NEW DELHI: Value–driven e-commerce presents a $40 billion market opportunity to players in the sector, with the rural population embracing digital shopping rapidly, a report released by the global consultancy firm, Kearney stated.
The changing consumer preferences moulded by the pandemic in addition to the value and budget consciousness has put value-e-commerce in the spotlight.
Currently valued at $4 billion, value e-commerce is expected to grow rapidly to reach $20 billion by 2026 and to $40 billion by 2030 - a 10X growth in 10 years, as per the study.
Even as the regulations around the e-commerce industry undergoe changes, those are expected to have least impact on the user end as well as their preferences. “Value-conscious consumers are shifting to online buying, driven by huge adoption in mobile Internet – we estimate 350 million active internet users by 2026, of which nearly 90 million will be from rural India. These value-conscious consumers from Tier-2+ and rural areas will contribute to 38% of India’s value e-commerce market demand by 2026. As these value consumers increase online buying, they tend to replicate their offline buying behaviour. Hence, there is a tremendous opportunity for players to craft a sharp value proposition around desirable quality at affordable price,” Manoj Muthu Kumar, Principal, Kearney said.