According to a joint report by Google India and management consulting firm Bain & Company “Internet would influence a third of the total sales in the Indian FMCG sector in the next five years.” Projecting the growth of online user population in India, the report revealed that India would have over 650 million internet users by 2020.
This dramatic rise in the online shopper base in India will contribute $5 billion of FMCG product sales through the online channel, growing 50 times from current level contributing 5% of total sales, from the current 0.3% share, by 2020, predicts the report.
Vikas Agnihotri, industry director, Google India, said by studying the behaviour of the lead consumers from an FMCG standpoint, it is clear that FMCG companies in India need to start thinking of digital as a more strategic medium and chart out a digital growth path for their products.
”In terms of key target audience from the FMCG perspective, 200 million digital natives will be online, 30 % of women population in India will be online by 2020,” he added.
According to Agnihotri, 200-million-plus users will be from rural India by 2020, whose disposable income will continue to grow. ”With these three key consumer segments moving to digital and spending more time online, FMCG companies will need to prepare themselves for this digital future,” he said.
As per the report, the influence of internet will impact $35 billion (R2,17,700 crore) of FMCG sales in India by 2020, as more consumers get online to research for FMCG products.