The e-commerce market in India is experiencing substantial growth, with the overall market size reaching 138 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. The segment with the highest market size was smartphones, valued at 39 billion U.S. dollars. This underscores the increasing significance of e-commerce in the Indian retail landscape, reflecting a shift in consumer behavior and preferences toward online shopping. E-commerce sector growth The e-commerce industry is experiencing fierce competition due to the presence of domestic and international companies. The e-commerce market size was estimated to be 125 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. This growth is fuelled by the increasing smartphone penetration, internet user base, and other favorable market conditions. Notably, the revenue growth of the e-commerce market has been consistently high, with over 18 percent as of 2024. Direct-to-consumer (D2C) market trends The e-commerce sector in India is witnessing a significant transformation. Especially, the D2C market is rapidly expanding and is expected to reach 100 billion U.S. dollars by 2025. One factor contributing to the D2C boom is the convenience of establishing online stores. Additionally, a great combination of major and mid-sized investors has supported India's D2C initiative. Over four billion U.S. dollars were invested in D2C brands.

In 2024, the e-commerce sector received a total of 203 funding deals in India. The deal count was the highest in 2022 at 300 deals. The e-commerce sector received about two billion U.S. dollars in funding during the same year.

The national capital, Delhi, had the highest amount of e-commerce funding valued at over 500 million U.S. dollars in India in 2024. This was followed by Bengaluru with a funding value of over 400 million dollars in the same period.

During financial year 2023, the gross merchandise value of e-commerce was 60 billion U.S. dollars. This was an increase as compared to the previous financial year when the GMV was 49 billion dollars in India.

In 2023, social commerce in India dominated the majority of the online retail market share. However, a decline in market share by two percent is likely to occur in the future. On the other hand, quick commerce had a share of 20 percent in the online retail market and is estimated to increase to 32 percent by 2030.

According to a survey in 2024 on online shopping behavior among Indians, 29 percent of respondents among urban residents preferred to buy groceries online, followed by electronics and fashion items. Meanwhile, respondents from the rest of India were ahead of urban dwellers when it came to purchasing sports and fitness, home and kitchen, and health and wellness products online.

Owing to the increasing internet user base and favorable market conditions, India has a lot of potential in the e-commerce industry. Growing at an exponential rate, the market value of the e-commerce industry in India was 125 billion U.S dollars in 2024. This number was estimated to reach 550 billion U.S. dollars by 2035. E-commerce platforms The competition in the e-commerce business in India is fierce. The market is filled with many local and foreign companies trying to hold the maximum market share. Flipkart and Amazon were the leading ecommerce retailers in the country. Moreover, electronics and apparel are the most popular shopping categories among Indian consumers. Growing trend of e-commerce Increasing growth in the e-commerce industry is attributed to several reasons. Digitizing the economy and the provision of affordable internet are a few of many reasons that boosted the growth of digital sales in India. In 2024, the e-commerce sales across India were estimated to increase by over 19 percent. Consequently, the revenue-generating potential has also increased. The average retail e-commerce revenue collected per user was more than 85 U.S dollars.

During a survey conducted in September 2023, some 88 percent of respondents in India stated that they had use a smartphone for online shopping in the past 12 months.

In financial year 2024, Meesho reported an operating revenue of over 76 billion Indian rupees. This was an increase compared to the previous year. Meesho is the fastest-growing online marketplace platform in India.

