A $30 billion opportunity is opening up in India’s digital commerce space, but it’s not about big-ticket consumer apps or another round of discount wars. According to a recent McKinsey report, brands are increasingly turning to ‘plug-and-play’ digital tools that let them build their own e-commerce setup, which includes picking and choosing payments, logistics, shopfronts, and data tools, like how you would assemble building blocks.
Companies such as Shiprocket, Razorpay and Delhivery are emerging as the new rails of this ecosystem, offering brands the ability to plug into specific capabilities without committing to a single, all-in-one marketplace.
Why are brands moving marketplaces to modular stacks
The report argues that Indian e-commerce is undergoing what it calls a ‘great unbundling’, where logistics, payments, warehousing, checkout, cross-border shipping and even returns are being broken out into modular services.
For over a decade, India’s online sellers largely depended on large marketplaces to reach customers. These platforms provided end-to-end services, payments, warehousing, last-mile delivery and customer acquisition in exchange for commissions and control over the consumer relationship.
The report further stated that although this model helped kickstart digital commerce in India, it also limited many brands within their closed borders. Soon, a demand emerged for greater control over margins, data and customer experience, the report said.
This is where modular infrastructure has found its moment. Instead of selling exclusively through a marketplace, a small apparel brand can now build its own website, integrate a checkout solution from Razorpay, use Shiprocket for multi-courier shipping, and tap Delhivery for fulfilment.
Shiprocket, Delhivery: The new ‘digital rails’?
The report likens these infrastructure players to ‘digital rails’, foundational layers on which thousands of businesses can operate. Much like telecom networks enabled mobile apps, these services are enabling independent brands to look and operate like global companies from day one.
Shiprocket, for instance, aggregates courier partners and enables sellers to access nationwide shipping, including tier-2 and rural pin codes, without negotiating individual contracts. Delhivery, which began as a logistics provider for large e-commerce companies, now offers fulfilment-as-a-service to direct-to-consumer brands.
According to the report, this pick-and-choose flexibility is central to the “wow” factor. Sellers are no longer forced into bundled contracts. They can integrate a one-click checkout without changing their logistics partner, or add international shipping without overhauling their tech stack.
A new power equation for brands
The report highlights that this unbundling is shifting bargaining power toward brands. With multiple service providers competing across each layer, payments, warehousing, and delivery, sellers can switch vendors more easily and negotiate better terms.
At the same time, the infrastructure players are deepening their offerings to capture a larger share of the value chain. Razorpay has moved into banking and credit products for businesses. Shiprocket has built tools for returns management and cross-border exports. Delhivery is expanding its warehousing network to support omnichannel brands.
This layering of services, the report suggests, is where the $25–30 billion opportunity lies. It is not just about core logistics or payment processing revenues, but about adjacent services, embedded finance, analytics, fraud prevention and international trade support, that can be monetised as sellers grow.
Importantly, the beneficiaries are not limited to metro-based startups. The report notes a steady rise in sellers from smaller towns who are building niche brands, whether in handicrafts, regional fashion or speciality foods, and using these plug-and-play tools to reach national and even global customers.
Rural reach and cross-border ambition
One of the more striking trends highlighted in the report is the push into rural and semi-urban India. Logistics networks have expanded their pin-code coverage, enabling brands to serve customers well beyond tier-1 cities. This has broadened the addressable market for independent sellers, the report stated.
At the same time, cross-border commerce is becoming more accessible. Infrastructure platforms now offer integrated solutions for international payments, shipping and compliance. The report suggests that this could turn thousands of small Indian brands into exporters, without the traditional friction associated with global trade.
For infrastructure companies, this represents a high-margin opportunity. Cross-border shipments and financial services typically command better pricing than domestic delivery alone.
Competition and consolidation ahead
While the numbers do seem large enough, the report states that the space has a limitation of being crowded. With newer startups entering these segments, the mammoths in the field will try to regain their ground through acquisitions.
If the report’s projections hold true, the $25–30 billion prize will not belong to the companies selling products online but to those building the tracks on which digital commerce runs.