International Journal of Business and Management Invention

ISSN (Online): 2319 8028, ISSN (Print): 2319 801X

www.ijbmi.org || Volume 5 Issue 9 || September. 2016 || PP25-31

Emerging Trends of E-Commerce in India: An Empirical Study

Dr. (Smt.) Rajeshwari M. Shettar
Associate Professor, Department of Commerce, Shri. Hurakadli Ajja Shikshan Samitis Smt. K. S. Jigalur Arts
and Dr. (Smt.) S. M. Sheshgiri Commerce College for Women, Dharwad-8.

ABSTRACT: E-commerce stands for electronic commerce. E-commerce is doing business online and
electronically. The E-commerce has completely revolutionized the conventional concept of business. Ecommerce deals with selling and purchasing of goods and services through internet and computer networks.
This paper attempts to highlight the different challenges faced by the E- commerce in India, understand the
essential growth factors required for E-commerce, describes the prosperity of E-Commerce in India and retail
E-Commerce sales in India. The study found that, in the world of E-commerce, the existence of the wholesalers
is at the greatest risk because the producer can easily ignore them and sell their products to the retailers and
the consumers. Wholesalers can take the advantage of E-commerce in establishing contracts with reputed
producers and linking their business with the online. The study also found that, E-commerce provides the
various types of opportunities to the wholesalers, retailers, producers and the People.
Keywords: E-commerce, Challenges, On Line Shopping, Evolution, Prosperity.

I.

INTRODUCTION

E-Commerce stands for electronic commerce. Dealing in goods and services through the electronic media and
internet is called as E-commerce. E-Commerce or E-business involves carrying on a business with the help of
the internet and by using the information technology like Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). E-Commerce
relates to the website of the vendor, who sells products or services directly to the customer from the portal using
a digital shopping cart or digital shopping basket system and allows payment through credit card, debit card or
electronic fund transfer payments. E-Commerce is the movement of business onto the World Wide Web
(WWW). E-Commerce facilitates new types of information based business processes for reaching and
interacting with customers. It can also reduce costs in managing orders and interacting with a wide range of
suppliers and trading partners. For developing countries like India, E-Commerce offers considerable
opportunities.
Electronic commerce or E-Commerce refers to a wide range of online business activities for products and
services. It also pertains to any form of business transaction in which the parties interact electronically rather
than by physical exchanges or direct physical contact. E-Commerce is the use of electronic communications
and digital information processing technology in business transactions to create, transform and redefine
relationships for value creation between or among organizations and between organizations and individuals.
Today E-commerce in Indian society has become an integral part of everyday life. Accessibility to E-commerce
platforms is not a privilege but rather a necessity for most people, particularly in the urban areas. Today the
number of internet users in the world is close to 3 billion, out of this; India has a total of 259.14 million internet
and broadband subscribers. This penetration of internet coupled with the increasing confidence of the internet
users to purchase on line. This leads to an enormous growth in the E-commerce space, with an increasing
number of customers registering on E-commerce websites and purchasing products through the use of mobile
phones. India is in a prime position for the growth and development of the E-commerce sector.
As per the report, the compound annual growth rates in the mature E-commerce markets of Japan, South Korea
and Australia will run 11% to 12% over the next few years. In the rapidly growing markets of China and India,
these growth rates will be 25% and 57% respectively. The report also highlights the rapid growth of Ecommerce markets in neighboring China where, the compound annual growth rates of over 20% will take the
market to over $ 350 billion. A report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IMAI) has revealed that
Indias E-commerce market expected to grow by 37% to reach U.S. Dollar 20 billion by 2015.

II.
1.
2.
3.
4.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To study the concept of E-commerce.

To analyze the present trends of E-commerce in India.
To study the various challenges faced by E-business players in India.
To study the prospects of E-commerce in India.

