E-commerce: Sky is the limit

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Bikky Khosla | 27 Oct, 2015
As the festive season is at its peak, the online marketplace has become a hive of activities. Retail biggies are buzzing around, attempting to lure in customers with massive discounts and offers, and taking on each other. According to a recent report, the value of Indian e-commerce companies' total sales in 2015 is expected to be thrice as much as last year. Another report adds that the e-commerce market, including travel, payments and retail, may breach the $100 billion mark by 2020, on the back of a strong Internet ecosystem. These estimates sound reasonable.

In the last few years, e-commerce has changed the face of B2C sales in the country. It took 10 years for India to get the first 10 million Internet users and then another decade -- from 2000 to 2010 -- to get the first 100 million users, but thereafter the growth skyrocketed, with the next 100 million users coming in just three years between 2010 and 2013 and the third 100 million taking only 18 months. This data shows the growing importance of embracing e-commerce, and it is a no brainer to say that this continuous rise is nowhere going to stop. In this scenario, I think every business, small or big, should jump on the e-commerce bandwagon.

For B2B businesses also, it is equally important to embrace e-commerce as buyer preferences are changing fast and more and more B2B buyers these days want their jobs to be made as simple as personal shopping. In addition, e-commerce is far more efficient than traditional methods and firms not adopting e-commerce may soon find themselves outpaced by their competitors. Switching over to e-business is no longer an option, but a necessity, and fortunately these days -- unlike the earlier days of the Internet -- this can be done simply by being a member of a B2B e-commerce platform, instead of worrying about developing and maintaining one's own e-commerce systems.

Meanwhile, the media has reported that the Centre is preparing a law to let brick and mortar stores remain open throughout the night. This is a welcome decision as the proposed changes would give a big push to the retail sector. It will create a 24X7 business opportunity for the brick and mortar shops, creating a somewhat level playing field between online and offline. In addition, employment opportunities will also be created, but it must be made sure that labour is not overworked, so sensible labour reforms must be done. In addition, such a business environment would definitely require an improved law and order situation.

I invite your opinions.