Online consumer spending in India to cross $4 trillion: Shiprocket’s e-commerce trends report

Startups pose a key component in the economic scenario of a nation. Besides, they also largely impact the social scenario as most startups actually originate while solving a common societal problem with the smart use of technology and limited availability of resources. This is where innovation drives success and transforms an idea into a full-fledged business. In the present era, technologies have changed the entire playing field for businesses as most of these have taken the digital route and thrived with larger market scope, with lesser OPEX and CAPEX, better service delivery and customer services, and effective data-driven decision-making.

The commerce with the ‘e’ has completely transformed the rules of business today. India is home to around 108 unicorns at present which is the third-largest number of unicorns in a nation across the globe. Thanks to the rapid adoption of digital that enabled many businesses to flourish in such a small span of time. E-commerce has transformed Indian retail and even the B2B space today. Recently, Shiprocket, an Indian unicorn and one of the country’s leading e-commerce enablement platform, launched a detailed trends report titled “eCommerce in the New Bharat and it’s Future”. The unicorn launched it in partnership with Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and Images Group. 

The rising consumer spending

The report aims at decoding the evolving consumer behaviour to empower MSMEs with in-depth insights to usher in the era of a rapidly changing e-commerce industry. It suggests that consumer spending in India is expected to be over $4 trillion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of around 10 percent. This is due to the massive domestic consumer expenditure and consumption market. Further, consumer spending on categories like housing needs, apparel, grocery, personal care, food, transport, and communication is expected to double by 2030. The factors driving the growth of these categories are evolving consumer habits, high internet penetration, a strong local consumer ecosystem, and technological innovation in consumer products. 

UPI making payments convenient

Considering the preferred mode of payment, most consumers around 57 percent picked UPI as their preferred prepay option and 31 percent chose credit cards. Meanwhile, 12 percent of consumers picked other payment options including wallets, net banking, and debit cards. 

The evolving consumer preferences

With the rise of e-commerce portals, many retail brands also developed their online stores to fish the rising consumer base in the online space. Shiprocket’s report shows that nearly 80 percent of consumers today prefer shopping through online marketplaces of which fashion and accessories was seen to be the highest-selling category with 48 percent of consumers followed by electronics (32 percent) and groceries (30 percent). 

However, with online marketplaces growing in demand, keeping up with the product and service quality is of utmost importance for enterprises as more than 52 percent of Indian consumers look for quality as their most basic expectation from any online marketplace. Meanwhile, ‘trust’ and ‘price’ rated to be the second and third most important factors respectively. 

It would not be wrong to say that with the evolving technologies the demand for better consumer experience has also entered the competitive space. The report shows that ‘order tracking’ and constant ‘Whatsapp updates on order status’ are also factors that catch the attention of consumers.

During the launch of the report, Saahil Goel, CEO and Co-Founder, Shiprocket said, “At Shiprocket, we commend the spirit of entrepreneurs and small business owners who drive innovation, provide job opportunities, and promote economic progress. We believe in the power of MSMEs and are committed to empowering them with our tech-driven solutions and being their Partners in Growth. India’s digital economy is set to soar to new heights with MSMEs playing a very important role in the growth of the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision. The Report will assist MSMEs in their business growth by helping them in decoding their consumers and leveraging the insights to improve their business.”

“At ONDC, our aim is to transform the Indian e-commerce landscape and we strongly believe that MSMEs will play a key role in developing the future of the Indian economy. It is critical for any business to understand the consumer psyche, and this report will assist MSMEs in understanding their consumers’ thought processes, allowing them to make better business decisions in the future,” highlighted T Koshy, MD and CEO, ONDC. 

In a conversation with Express Computer, Praful Poddar, Chief Product Officer, Shiprocket said, “At a fundamental level, our vision is to democratise e-commerce. This simply means that we aim to make all tools and technologies available to every seller possible, in the country, in the simplest manner. Also, we want to strengthen not only our shipping and logistics but also the buyer experience and help sellers in their growth stories. Further, we intend to build a system wherein all the e-commerce tools and processes are at one platform to cut down sellers’ hassle and allow them to solely focus on their products.”

In another move, Shiprocket launched five new offerings – Brand Boost 2.0, ONDC, Shipping 2.0, Shiprocket Engage+ WhatsApp Suite, and Shiprocket Promise to further strengthen their tech-stack. With the new lineup, they intend to add value to their existing product suite. These solutions are crafted to aid MSMEs become future-ready.2

“Shiprocket Promise is one of the most promising products for us. The entire expansion of Shiprocket’s stack so we are not limited to shipping but can also play a part in upscaling and upgrading sellers’ technology stack and help grow their e-commerce. Further, through Shiprocket Promise we try to develop a trustworthy experience for sellers wherein we guarantee delivery timelines and establish trust among the consumers. Secondly, it’s a standard return or exchange experience through a common portal called ‘My Shiprocket’. So, consumers do not have to go through multiple platforms to manage that. We intend to increase conversions from cash on delivery (CoD) to prepaid orders,” said Poddar.

“At the core, we want to be the best shipping platform in the country. The innovation that we bring to achieve this feat builds trust among consumers and strengthens the offerings that we have for sellers. WhatsApp Suite is another one of our new launches that will enable MSMEs to have a seamless experience in connecting with their buyers and save costs as well,” he added.