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Emerging Trends Of E-Commerce In India: An Empirical Study

III.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

1. Dr. Anukrati Sharma (2013)

The article entitled A study on E-commerce and Online Shopping: Issues and Influences. In this article an
attempt is made to study the recent trends, influences, preferences of customers towards E-commerce and online
shopping and to give the suggestions for the improvement in online shopping websites. The study found that,
most of the people who are engaged in making the decision of purchasing are in the age of 21-30 years. While
making the websites for online shopping it must be designed in a very planned and strategic way.
2. Abhijit Mitra (2013)
The article entitled E-Commerce in India-A review. In this article an attempt is made to study the present
status and facilitators of E-Commerce in India, analyze the present trends of E-Commerce in India and examine
the barriers of E-Commerce in India. The study found that, there has been a rise in the number of companies
taking up E-Commerce in the recent past. The study also found that, major Indian portal sites have also shifted
towards E-Commerce instead of depending on advertising revenue.
3. Nisha Chanana and Sangeeta Goele (2012)
The article entitled Future of E-commerce in India. In this article an attempt is made to study the overview of
the future of E-commerce in India and discusses the future growth segments in Indias of E-commerce. The
study found that, various factors that were essential for future growth of Indian E-commerce. The study also
found that, the overall E-commerce will increase exponentially in coming years in the emerging market of India.
4. Sarbapriya Ray (2011)
The article entitled Emerging Trends of E-commerce in India: Some Crucial Issues Prospects and Challenges.
In this article an attempt is made to present a snapshot of the evolution of E-commerce business indicating the
chronological order, category of E-commerce business, description of organizations involved in E-business in
India. The study found that, the role of government should be to provide a legal framework for E-commerce so
that while domestic and international trade are allowed to expand their horizons, basic rights such as privacy,
intellectual property, prevention of fraud, consumer protection etc are all taken care of.

IV.

CONCEPT OF E-COMMERCE IN INDIA

1. Multi Product E-Commerce:

Some internet portals provide almost all categories of goods and services in a single site; they are targeting
customers of every possible product or service. Indian E-Commerce portals provide goods and services in a
variety of categories like apparel and accessories for men and women, health and beauty products, books and
magazines, computers and peripherals, vehicles, collectibles, software, consumer electronics, household
appliances, jewelry, audio/video entertainment goods, gift articles, real estate and services, business and
opportunities, employment, travel tickets, matrimony etc. Examples: www.indiayplaza.com,
www.thebestofindia.com, www.khoj.com, www.sify.com, www.rediff.com, www.indiatimes.com etc.
2. Single Product E-Commerce:
Some Indian portals / websites deal in a specialized field. Examples:
In automobiles, the portals are http://www.indiacar.com and http://www.automatindia.com, on these sites
we can buy and sell four wheelers and two wheelers new as well as old vehicles online. Some of the
services they provide are car research and reviews, online evaluation, technical specifications, vehicle
insurance, vehicle finance, dealer locator etc.
In stock and shares markets some of the sites are http://www.equitymaster.com, http://www.5paisa.com.
Some of the services offered to registered members are online buying or dealing of stocks and share, market
analysis and research, company information, comparison of companies, research on equity and mutual
funds, tracking market trends etc.
In real estate, the portals like http://www.indiaproperties.com. This website facilitate online dealing in real
estate, they offer outright purchase or lease of a property through their portal. They also provide
information on new properties as well as for resale. Some of the allied services are housing finance,
insurance companies architects and interior designers, property management consultant services etc.
In travel and tourism industry a major government of India portal is http://www.tourismindia.com. The
tourist destination sites are categorized according to the themes like eco-themes pertains to jungles, flora
and fauna, beaches of India, architectural attractions, forts and places, hill resorts, adventure-trekking,
mountain climbing etc. Other services offered are passport and visa, travel and accommodation
information, weather information, festival and fair dates, shopping, tour operators etc. There are other sites
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Emerging Trends Of E-Commerce In India: An Empirical Study

