E-commerce News That Shaped 2019 and Trends to Follow in 2020 The increase in the number of secured Internet servers, reliable postal service infrastructure, rising Internet penetration and bank accounts are some of the reasons for the growth of the e-commerce sector in India
By Ankush Mahajan •
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The Indian e-commerce ecosystem is brimming with several exciting developments at present. With India ranking 73rd in the Global B2C E-commerce Index, the future seems quite bright for the e-commerce giants as well as consumers. The Global B2C E-commerce Index measures a country's preparedness for online shopping.
In the last one year, India jumped seven places in the UN Conference on Trade and Development's B2C E-commerce Index, 2019. There are several reasons for this jump. There has been a steady increase in the number of Internet shoppers in India. Fundamentally, e-commerce shoppers comprise 11 per cent of the Indian Internet users and 3 per cent of the total population in India.
The increase in the number of secured Internet servers, reliable postal service infrastructure, rising Internet penetration and bank accounts are some of the reasons for the growth of the e-commerce sector in India.
Latest Indian e-commerce News: What Happened in 2019?
- Government of India announced new e-commerce regulations
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has taken a step back from its earlier stance that prohibited e-commerce marketplaces from selling products on its platform with companies they own stakes in. The new policy also bans marketplaces for adopting predatory and discriminatory practices such as creating deals for selling merchant goods exclusively. Also, the policy aims to reduce the ability to offer discounts on online marketplaces.
The policy seeks to protect small-scale sellers and companies and at the same time looks forward to boosting e-commerce growth in the country.
- Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani inches closer to create own e-commerce platform
Asia's richest person and chairman of Reliance Industries has moved closer to his e-commerce ambitions by incorporating a digital service holding company with a capital of $24 billion. The holding company is expected to support Ambani's e-commerce ambitions by helping him launch a dedicated e-commerce portal on the lines of Amazon and Flipkart.
- Popular social app TikTok tests social commerce in India
TikTok, the China-based short-video startup, has been keen on growing its scope and penetration for quite some time. After a successful rollout of the education category last month, TikTok is experimenting with features and solutions that make it more appealing for end-users as well as influencers.
The company said the roll-out of new features is in line with its "experimentation' strategy for improving the app experience. With Instagram making moves to hide likes, such features can make TikTok highly-lucrative for social influencers in the long run.
The Future of e-commerce in India; trends to look out for in 2020
There has been a steady increase in the number of online shoppers in India. With just around 224 online shoppers in 2018, India has been adopting an online shopping culture. According to Statista, the number of online shoppers would increase to 329 million by 2020.
The growth in the number of shoppers, along with strategic investments and development by key players and fresh investments are some of the factors that will augment the growth prospects. Along with the developments, there are some key trends that will rule the Indian e-commerce industry in the next one year.
- Brands that focus on personalization will rule
In the next year, the demand for personalized digital shopping experience will increase. With the growth in the number of informed shoppers, only brands which make strategic investments towards improving personalization efforts will bloom.
Customers are looking to interact and shop from custom-centric brands—the ones who create personalized marketing offers based on shopping behaviors and adopt smart targeting practices. The growth of such brands is natural in the next year.
- Faster and same-day deliveries will become the rule of thumb
Online shoppers want faster access to their orders. Looking at their desires, companies are trying to reduce the time between ordering and deliveries. In the next one year, too, companies will be looking to experiment with advanced technologies to boost same-day delivery efforts.
In a bid to impress first-time buyers and turn them into repeat customers, companies are exploring solutions that reduce wait times and offer quick delivery options for a delightful shopping experience.
- Voice-based search will dominate online shopping
Voice-based search has already shown its potential. From Google to Amazon, every tech mammoth is trying to woo customers with its voice assistants and voice-based search solutions. The trend will continue to dominate the e-commerce industry, too in the future.
More and more ecommerce stores will be seen integrating voice-based search features in their apps and online stores. Not only will it increase customer interaction but it will prepare brands to understand consumers better, which will help the personalization efforts, further.
Wrapping Up
The Indian e-commerce industry is set to broaden its wingspan in the next five years. With lots happening, at present, 2020 shows significant promise for e-commerce entrepreneurs. The key to success in the e-commerce journey is adopting a dynamic approach and preparing oneself for the future. There cannot be a better time to launch your own Web store and mobile app if you are looking to enter the e-commerce domain in 2020.
