India’s Digital Economy to Hit $300bn in Online Retail Spending by 2030

India, the Second-Largest Digital Economy to Witness Growth in Online Retail Spending

A report by Boston Consulting Group says, by 2030, In India, online retail spending is likely to increase about six times to around $300 billion. Plus, in late years, in 2021, online shoppers and digitally influenced shoppers doubled from 210 to 230 million and 260 to 280 million, respectively. 

BCG got deeper and studied industry reports and around 8000,000+ online transactions by 10,000+ consumers from across 50 towns and villages, 40 metros, and tier 4 cities; it also conducted expert interviews to roll out the report. 

Besides the stats, the surfacing trends of eCommerce are too highlighting the swift adoption of online shopping in India, with 3x growth in user base and 6x rise in online retail spending. 

As e-retail evolves, we are seeing the emergence of trends that businesses need to embrace across the consumer purchase pathway. For instance, marketplaces are now the greatest source of digital influence, overtaking search, and in fact, the fastest-growing online purchase channel is social media and chat – growing faster than marketplaces, Brand websites, and C2C portals.

Kanika Sanghi, Partner, and Director, BCG India

Well, these figures are likely to change in the next decade, and as per the expectations of BCG, the numbers may multiply 2.5 times. 

The report also voiced that, by 2030, rural areas will account for about 54% of online shoppers and 24% of online spending. 

The consulting firm also said that besides existing shoppers, the new shoppers were also responsible for the rise in online purchasing, especially during pandemics when offline shopping channels were shut or were not accessible. 

This e-tail growth received a kick-start from the covid-19 pandemic, which pushed many consumers to begin shopping online for the first time and encouraged existing shoppers to increase online purchasing as physical shopping channels closed or became difficult to access. The effect was to accelerate growth in the number of online shoppers in India by approximately four years and in the amount of spending by about three years,

Nimisha Jain, managing director and senior partner of BCG India

Likewise, according to the report, India is noticing substantial growth in eCommerce and digitally influenced spending with the lowest smartphone and data pack prices, an increasing number of new online shopping channels, and internet usage. 

Once, electronics, travel, and mobiles dominated the online retail corner. In recent years, categories like online beauty and personal care (BPC) items, FMCG, and online food orders have also spotted 3-5x growth. These sectors are likely to be the fastest-growing sectors along with fashion as well, the report said.