Strong E-commerce momentum in India
A report by the specialized platform Unicommerce reveals that e-commerce in India recorded an increase in order volume of 31% during the quarter ending in September, while the gross value of purchased merchandise increased only 24% due to the decrease in the average value of orders.
The expansion of the coronavirus pandemic and the adoption of strict confinement measures since March largely explain how online commerce came to represent 4.5% of all sales in the country during the first half of the year, notably above the 3% achieved by this channel in 2019.
“The pandemic has changed the way people live and shop, which has led to a drastic change in consumer behavior,” said the company's CEO, Kapil Makhija, who also stressed that this change will also give a significant boost to the sector in the long term.
Therefore, as highlighted by the local media Daijiworld,it is not surprising that it was the items related to personal care, health and the pharmaceutical industry that experienced the greatest growth in the third quarter, although electronic products and fashion continued to monopolize the largest share in the volume of orders.
The strong increase in e-commerce was driven by consumers residing in Tier 2 and 3 cities, due to the increasing focus on regional markets and the increase in smartphone adoption in smaller cities and rural surroundings. In fact, cities of Tier 3 and later experienced an increase in purchases of more than 90%.
The results also showed that the brands' websites reported faster growth, of 78%, than that of the rest of the online stores during the period analyzed. “Due to the increased interest of companies in investing in online channels and adopting technological solutions to improve business operations, we firmly believe that this growth will continue in the coming months,” said the CEO of Unicommerce.
Another relevant news for the e-commerce ecosystem is the fact that a significant reduction in returns was observed, which would indicate a greater maturity of this channel.
In this sense, and as reported by the EFE Agency,from the data offered by the Competition Commission of India, it is expected that the revenues of the e-commerce sector will reach 120,000 million dollars during this year.
It is likely that the limitations on mobility and the increase in infections in the country will continue to push up an increasingly competitive market and that forecasts will be reached much earlier, since many people will continue to be reluctant to physically visit the stores.
