According to a Deloitte India Report, as India is moving towards becoming the third-largest consumer market, the country’s online retail market size is expected to reach US$ 325 billion by 2030, up from US$ 70 billion in 2022, largely due to the rapid expansion of e-commerce in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
As per the report titled ‘Future of Retail,’ online retail penetration is expected to increase at a remarkable rate over the next ten years, outpacing offline retail by 2.5 times. India has grown to be the third-largest consumer market in the world, according to Deloitte India.
Tier-2 and 3 cities accounted for more than 60% of all orders in 2022, it added, with tier-3 cities having a remarkable surge in order volume of 65% and tier-2 cities witnessing a significant growth of 50%.
The ease of ordering and returns, supported by a strong logistics infrastructure spanning over 19,000 pin codes, has been some crucial drivers of the surge in online retail, it was underlined. Further, the survey also claimed that India, with 220 million online customers who are technologically proficient, is a key factor in the expansion of e-commerce.
A total of US$ 23 billion in private equity and venture capital investments have been made in the sector over the last five years, according to the report. With an increasing focus on omnichannel retail strategies, where retailers seamlessly connect their offline and online platforms to provide customers the best of both worlds, online sales are poised to overtake organised retail.
The Metaverse and experiential retail, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR), are revolutionising customer relationships. According to the report, retailers can increase customer engagement, satisfaction, and revenues by creating attractive and interactive shopping environments.