Online shopping sales across India amounted to around ** billion U.S. dollars in 2021. The e-commerce market is likely to grow to over *** billion U.S. dollars by 2025. The e-commerce market in India is the fastest-growing market in the world. Online retail segments In fiscal year 2017, the retail market was led by electronics with a penetration rate of about ** percent. However, in terms of groceries, local offline vendors or kiranas continued to be the preferred choice for daily groceries due the ease of bargaining and benefitting from the ‘old-customer’ designation with extra rations as a gesture from the vendor. Nevertheless, the number of online shoppers in the country was estimated to increase to over *** million in 2025, up from around ** million in 2017. Impact of COVID-19 on the marketThe coronavirus outbreak in March 2020 caused a surge in prices across e-commerce platforms. Panic purchasing resulted in the shortage of sanitary and food items online as well as in physical stores across the country. As the online consumption continued to increase, unscrupulous sellers jacked up the prices on certain items. Amazon and Flipkart, the two e-commerce market leaders in India urged sellers and even blocked certain products to exercise responsible pricing. Manufacturers increased production in order to keep up with the supply of fast-moving items. With the uncertainty surrounding the impact of COVID-19, manufacturers and retailers will presumably have to work in unison to keep track of an unprecedented demand and supply scenario.

In 2022, the business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce market size stood at ** billion U.S. dollars in India. The B2C e-commerce market is likely to increase to *** billion U.S. dollars by 2030. Moreover, branded websites saw a significant growth of over ** percent in the B2C e-commerce market. Social commerce Social media plays a crucial role in day-to-day life due to increased internet penetration and the availability of low-cost data packages. As a result, social media platforms have over *** million active users. Social commerce has become popular because social media offers brands not only a platform for advertisement but also for sales of products. Therefore, the market size of social commerce in India was estimated to be ** billion U.S. dollars in 2024. The popular social commerce platforms in the country are Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Live commerce The new form of e-commerce deals with the use of digital platforms to sell products and engage with customers through livestream mostly with the help of influencers. Major e-commerce players such as Flipkart, Amazon, and Myntra have incorporated live commerce, with the beauty and personal care segment being the most popular. About ** percent of Indian consumers are interested in using live commerce while shopping. Besides, the main reason for using live commerce was that consumers can get answers related to the warranty and return of products bought online.

As of 2024, the revenue growth of the e-commerce market was over four percent in India. The e-commerce market had the highest growth at over 54 percent in 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers switched to online shopping for groceries and other essentials due to lockdowns and social distancing.

In 2024, the revenue generated by the e-commerce market in India totaled approximately to over ** billion U.S. dollars. This market experienced exponential growth, driven by increasing internet penetration and smartphone usage nationwide. It is projected that by 2029, the revenue from the e-commerce market will likely surpass ** billion dollars. E-commerce in India The Indian e-commerce sector is anticipated to reach approximately *** billion U.S. dollars by 2030, with Amazon and Flipkart emerging as the dominant players in this marketplace. Amazon leads in terms of monthly visits, while Flipkart, a domestic e-commerce platform, demonstrated a steady increase in its revenue. These trends are indicative of the digital transformation in the country’s retail sector. Consumer preference As the digital buyer base in India is expected to surpass *** million by 2027, the transition to online shopping presents its own set of challenges. A notable number of Indian consumers still prefer the traditional retail experience, where they can physically inspect products and benefit from the guidance of salespersons. Despite these challenges, the adaptability of the e-commerce sector is paving the way for a more customer-centric retail experience.

In 2022, the overall online retail sales amounted to ** billion U.S. dollars in India. Social commerce had the highest sales at **** billion dollars among other online sales channels. Additionally, social commerce sales are likely to increase to ** billion dollars by 2030.

Over the last decade, e-commerce and digital shopping had seen a boom in India on par with the global trend. Of the total retail sales in the country, it was estimated that in 2019, the share of e-commerce would be almost **** percent. In fact, the retail e-commerce sales in India was forecasted to grow at a fast pace with projections of over 45 billion U.S. dollars in 2021 from just ** billion dollars in 2016, with an estimated retail revenue growth of over ** billion dollars by 2023. Market size of India’s E-commerce industry The market size for India’s e-commerce industry was already over ** billion U.S. dollars in 2017, and it was forecasted to be worth *** billion dollars in 2025. However, the penetration of active e-commerce in India was just around ** percent, compared to other Asia Pacific countries like South Korea which had over ** percent penetration of active users. Nevertheless, this was a highly optimistic sign since it pointed out the room for growth in the Indian e-commerce market. Naturally, analysts suggested that the Indian e-commerce market was expected to surpass the United States to become the second largest e-commerce market in the world by 2034. A cascading growth trend According to Statista calculations, India already ranks first in terms of B2C e-commerce development with a compound annual growth rate of **** from 2019 to 2023. In the last few years, B2B and B2C companies like Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra led the online shopping market in the country by collectively generating net sales of over **** billion U.S. dollars in financial year 2017 alone. This high growth trend in the e-commerce industry had directly impacted the micro, small and medium enterprises in the country and had provided them with new marketing platforms along with a technological uplift.

