E-commerce seller base growing 35% annually: Report

Ease of doing business for MSMEs: The online seller growth in the country has outpaced e-retail market growth, with the number of sellers increasing by 35% annually, said a study by management consulting firm Bain & Company and e-commerce company Flipkart on Tuesday. According to the report, the online seller base grew by 35 per cent during 2020-21 while 40 per cent of the new sellers came from tier-II or smaller cities. “Growth in the e-retail market has been accompanied by rapid expansion in the seller base and efficient development in the logistics infrastructure,” the report said. 

The seller growth forms part of overall India’s e-retail market which is estimated to increase by 3X to $150–$170 billion by 2027 from $50 billion in 2022. In 2021, the market stood at $40 billion. This implied 25–30 per cent annual growth and a doubling of market penetration to 9–10 per cent over the next five years. 

The report noted that India which currently has the third-largest shopper base globally with 180–190 million online shoppers in 2021, it is “well poised to surpass the US to have the second-largest shopper base in the next one to two years.” 

Also Read

SP, BSP ask Yogi Adityanath to give account of six years, not one, say most promises incomplete

Congress protests in Nashik against Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification; BJP slams him for ‘insulting’ OBCs

‘Simple drama’ orchestrated to save PM Modi on Adani question: Rahul Gandhi hits back after disqualification

PM Modi praises Cabinet decision to extend Ujjwala scheme subsidy by a year, says move to greatly help beneficiaries

Subscribe to Financial Express SME newsletter now: Your weekly dose of news, views, and updates from the world of micro, small, and medium enterprises 

“Massive headroom in terms of smartphone penetration (36 per cent in India versus 63 per cent in China and 76 per cent in the US) and affluence (around $2,000 per capita in India versus around $12,000 in China and around $69,000 in the US), in addition to already low data prices, provide the perfect ingredients for sustained growth.” 

To expand the e-commerce ecosystem, the government introduced the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) which aims to ‘open’ e-commerce in India from the current duopoly of Amazon and Flipkart in India and onboard. ONDC looks at providing offline retailers with a level playing field online to compete with large players. “The aim is to be in over 100 cities and have several thousand sellers onboarded on the platform, ONDC’s Chief Business Officer, Shireesh Joshi had told FE Aspire in July this year.

Also read: Mudra scheme: 2.19 cr loans sanctioned in H1 FY23, up 8% from year ago, shows govt data