ETAIL'S MEGA MOMENT

The upcoming festive season could prove to be a landmark for India's booming ecommerce sector, with the gross merchandise value (GMV) expected to go beyond Rs 5 lakh crore. What is fuelling this optimism? 

- Ashish Sinha

THE INDIAN ECOMMERCE landscape has witnessed a remarkable surge, driven by a confluence of factors and marked by significant developments and trends that have fundamentally reshaped its trajectory. The number of annual transacting users has jumped 15-fold to touch 230 million this year. The upcoming festive season is expected to see a minimum of 140 million shoppers doing transactions online. The ecommerce players could see their festive season sales grow up to 20 per cent to over Rs 90,000 crore this year as a result of consumer spending gradually normalising after several quarters of tepid growth in the sector and better margins due to rising ticket sizes of purchases and higher ad spends by brands.

Angshuman Bhattacharya, National Leader, Consumer Product and Retail, EY India points out that 2023 was slow for consumer internet businesses, driven by a lacklustre demand compounded by a cautious funding environment. But things are changing now. “The second half of FY24 promises to be better in terms of consumer spending,” says Bhattacharya, adding, “The pure-play ecommerce marketplaces are expected to see a continued run especially being fuelled by Tier-2 customers. “The penetration of ecommerce in various categories range from sub-5 per cent in staples and mature FMCG products to 40 per cent in metro-centric products. Ecommerce players with a Tier-2 expansionary focus will see greater growth unlocked,” Bhattacharya adds.