UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

E-COMMERCE IN EMERGING MARKET

A project Submitted to University of Mumbai for partial completion

of the degree of Bachelor in Commerce (Accounting and Finance) Under the Faculty of
Commerce

By
SUHASINI VELMURUGAN NADAR
Roll no. 33

Under the guidance of

Professor DINESH MURAV
N.E.S Ratnam college of Arts, Science and Commerce,
Bhandup (West), Mumbai 400078

(2021-2022)
 DECLARATION

I am Suhasini Velmurugan Nadar, Roll no. 33 the student of T.Y.B.com (Accounting and
Finance) Semester 6 (2021-22) hereby declare that, I have completed my project on
“Ecommerce in Emerging Market”. The information submitted is true and original to the
best of our knowledge.

Signature of Student

(Suhasini Velmurugan Nadar)

 NES RATNAM COLLEGE OF ARTS SCIENCE AND COMMERCE
BHANDUP-WEST MUMBAI-400078
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Mr. /Ms. Suhasini Velmurugan Nadar of T.Y.B.com (Accounting and Finance)
Semester 6 (2021-22) has successfully completed the project on “Ecommerce in Emerging Market” under
the guidance of Mr. Dinesh Murav.

Course Coordinator
(Dr. Mrs. Lata Swaminathan)

Principal
(Dr. Mrs. Mary Vimochana)

Project Guide\ Internal Examiner

(Mr. Dinesh Murav)

Date

External Examiner
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

To list who all have helped me is difficult because they are so numerous and the depth is so
enormous.
I would like to acknowledge the following as being idealistic channels and fresh dimensions
in the completion of this project.
I take this opportunity to thank the University of Mumbai for giving me chance to do this
project.
I would like to thank my Principal, Dr. (Mrs.) MARY VIMOCHANA for providing the
necessary facilities required for completion of this project.
I take this opportunity to thank our Vice-Principal & HOD, Commerce Dr. (Mrs.) LATA
SWAMINATHAN for her moral support and guidance.
I would also like to express my sincere gratitude towards my project guide Prof. DINESH
MURAV whose guidance and care made the project successful.
I would like to thank my College Library, for having provided various reference books and
magazines related to my project.
Lastly, I would like to thank each and every person who directly or indirectly helped me in
the completion of the project especially my Parents and Peers who supported me
throughout my project.
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Electronic commerce may have large economic effects in the future. Internet commerce will change the face
of business forever. Moreover, e-commerce will change banking in 21st century. The e-commerce has
affected the global economy in many different ways. First of all, it has affected the information technology,
and all the economic sectors, all and above ecommerce has enhanced the productivity growth worldwide and
here we are going to discuss this impact, they are able to identify the number of qualified people needed to
advance their country’s information economy or to calculate the amount of investments needed to provide
business with access to the internet. Some countries are already benefiting from the results, they are now in
apposition to benchmark their economies with competitors internationally and there are many ways to
accelerate the growth of productivity but the reason for this is rather controversial. Banks and financial
services companies in the developing countries will need to adopt online payment system, to obtain e-trade
finance and equity investment, tourism and its internet incarnation is regularly cited as one of the fastest
growing ecommerce sectors.
 INDEX

CHAPTER PARTICULARS / TITLE OF CHAPTER PAGE

NO. NO.
CH. 1 INTRODUCTION
CH. 2 RESEARCH & METHODOLOGY
CH. 3 LITERATURE REVIEW
CH. 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND DATA INTERPRETATION
CH. 5 CONCLUSION
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Meaning Of My Topic
Significance means “Important”.
E-commerce means “the business of buying and selling things over the Internet".
Emerging means “surviving and coming out from a difficult situation” or “Merging”.
Market means “the sum total of all the buyers and sellers in the area or region under consideration”.
In short my topic actually means, the importance of business and selling things over internet in the
surviving difficulties in total no of buyers and sellers under consideration”.

Meaning and Definition of e-commerce in emerging markets:

Information Technology has been playing a vital role in the future development of financial sectors and the
way of doing business in an emerging economy like Bangladesh. Increased use of smart mobile services and
internet as a new distribution channel for business transactions and international trading requires more
attention towards e-commerce security for reducing the fraudulent activities. The advancement of
Information and Communication technology has brought a lot of changes in all spheres of daily life of
human being. Ecommerce has a lot of benefits which add value to customer’s satisfaction in terms of
customer convenience in any place and enables the company to gain more competitive advantage over the
other competitors. This study predicts some challenges in an emerging economy. Keywords: e-commerce,
information technology.
Objectives of the Study

1. To study how e-commerce aid in the economic development of developing countries.

2. To identify the relationship between e-commerce and emerging market.
3. To identify the significant impact of e-commerce on emerging market.
4. To assess the influence of e-commerce in developing an economy.
5. To study the impacts of e-commerce in emerging markets.
6. To study social e-commerce in emerging markets.

Scope/Limitations of the Study

This study is on the significance of e-commerce in emerging markets.

Limitations of study
Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the
relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and
interview).
Time constraint– The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This
consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

What is the significance of e-commerce in emerging markets?

