BENGALURU: E-commerce in India will witness an all-time high going by the statistics, according to Nitin Bawankule, director, E-commerce, Google. He was speaking at the digital summit organised by the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore at its premises on Saturday.
“We, as a country, are challenged in terms of infrastructure. So, advancements in digital technology are welcome. There are over 300 million internet users in India, making us the world’s second-largest internet population. We are a mobile first nation, where 65 per cent of users access the internet through mobile devices. Over half our searches come from mobile devices, and mobile as a platform will continue to spur the growth of internet,” said Bawankule, an alumnus of IIM-B.
Citing a report by Ericsson, Bawankule said that by 2020, there will be over 500 million smartphone users in India.
“By 2020, over 600 million Indians will be online, out of which around 250 million will be buying online. The online retail market, which was pegged at $4.5 billion in 2014, is projected to grow to over $75 billion in 2020. Earlier, the PC or laptop was typically controlled by the earning male in the family. With the proliferation of the smartphone, this social dynamic is also changing. Hence, this is a huge opportunity for marketers,” he added.
Dr Rathan Kelkar, CEO, Centre for e-Governance, Government of Karnataka, spoke on transforming India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.