Why a Boom in E-commerce will Benefit Jobs & Aspiring Entrepreneurs Indian e-commerce sector is thriving with speed, and opening countless job opportunities and learning prospects for all.
By Rahul Bahukhandi •
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With swift tempo and incredible growth, Indian e-commerce industry is anticipated to transcend the benchmarks of China & other Asia-Pacific countries by 2018. Two years ago, hardly anybody speculated that latest innovations and developments in supply chain management, logistics infrastructure, and the warehouses or storage would spearhead the unstoppable mushrooming of e-commerce businesses across the country. Recently, the Indian government announced overall revamp of cities and developed special economic zones (SEZs) to boost trade and commerce.
Also, the availability of telecom and broadband internet services at cheaper rates has elevated the popularity of electronic shopping amongst the masses. This has benefitted the e-commerce retailers more than local sellers as they can gain full exposure and sell the products at competitive rates.
No doubt, the online e-commerce market of India is today majorly dominated by Amazon, Flipkart, and some big players. But, the emergence of small trendsetters in the online retail trade like Caratlane, Bluestone, GemsRatna, etc, against big brands is an interesting space to watch. The reach and trends of well-known e-commerce brands are monumental; budding e-retailers are coming up with creative, and innovative marketing techniques, and getting hands-on new-age technologies for imaging and designing of their virtual stores.
Surviving stringent competition, the Indian brands like Snapdeal, PayTM, Flipkart, etc, are aspiring to create a strong international presence to intensify the competition against global brands by the year 2020. For this, a smart and rigorous workforce specialized in international trade and commerce will be required to cater the international market.
Brands' team-building and special training regime to create an international identity will definitely open up many employment, skill-building and learning opportunities for the youth. It will also lead to the formation of new job profiles in technology, marketing, international business, and innovation, etc. Therefore, e-commerce industry in India is all set to give its population innumerable learning and career opportunities until the year 2020. And, the phenomenon has already started with this year.
The scope of overall growth
Morgan Stanley recently released a research report which estimated that India would have around 320 million online shoppers by the year 2020, that is, 6.4 times more than 50 million shoppers India had in 2015. Looking at the statistics, e-commerce is undoubtedly a future and trendsetter for retail and entrepreneurship. Most probably, by the end of 2018 only, we might get to see the following upshots of rising e-commerce industry in India:
Increasing use of digital wallet.
New categories for stakes.
More investments in Data Analytics
Massive online shopping
Deployment of Artificial Intelligence
For becoming a part of each of the above, the job seekers must inculcate the expertise in web designing, creative programming, digital marketing, cataloguing, app development etc. Also, the technical knowledge of both Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence adds a few more stars to one's CV.
Career opportunities for youth
As a matter of fact, not many business schools in India are aligning their marketing and management courses with the requirement of the e-commerce industry. Today, the industry specialists need a workforce trained in logistics management, digital marketing, big data analytics, and technology management.
For anyone aspiring to enter in e-commerce industry, it is very important to know the basic, if not advanced, digital marketing practices such as SEO, SMO, PPC, email marketing etc., setting up ad campaigns for a niche market segment, and legal documentation of e-business such as authentication, intellectual property, security and privacy laws.
And, to achieve proficiency over e-commerce one really has to win different career domains such as marketing, branding, supply chain, logistics, inventory, and warehouse management, law, HR, and other finance-related areas. Not to forget, the starting salary packages that e-commerce industry offers to professionals ranges from INR 4-17 lakh per annum. This clearly means that e-commerce business is an interdisciplinary market field which requires a gamut of distinct skills. However, the traditional institutions are not competent in delivering such a multidisciplinary education to the millennial. Pools of job opportunities but lack of skilled professionals restrain e-commerce business to thrive exceptionally well. Therefore, what India calls for today are the blended education programmes designed as per the needs of industries.
Indian e-commerce sector is thriving with speed, and opening countless job opportunities and learning prospects for all. It's high time we must grab the opportunity and shape a new future of Indian economy as well as our individual careers.
