Mobile Internet to further facilitate e-Commerce in India

Internet, Internet and its Internet everywhere. e-Commerce is also flourishing with respect to Internet. The scope of mobile internet comes from this fact that in India there are approx 30 million people who access the internet through cybercafés. And thus for such people internet doesn’t become a basic part of their lives since its just a medium for them to send mails or search for information in fact most of the time these people are disconnected from the internet. So here it is where the mobile internet can have a great scope i.e. it is such a device that is with the person all the time.

Especially with reference to the young clan where mobile first is the criteria it can be a great potential. Also there is some percentage that does not have access to the computer but do have mobile with them. Such a huge number to be connected through their mobiles could do wonders. Though definitely this revolution of mobile internet would take time to come or take over.

Loopholes in e-Commerce in India

No second thought to it that e-Commerce is blooming in India but there are still many bottlenecks that are hindering its growth. Some of the major issues are related to safety and security online, infrastructure requirements, credit card and debit card payment, physical delivery of goods etc. All the growth driving factors such as increasing internet user base, young clan being more internet savvy etc would not bring the desired results until and unless these things are taken care of. Online travel retail is boosting e-Commerce in India majorly because of main three reasons that is convenience, very low touch & feel and the good price concessions. Apart from this where touch and feel is required people do not have much interest in spending a big chunk on them. Another major requirement is to have required infrastructure for the proper physical transfer of goods. Then again not to forget is the online security issue and that is why many Indians opt for cash on delivery as the option for the payment. All these loopholes need to be taken care of.

Online Classifieds Industry (e-Commerce) growing

This section of e-Commerce is also catching up in India smoothly and on a good pace. Online classifieds allow people who can be called as Internet Users to showcase their offerings providing them a big and a very huge platform. These online classifieds could be used for several purposes like for matrimony, Job search, Advertisements for sale and purchase of fixed assets, automobiles etc. Out of these especially online matrimony and Job portals have the major market share.

This trend is very much popular among the youngsters or the young clan whereas on the other hand the middle aged and senior citizens still resort to middlemen instead of these online portals since they are not that Internet savvy and apprehensive about using Internet for such purposes. The size of Online Classifieds industry comes to Rs. 540 crores for the year 2006-07. At the end of 2007-08, the industry is expected to grow by 52% to Rs. 820 crores. Growth in this industry is also due to the increase in the Internet usage and e-Commerce transactions growing in India. These figures are being taken from the IAMAI report on e-Commerce market in India.

e-Tailing coming up and boosting e-Commerce

As already discussed earlier Online travel Industry is the biggest trigger for e-Commerce in India. The next upcoming area or field that is promoting e-Commerce growth is e-Tailing or also known as web retailing. e-Tailing is another factor which is shaping up good in India and encouraging more and more people to come up and transact online. It is in simpler terms a shop which is online and mostly like a departmental store where one can shop for anything and everything. The size of e-Tailing Market for the year 2006-07 was computed to be Rs. 850 crores. e-Tailing contributes around 12% to the total E-Commerce Market size in the year 2006-07. These figures have been taken from IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India) and IMRB International e-Commerce 2006/07 report.

We even see growth in the e-Tailing domain because of various factors like convenience, increase in the number of buyers and sellers, better deals and change in the thinking pattern or behavior of the consumers. If all these factors clubbed together, they can really provide good benefit to the e-Commerce growth in the country. But with all this, the loopholes of the same also need to be addressed to make the e-Commerce flourish.

Bright future of e-Commerce in India

With India emerging as one of the powerful or strong nations the economic growth of India is also growing at a commendable pace. Even the Indian e-Commerce is growing at a rate of 30 to 40% and is likely to reach $100 billion figure by the end of 2008. E-commerce in India has very much scope to grow and thus the attention needs to be drawn.

The demand of the hour is emergence of new business ideas that can help e-Commerce in India to bloom and make the most of it. In several other developed nations the growth of e-Commerce took place in various different stages or segments where majorly the focus has been shifted to relationship driven methods. Whether its online or offline the treatment for customers do not change and this if given provided attention can attract customers for transacting online related to any field. At the end of the day the scope of e-Commerce is very bright and very much promising.