Indian e-commerce
market to hit $15 bn
in 2 years: Google
Increasing Internet
penetration and growing preference for shopping online will drive the eCommerce
market in India to USD 15 billion by 2016 with a whopping 100 million people
going online to shop, tech giant Google said today.
Compared to 8 million
in 2012, about 35 million people are now buying everything from apparel to
electronics to cosmetics and furniture from online stores.
India is estimated to
have 302 million Internet users by December 2014, overtaking the US as the
world’s second largest online userbase.
“The online shopper
base will grow 3X by 2016 and over 50 million new buyers will come from tier I
and II cities. The confidence to shop online is on the rise as 71 per cent
non-buyers (respondents) from tier I and II cities said they plan to shop
online in the next 12 months,” Google India Managing Director Rajan Anandan
told reporters here.
India’s etailing
market is at an inflection point and will see rapid growth to become a USD 15
billion market by 2016, he added.
According to analysts,
the eCommerce market in India is currently estimated to be worth about USD
three billion.
Of the 100 million
online shoppers, about 40 million are expected to be women. Already, women
buyers in tier I cities are driving growth, outspending men by 2X.
They are shopping
across categories like apparel, beauty and skincare, home furnishing, baby
products and jewellery.
Also, over two-thirds
respondents highlighted that they preferred shopping online for convenience and
variety along with discounts.
The research was
conducted by Forrester Consulting across 6,859 respondents.
Over 60 per cent
respondents said buying online was directly correlated with social status.
PTI