Today at present, India has been witnessing rapid digitalization throughout its geographical areas. Many new business ventures and startups are hopping onto this digital growth bandwagon. Also, many traditional players are also understanding the advantages of online commerce and are similarly riding its growth bandwagon too.  From traditional stores to eCommerce platforms, there has been a gradual shift in the shopping pattern today.

According to a report by IBEF, “The Indian e-commerce industry has been on an upward growth trajectory and is expected to surpass the US to become the second largest e-commerce market in the world by 2034. The e-commerce market is expected to reach Rs 13,97,800 crore (US$ 200 billion) by 2027 from Rs 2,69,076.5 crore (US$ 38.5 billion) in 2017. India's e-commerce market has the potential to grow more than four folds to Rs 10,48,350 crore (US$ 150 billion) by 2022 supported by rising incomes and surge in internet users. Online shoppers in India are expected to reach 120 million in 2018 and eventually 220 million by 2025. Online retailers now deliver to 15,000-20,000 pin codes out of nearly 100,000 pin codes in the country.”

However, this shift towards online commerce has also made this market a very competitive one and therefore, many market players which include small e-tailers will be tapping PWAs so as to generate superior traction, enhance the user experience, and drive business expansion altogether. 

Especially due to the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 crisis, there has been a significant increase in the process of buying and selling products and services online. And, it is not planning to slow down anytime sooner and this current situation would further help in strengthening the e-Commerce market even more.  

Amendment of New Laws and Policies

With this digital shift, the Government has also notified new rules for e-commerce companies which would include mandatory display of ‘country of origin’ on every product that is being sold online. And for this, the government has clearly stated that any non-compliance would result in severe penal action. Furthermore, the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules for 2020 has also been notified by the government and would be applicable to all the electronic e-tailers which are registered in India or abroad, but are delivering products and services to the Indian consumers.While the violation of the rules will attract penal action under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

According to the policies framed by the Government, the e-commerce players will also have to display the total price of goods and services which are being offered for sale. Along with the break-ups of other charges. Also, the players in this market will be required to mention the expiry date of goods which are being offered for sale along with the country of origin of that particular goods and services. This is clearly done so as to enable consumers to make informed decisions before buying any goods or services. E-commerce players will also have to showcase all the details about return, refund, exchange, warranty and guarantee, delivery and shipment, among others. 

Technologies that are bringing Innovation across E-commerce Space

We are living today in a world where technology is slowly taking over every aspect of human lives. Various next-gen technologies are advancing at a rapid pace and have been providing new digital methodologies in carrying out any kind of operations across every industrial segment.

As E-commerce is an online business, it was quite obvious that the technologies would play the most vital role in it. Technologies such as Big Data, Data Analytics, AI & ML, Cloud, among others have given the needed boost for the players in the e-Commerce space to grow their online businesses to its optimum.  With these technologies, businesses can now track every requirement and needs of a particular consumer and provide the same. Instead of humans assisting buyers, Chatbots are now taking over the whole conversation with any human interference.

While speaking of AI and ML integrated with NLP, it has been significantly helping in bringing buyers to the point of where they are ready to cash in their money for any goods or services that they might be offering. Also, if we speak about the online business, one of the most concerning parameters would be Cyber security. Hence for this, many tech companies are today offering a full suite of cybersecurity services to protect against any kind of malware, or other fraudulent activities.