[Report] Flipkart is biggest ecommerce portal; Paytm is biggest mcommerce company

No doubt, the ecommerce industry in India is expanding exponentially with the advent of mobile commerce or m-commerce adding to the popularity of anytime, anywhere shopping. A recent study by Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM) and Deloitte indicates some interesting facts about the Indian ecommerce market.

By the end of 2015, ecommerce is speculated to be more than $16 billion with the travel domain still dominating the industry. While ecommerce transactions had a 53% growth spurt in the past year, only 39% of this was from online retail (61% from travel).

 Future of mobile commerce in India

Based on a Deloitte report on global retailing, ASSOCHAM stated that m-commerce would touch $638 billion by 2018. Extending this to the Indian scenario, m-commerce seems to be the future for India. We know how smartphones and internet penetration have seen an upward climb in the growth chart the past few months.

But they also spelled out some major reforms needed to leverage on the potential of mobile commerce in India:

• Price comparison features
• Better and efficient search feature and results
• Easier navigation and user interface

With the above, it’s easier to entice consumers to buy more.

Highlights from the report, things to look out for

Global scenario

• In 2014, global B2C ecommerce was more than $1.5 trillion which was 20% higher than 2013.
• In the global context, amazon is the top ecommerce portal.

Indian scenario

• Since 2011, the Indian ecommerce market has witnessed growth at CAGR of 37%.
• In five years, it would touch $100 billion.
• Smartphone users in India add up to 235 million.
• With 20 million users, Flipkart is the biggest ecommerce portal of India.
• Paytm is the biggest in two categories – mobile wallet and m-commerce.

Annual results FY 14 ($ million). Source: Avashya.com

• 50% of Flipkart’s revenue is from mobile.
• Due to steep discounts and offers, the losses incurred by Indian ecommerce companies amounted to Rs 10 billion in 2014.
• Owing to heavy valuations, around Rs 200 billion investments were pumped into Indian ecommerce companies in 2014.

Valuations & funds raised in 2014 ($ million). Source: Avashya

• More offline retailers are beginning to sell online.
• Ecommerce transactions are dominated by Cash-on-Delivery (COD).
  • COD – 45%
  • Debit cards – 21%
  • Credit cards – 16%
  • Mobile wallets – 8%