like http://www.incredibleindia.org, it highlight the tourist destinations of a specific region in India, which
covers North East India.
In gift items, there are specific Indian websites making the act of gifting quick and easy to suit ones
lifestyle. One such site is http://www.indiangiftsportal.com. The gifts are categorized as collectibles like
paintings and sculptures, toys and games, chocolates, flowers, wood-craft and metal craft, luxury items like
leather goods perfumes, jeweler boxes etc.
In case of hobbies, the most popular hobbies from time immemorial are reading books, listing music and
watching films. On the Indian website http://www.firstandsecond.com, one can buy more than 3,00,000
titles of books, cassettes, VCDs and DVDs. The books cover a wide range of topics such as business, art,
cookery, engineering, childrens stories, health, medicines etc. For music and videos, they are available in
English and other Indian languages to cater to the needs of public and the topics range from devotional
songs, old time favorites and pop etc.
In case of matrimony, marriage portal like http://www.jeevansathi.com and http://www.saadi.com. There is
a saying, marriages are made in heaven, but in the world of E-commerce, they are made on marriage
portals. On these websites one can search for a suitable match by region of residence, religion or caste.
Once registered with these portals, they have e-mail facility and chat rooms, so that the couple gets to know
more about each other before making the decision of their lives. Other services for registered persons are
astrological services, information on customs and rituals, legal issues, health and beauty etc.
In case of employment, two major portals like www.monsterindia.com and www.naukri.com are
instrumental in providing job seekers with suitable employment facility. The service for job seekers is free
and for employment they charge a nominal fee. Jobs are available online in fields, ranging from secretarial
to software development and from real estate to education.

V.

TYPES OF E-COMMERCE

The major different types of E-commerce are as follows;

Business to Business (B2B): Business to Business E-commerce refers to the full spectrum of E- commerce
that can occur between two organizations B2B E-commerce includes purchasing and procurement, supplier
management, inventory management, channel management, sales activities, payment management, and
service and support. A few B2B pioneers are Chemdex (www.chemdex.com), Fastparts
(www.fastparts.com) and Free Markets (www.freemarkets.com)
Business to Consumer (B2C): Business to Consumer E-commerce refers to exchanges between Business
and Consumer. Direct dealing between Business and Consumer has always existed, but with the Ecommerce such transactions have gained further momentum.
Traditional B2C model: Manufacturer
Retailer
Consumer
Online B2C model: Manufacturer / Retailer
Consumer
Examples: Amazon.com, Yahoo.com and Schwab.com. Similar activities transactions that occur in
business to business, E-commerce also take place in the business to consumer context. However, all
customer facing activities are typically tracked. These include sales activities, consumer search, service and
support.
Consumer to Consumer (C2C): Consumer to Consumers involves transactions between and among
consumers. These exchanges may or may not include third party involvement. Traditionally consumers
have had dealings with other consumers, but only few of those activities were in a commercial sense. Ecommerce has made it possible to bring together strangers and providing a platform for them to trade on.
Consumer to Business (C2B): Consumer to Business is relatively a new model of commerce and is a
reverse of the traditional commerce models. Here, consumers provide services or goods to businesses and
create value for the business. Consumers can band together to form and present themselves as a buyer group
to businesses in a consumer to business relationship. These groups may be economically motivated as with
the demand aggregator. This type of transaction can be seen in internet forums where consumers provide
product development ideas and product review; these are used for product advertisement.
Business to Business to Consumer (B2B2C): A variant of the B2B2C model wherein there is an
additional intermediary business to assist the first business transact with the end consumer. Here, it is
poised to much better in a web based commerce with reduced costs of having an intermediary. Example:
Flipkart is one of the most successful E-commerce portals which provide a platform for consumers to
purchase a different variety of products like electronic goods, apparels, books and music CDs.
Functions of E-Commerce
Communication function
transactions e.g. E-Mail.

Aimed at the delivery of information and/or documents to facilitate business

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Emerging Trends Of E-Commerce In India: An Empirical Study

Process management function
Covers the automation and improvements of business processes e.g.
networking two computers together.
Service management function
Application of technology to improve the quality of service e.g.
Federal Express website to track shipments and schedule.
Transaction capabilities
Provides the ability to buy/sell on the internet or some other online services
e.g. Amazon.com.
Evolution of E-Commerce

