease vectors such as cash and point of sale (POS) terminals, e-commerce payments are set to record a steep increase of 25.9% in 2020 itself.
Ravi Sharma, Banking and Payments Lead Analyst at GlobalData, said, “While the current lockdown in the country has led to the overall decline in consumer spending, this is being partially offset by a rise in online spending, as wary consumers stay at home and use online channels to purchase goods. Online payment solutions from the likes of Paytm, Amazon Pay, and Paypal could potentially benefit from the current situation.”
He further added, The government earlier prohibited e-commerce companies from selling or delivering non-essentials products until the end of the lockdown period. However, on 5 May 2020, this restriction was partially lifted with e-commerce companies now resuming the delivery of all products (including essential and non-essential) across the country except red zone areas where COVID cases are very high.
Sharma concludes: “The Covid-19 outbreak will have greater implications on Indian consumers’ buying behavior pushing them to embrace e-commerce. The market is anticipated to continue its growth exceeding the previous forecast levels to reach INR7 trillion (US$98.4bn) in the next four years.”
