Online marketplaces triple their GMV; sellers finding the same success?

The increasing number of people looking to purchase products online is likely to result in the combined Gross Merchandise Value of Indian ecommerce companiesto cross $12 billion by the end of the year, in comparison to last years GMV figure of $4.5 billion. Google further predicts that by the end of 2016 the GMV will jump to between $18-20 billion.

• The Indian online shopper base in 2014 was approximately 40 million
• The Indian online shopper base this year is expected to touch 60 million

“The overall ecosystem is growing. The good part is that many small guys are also growing rapidly with an increase in their shopper base and GMV. Even a niche e-commerce firm in furniture or baby goods is growing three to four times a year,” said Nitin Bawankule, head of e-commerce at Google India.

Marketplace Marvels

No conversation on Gross Merchandise Value in India can be complete without mentioning Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal who control nearly 80 percent of the market. Their continued investment has enlarged the ecommerce pie. Half a million small firms from small towns are registered with Amazon, Flipkart andSnapdeal, which is allowing them to sell across the country with ease.

Amazon

• Has tripled the number of sellers on its platform this year
• Grew by four times this year, compared to last year
• Has been adding on average 40,000 products a day on its platform
• 90% of its sellers are using logistics and warehouse services
• Invested 1,237 crore into Amazon sellers service just last month

“We are encouraged with what we are seeing, both in terms of customers and sellers. On the customer side, active customer accounts have risen 230 per cent over a year ago. We are in the middle of the Diwali season, which is going well. Sales this season have been four times as much as the year-ago period,”remarked Brian T Olsavsky, chief financial officer, Amazon.

Snapdeal

• Has managed to cut its delivery time down to four hours in some cities
• Its consumer base has grown three fold this year
• Five million products were sold in three days during the Diwali sales
• Is targeting a $10 billion GMV by March 2016
• Registered a 10 times growth in electronics during Diwali sales

“Every year, Diwali traffic goes up by a few hundred thousands. What is surprising is that the traffic does not go back to the previous rate in the week after Diwali. And, the new figure becomes the base for the next year,”saidAnand Chandrasekaran, chief product officer, Snapdeal.

Flipkart

• During the 5 day Big Billion days sale, sold $300 million worth of goods
• $200 million came from selling mobile phones
• Last year it sold $60 million worth of mobile phones at the Big Billion day sale
• The marketplace has more than 42,000 sellers
• Around 500 sellers on Flipkart posted sales of over 10 lakhs during the Big Billion days sale

“Compared to last year, we have seen much better numbers for growth and transactions this year,” informed Saurabh Chandra, head off apps, Flipkart.

Ebay resurgences

According to a report by the Boston Consulting Group and Retailers association in February, the ecommerce market will be worth $60-70 billion in 2019, compared to the $17 billion in 2014. This is causing companies like ebay who lost out in some key global geographies, to rethink their India strategy.

“There is a plenty of hype, but there is also a good deal of reality in India. It is a growing market, it is exciting, and there will be multiple winners. We will be one of them,” said Scott Schenkel, chief financial officer & senior vice-president, ebay.

It is estimated that nearly 40% of India’s retail consumption takes place during the festival period of September to December. With the number of smart phones increasing day by day, it may turn out that the GMV predictions for this year could be higher than previously thought.

As an online seller are you finding 2015 to be more prosperous than last year, in terms of Gross Merchandise Value? We would like to hear from you!