Challenges of e-commerce
I. External challenges:
External forces impact how E-commerce companies plan their growth strategy and provide seamless customer
experience onsite and post transaction
Product and Market Strategy:
E-commerce companies have to address issues pertaining to rapidly evolving customer segments and product
portfolios access information on market intelligence on growth, size and share manage multiple customer
engagement platforms focus on expansion into new geographies, brands and products and simultaneously tackle
a hypercompetitive pricing environment.
Customer and Digital Experience:
Companies have to provide a rich, fresh and simple customer experience not geared towards discovery, manage
inconsistent brand experience across platforms; manage proliferation of technologies; and handle time to market
pressure for new applications. In the recent past, social media has become more influential than paid marketing.
Payments and Transactions:
E-commerce companies may face issues around security and privacy breach and controlling fictitious
transactions. Further, RBI restrictions for prepaid instruments or E-Wallets act as impediments. From a
transactions perspective cross border tax and regulatory issues and backend service tax and withholding tax can
have serious implications.
Fulfillment:
Companies will need to check if the physical infrastructure gets affected by the internet speed. Also the lack of
an integrated end to end logistics platform and innovation focused fulfillment option could cause delivery
issues. Challenges around reverse logistics management and third party logistics interactions could also act as
barriers to growth.
II. Internal challenges:
Internal forces impact how E-commerce companies can organize to drive and sustain growth.
Organization Scaling:
E-commerce companies will have to make sure organization design keeps pace with the rapidly evolving
business strategy, along with fluid governance, strong leadership and management development. From a growth
perspective, indentifying acquisition opportunities, fund raising and IPO readiness becomes necessary. From a
technology perspective, it is important to transform IT as an innovation hub and address the lack of synergy
between business, technology and operations functions of the enterprise.
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Emerging Trends Of E-Commerce In India: An Empirical Study

Tax and Regulatory Structuring:
Companies will need to address issues around sub optimal warehouse tax planning imbalance between FDI
norms vis--vis adequate entity controls, inefficient holding IPR or entity structure and international tax
inefficiencies. Future challenges include the new companies act, policy on related party transaction pricing and
the uncertainty around GST roadmap.
Risk Fraud and Cyber Security
From a risk perspective E-commerce companies could face issues around brand risk, insider threats and website
uptime. Issues around employee vendor nexus, bribery and corruption make companies vulnerable to fines.
Cyber security also raises some concerns around website exploitation by external entities.
Compliance Framework:
E-commerce companies have to comply with several laws, many of which are still evolving. Potential issues
around cyber law compliance, inefficient anti corruption framework, legal exposure in agreements or
arrangements, indirect and direct tax compliance framework and rules and regulations could pose problems.
Uncertainty around VAT implications in different states due to peculiar business modes could cause issues.
Figure 1: E-Commerce Drivers and Challenges

VI.

SNAPSHOT OF E-COMMERCE RETAIL REVENUES IN INDIA

Table 1: Indian Online Retail Revenues
Year
2012
2016

Forrester Research Online Retail Forecast

US $ 1.6 billion
US $ 8.8 billion

Source: Forrester Research

Table 1 reveals that, according to the report provided by Forrester Research, shoppers in metropolitan cities in
India are driving E-Commerce; these consumers primarily avail of E- Commerce service in the areas of travel,
consumer electronic and online books. According to a report provided by Forrester Research, E-commerce
revenues in India will increase by more than five times by 2016, jumping from U.S. Dollar 1.6 billion in 2012 to
U.S. Dollar 8.8 billion in 2016.
Prosperity of E-Commerce In India
According to the survey by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, Indias E-commerce
market, which stood at $ 2.5 billion in 2009, reached $8.5 billion in 2012 and rose 88% to touch $ 16 billion in
2013. India is gradually becoming the country with highest number of literate population in the world and the
internet penetration is largely driven by mobile phones, with some of the cheapest and most basic hand sets
currently offering access to the internet.
Table 2: Internet Population In India
Year
2012
2013
2014
2015

Internet Population (In Million)

137
239
286
347

Source: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

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Emerging Trends Of E-Commerce In India: An Empirical Study

Table 2 reveals that, as per data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Indias total
internet subscribers stood at 239 million as of 2013. Due to high internet penetration in India, the adaptability of
online shopping and better shopping experiences offered by the E- commerce websites among Indians have
increased rapidly.