In 2023, the total number of digital buyers was over *** million in India. The number of digital buyers is likely to increase to over *** million by 2027. The rapidly growing e-commerce sector in the country is driven by personalized advertisements, discounts, quick delivery and return infrastructure, not to mention a high penetration rate of smartphones. This retail ecosystem, combined with the comfort of being at home, a variety of choices, and door delivery, has turned the tables for this sector quite significantly.  Online retail ecommerce India was one of the fastest-growing countries for retail mobile commerce sales growth of over ** percent. The most important consideration for shopping online was searching for the best deals. Customized apps and experiences had their influence as well. India is one of the largest markets in the Asia Pacific, with retail e-commerce sales growth of ** percent in 2023. COVID-19 and online shopping  Due to the COVID-19 restrictions and lockdown, there has been a tremendous expansion in the digital marketplace. Consumers have shifted to the digital platform for day-to-day needs such as online shopping, banking, buying groceries, etc. Most consumers prefer to continue shopping online even after the COVID-19 pandemic due to an overall positive experience and the convenience of online shopping.

In 2020, the online retail sector occupied the majority of shares at ** percent in the ecommerce market in India. This was followed by online travel services with a share of ** percent in the same year. The market share for online retail sector is likely to increase by **** percent by 2026.

In 2024, global retail e-commerce sales reached an estimated ************ U.S. dollars. Projections indicate a ** percent growth in this figure over the coming years, with expectations to come close to ************** dollars by 2028. World players Among the key players on the world stage, the American marketplace giant Amazon holds the title of the largest e-commerce player globally, with a gross merchandise value of nearly *********** U.S. dollars in 2024. Amazon was also the most valuable retail brand globally, followed by mostly American competitors such as Walmart and the Home Depot. Leading e-tailing regions E-commerce is a dormant channel globally, but nowhere has it been as successful as in Asia. In 2024, the e-commerce revenue in that continent alone was measured at nearly ************ U.S. dollars, outperforming the Americas and Europe. That year, the up-and-coming e-commerce markets also centered around Asia. The Philippines and India stood out as the swiftest-growing e-commerce markets based on online sales, anticipating a growth rate surpassing ** percent.

In a survey conducted in 2024, ** percent of Indian consumers frequently used ******** as their go-to e-commerce platform. Meesho followed next with ** percent of consumers using it.

The market size of the online retail industry in India amounted to *** billion U.S. dollars in 2023 in India. The industry is likely to growth with a CAGR of ** percent until the year 2027. Growth of online retail industry in India The rapid expansion in the size of online retail could be attributed to the increase in the market size of e-commerce, a favorable government policy of *** percent FDI flows into e-commerce, and an increasing base of digital buyers in India. The market size of the e-commerce industry is estimated to reach *** billion U.S. dollars by 2027, a massive jump from 2014. Additionally, the number of digital buyers in the country has been on the rise since 2014. Affordable mobile internet, mainly from Reliance’s Jio has been a catalyst for change and led to a drastic growth in the value of mobile retail e-commerce in 2020. Consumer perception of online retail during coronavirus The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic led to an increase in the share of consumers shopping online. Most consumers opted for online retail to socially distance, avoid queues in the supermarkets and other shops, and to minimize their time spent outside. Unsurprisingly, they preferred to shop for essentials which included food, personal hygiene, and household cleaning products during this time.