Name: Urvashi Sharma

Assignment 3/3

TITLE: THE FUTURE OF RETAIL IN E-COMMERCE

Introduction
The world today is evidently growing at an extremely fast pace.
Things that could not have been imagined once, happen as a part
of people’s daily routines and lives. One such thing that has
refashioned in today’s day and age is shopping. With the support
and ease of the digital world and technology on a whole, people
do not find the need to travel and visit shopping malls and stores
in order to buy something. This has only been possible due to e-
retailing or retailing through E-commerce. Although this may
have impacted the traditional ways of retailing, it still seems to be
still taking shape, especially in countries such as India where only
recently a significant amount of the population has got access to
the internet, essentially, the rural parts of the country. Rural
India has shown a significant improvement in getting their hands
on the digital world and understanding the concept of the internet
which makes everything easily accessible from intangible things
such as information or tangible products. Similar to India,
retailing via E-commerce is an approach that many small to big
retailers want to opt for and are also converting into this form of
selling. Some large and proven to be really successful companies
such as Amazon and Flipkart in choosing this approach in terms
of giving manufacturers and retailers a platform on a global scale.
The report further discusses and analyzes the rise in this
approach and the impact of this particular approach of selling on
local retailers.

Analysis
E-commerce was introduced as a concept back in 1991 when the
internet could be used for commercial use which derived the
notion of buying and selling through the internet. When speaking
about E-retailing, there happen to two types of retailers such as
Amazon which is a pure-play e-retailer because they started with
selling books online and expanded gradually and, retailers such
brick and click e-retailers such as Dell, clothing stores such as
Zara which do use the digital approach but own physical stores
too. E-retailing opened up a global supply chain that is now being
carried out with so much ease where customers from all over the
world can have direct contact with their retailers from the time
they select a product and add it to their cart but also while it is
being shipped from another country until the time it is delivered.
E-commerce is a continuously and rapidly evolving notion. It
takes a step ahead with each day that passes and the various
situations that arise. It is an idea that will change the world a lot
more in the foreseeable future due to reasons such as the wide
range of products online, the ongoing sales and discounts and
more importantly the manner in which a customer can really
review a product before trying on the basis of other customer
reviews. Moreover, the trust they can put in a product gets
outlined and defined by the description of the product that is
available to them the entire time they’d like to inquire about it
without involving much talking. There are various advantages of
E-retailing that the traditional concept of retailing can not offer
their customers. The advantages of e-retailing are not only
limited to the customers but also the retailer. This makes it easier
for them to deal with their customers with the least no. of
employees being hired which is a cost-effective method for them.
It also keeps their flow of business ongoing and flexible which is
by more and more local businesses want to be selling their
products online. As of now, online retail in India stands at about
1.6%, and as an estimate of about 1.8 billion people buys goods
and services online. Especially with the current situation that the
world has been stuck in since the last six months, there is
expected to be a huge rise in e-commerce as delivery around the
world is still a possibility for e-retailers but it is a different
scenario for local businesses and retail stores as they remain
shut. The impact of e-commerce on local retail and physical
stores will always remain and continue to grow with the world
relying highly on technology to avail of any type of goods and
services. Futuristically, e-retailing is going to be a huge
contributor to any country’s GDP as it is already. The majority of
the population in the world including the rural population of many
countries is going to be an online shopper at some point bringing
them time and saving them money.

References:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/online-is-1-6-
of-retail-sales-in-india-world-bank/articleshow/72811360.cms?from=mdr
https://businessjargons.com/electronic-retailing.html