Table 3: Retail E-Commerce Sales In India

Year
2012
2013
2014
2015

Retail E-commerce Sales in India (In Billion U.S. dollars)

2.31
3.59
6.1
14

Source: E-Market Statistics

Some of The E-Commerce Companies In India

1) American Swan
6) Health Kart
11) Ola Cabs
2) Bata Shoes
7) IRCTC
12) Pay tm
3) Bro4u
8) Instamojo
13) Snap deal
4) Flipkart
9) Myntra
14) Shop Clues
5) Ebay India
10) MobiKwik
15) Zomato
Some of The E-Commerce Websites In India
1) Flipkart.com
13) Smartshoppers.in
2) Infibeam.com
14) Homeshop18.com
3) Ebay.in
15) Yebhi.com
4) Theiwares.com
16) Univercell.in
5) Futurebazaar.com
17) Mediahome.in
6) Lynx-india.com
18) Primeabgb.com
7) Timtara.com
19) Next.co.in
8) Shopping.rediff.com
20) Royalimages.in
9) Edigiworld.com
21) Cromaretail.com
10) Letsshop.in
22) Rightshopping.in
11) Buytheprice.com
23) Pristinenote.com
12) Shopbychoice.com
24) Theelectro.com
49) Computerwarehousepricelist.com

16) Carat lane

17) Tradus
18) Jabong
19) HomeShop
20) Naaptol

25) Themobilestore.in
37) Egully.com
26) Adexmart.com
38) Bitfang.com
27) Zoomin.com
39) Bigcmobiles.in
28) Ratetag.com
40) Seventymm.com
29) Deltapage.com
41) JJMehta.com/shop /
30) Ezoneonline.in
42) Indiaplaza.com
31) Gadgetsguru.com
43) Theitdepot.com
32) Machpowertools.com
44) Gadgets.in
33) SMCinternational.in
45) Bigadda.com
34) Smartshoppers.in
46) Tradus.com
35) Storeji.com
47) Vijayasales.com
36) Zapstore.com
48) Buytheprice.com
50) Shopping.indiatimes.com

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Emerging Trends Of E-Commerce In India: An Empirical Study

Findings of The Study
1. In the world of E-commerce, the existence of the wholesalers is at the greatest risk because the producer can
easily ignore them and sell their products to the retailers and the consumers. Wholesalers can take the
advantage of E-commerce in establishing contracts with reputed producers and linking their business with
the online.
2. The retailer can save his existence by linking his business with the online distribution. The retailer can
provide additional information about various things to the consumers, meet electronic orders and be in
touch with the consumers all the time. Therefore, E-commerce is a good opportunity.
3. Producers can take the advantages of E-commerce by linking themselves with the online, by giving
information about their products to the other links in the business chain and by having a brand identity.
4. As more people are getting linked with E-commerce, the demand for centre providing internet facility is
also increasing. Hence, the people who wish to take advantage of it can establish cyber and have their
benefits.
5. E-commerce provides the various types of opportunities to the Wholesalers, Retailers, Producers and the
People. Retailers meet electronic orders and should be in touch with the consumers all the time.
6. People are aware of the availability of various products in the markets through the help of television,
newspaper, website etc. the availability of a new product and its price and other features can be known
easily.

VII.
1.

2.

3.
4.
5.

6.

SUGGESTIONS

An in-depth understanding of the legal regime and the possible issues that an E- commerce business would
face coupled with effective risk management strategies has been the need of the hour for of E-commerce
businesses to thrive in this industry.
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) issues in E-commerce transactions have taken a new form with users
finding loop holes to not only easily duplicate material but also mislead other users. Hence, much more IPR
is needs to effectively regulate tangled web.
The development of educational standards has enabled a great demand in the market.
The powerful influence of various social media tools like Facebook allows consumers to organize their
favorite items and segment it into them and collections to share with others.
With the increase in small and medium enterprises, foreign direct investment, multinational companies,
creating millions new jobs, a new generation of globally minded consumers. With growing job
opportunities, customers are willingly able to pay for the products online.
The website for online shopping should be in understandable language. The language should be kept simple
while making the websites.

VIII.

CONCLUSION

Today E commerce has become an integral part of everyday life. Accessibility to E commerce platform is not a
privilege but rather a necessity for people, particularly peoples who are staying in urban areas. Due to fast
adoption of internet enabled devices like Smartphone and Tablets, we have seen an unparalleled growth in E
commerce. The telecommunication technology has completely changed the way of our living, communication
methods, shopping etc. It has a huge impact on how we communicate with friends and relatives how we travel,
how we access the information and the way we buy or sell products and services. The growth of E commerce
volumes in India is attracting the attention of players around the globe.
E commerce creates new opportunities for business it also creates new opportunities for education and
academics. It appears that there is tremendous potential for providing E business education.

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