In 2016, the Indian population is expected to take on smartphone based shopping with a vengeance.
According to a recent study that has been published jointly by Grant Thornton and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, online purchases made over mobile commerce will break the 40 million mark by the close of next year.
Comparatively speaking, the current level is believed to be around 30 million mobile device users.
As a whole, the e-commerce market growth rate is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 63 percent, next year. That said, it will be the mobile commerce component of that market that will play the most important role as a driving force behind this growth. The number of consumers owning smartphones in India is expected to reach more than 200 million by next year, placing it next to the United States in second place for the ownership of these mobile devices.
Mobile commerce is expected to be pushed ahead in India due to the improving affordability of smartphones.
The number of transactions that have been completed online in India has experienced a tremendous growth. In 2011, there had been 11 million transactions online, whereas it is expected that this year will break the 38 million mark. The government is currently in the midst of implementing a strategy that is designed to modernize and essentially overhaul the postal infrastructure across the country, and to form a “Digital India,” which will have a large impact on the e- and m-commerce sectors.
The report on this study indicated that online travel is currently at the top of the online shopping marketplace in India. This, despite the fact that online travel traditionally makes up only a limited share of the complete global shopping market online. In India, though, it makes up almost 71 percent of the online shopping. It experienced a CAGR of 32 percent between the years 2009 and 2013.
Mobile commerce plays a much smaller role in retail shopping, where it makes up only 0.3 percent of total retail sales and 8.7 percent of organized online retail sales.