E-commerce has significant impact on emerging market. E-commerce has been hailed by many as an
opportunity for developing countries to gain a stronger foothold in the multilateral trading system.
Additionally, e-commerce allows for higher profit margins as the cost of running a business is markedly
less.

What is electronic commerce (e-commerce)?

The term electronic commerce (ecommerce) refers to a business model that allows companies and
individuals to buy and sell goods and services over the Internet. Ecommerce operates in four major market
segments and can be conducted over computers, tablets, smartphones, and other smart devices. Nearly
every imaginable product and service is available through ecommerce transactions, including books, music,
plane tickets, and financial services such as stock investing and online banking. As such, it is considered a
very disruptive technology.

 Ecommerce is the buying and selling of goods and services over the Internet.
 It is conducted over computers, tablets, smartphones, and other smart devices.
 Almost anything can be purchased through ecommerce today.
 It can be a substitute for brick-and-mortar stores, though some businesses choose to maintain both.
 Ecommerce operates in four market segments, including business-to-business, business-to-consumer,
consumer-to-consumer, and consumer-to-business.
Ecommerce has helped businesses (especially those with a narrow reach like small businesses) gain access
to and establish a wider market presence by providing cheaper and more efficient distribution channels for
their products or services. Target (TGT) supplemented its brick-and-mortar presence with an online store
that allows customers to purchase everything from clothes and coffeemakers to toothpaste and action
figures right from their homes.

Ecommerce operates in all four of the following major market segments. These are:

 Business to business (B2B), which is the direct sale of goods and services between businesses
 Business to consumer (B2C), which involves sales between businesses and their customers
 Consumer to consumer, which allows individuals to sell to one another, usually through a third-
party site like eBay
 Consumer to business, which lets individuals sell to businesses, such as an artist selling or licensing
their artwork for use by a corporation

Providing goods and services isn't as easy as it may seem. It requires a lot of research about the products
and services you wish to sell, the market, audience, competition, as well as expected business costs.

Once that's determined, you need to come up with a name and set up a legal structure, such as a
corporation. Next, set up an ecommerce site with a payment gateway. For instance, a small business owner
who runs a dress shop can set up a website promoting their clothing and other related products online and
allow customers to make payments with a credit card or through a payment processing service, such
as PayPal.

Special Considerations History of Ecommerce

Ecommerce has changed the way people shop and consume products and services. More and more people
are turning to their computers and smart devices to order goods, which can easily be delivered to their
homes. As such, it has disrupted the retail landscape. Amazon and Alibaba have gained considerable
popularity, forcing traditional retailers to make changes to the way they do business.

But that's not all. Not to be outdone, individual sellers have increasingly engaged in e-commerce
transactions via their own personal websites. And digital marketplaces such as eBay or Etsy serve as
exchanges where multitudes of buyers and sellers come together to conduct business.

Most of us have shopped online for something at some point, which means we've taken part in ecommerce.
So it goes without saying that ecommerce is everywhere. But very few people may know that ecommerce
has a history that goes back before the internet began.

Ecommerce actually goes back to the 1960s when companies used an electronic system called the
Electronic Data Interchange to facilitate the transfer of documents. But it wasn't until 1994 that the very
first transaction took place. This involved the sale of a CD between friends through an online retail website
called NetMarket.

The industry has gone through so many changes since then, resulting in a great deal of evolution.
Traditional brick-and-mortar retailers were forced to embrace new technology in order to stay afloat as
companies like Alibaba, Amazon, eBay, and Etsy became household names. These companies created a
virtual marketplace for goods and services that consumers can easily access.

New technology continues to make it easier for people to do their online shopping. People can connect with
businesses through smartphones and other devices and by downloading apps to make purchases. The
introduction of free shipping, which reduces costs for consumers, has also helped increase the popularity of
the ecommerce industry.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Ecommerce

E-commerce offers consumers the following advantages:

 Convenience: E-commerce can occur 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

 Increased selection: Many stores offer a wider array of products online than they carry in their
brick-and-mortar counterparts. And many stores that solely exist online may offer consumers
exclusive inventory that is unavailable elsewhere.

But there are certain drawbacks that come with ecommerce sites, too. The disadvantages include:

 Limited customer service: If you shop online for a computer, you cannot simply ask an employee
to demonstrate a particular model's features in person. And although some websites let you chat
online with a staff member, this is not a typical practice.
 Lack of instant gratification: When you buy an item online, you must wait for it to be shipped to
your home or office. However, e-tailers like Amazon make the waiting game a little bit less painful
by offering same-day delivery as a premium option for select products.
 Inability to touch products: Online images do not necessarily convey the whole story about an
item, and so e-commerce purchases can be unsatisfying when the products received do not match
consumer expectations. Case in point: an item of clothing may be made from shoddier fabric than
its online image indicates.

Pros
 Is convenient
 Offers a wider selection of goods and services
Cons
 Limited customer service
 Lacks instant gratification
 Products can't been seen or handled until delivered

Example of Ecommerce

Amazon is a behemoth in the ecommerce space. In fact, it is the world's largest online retailer and
continues to grow. As such, it is a huge disrupter in the retail industry, forcing some major retailers to
rethink their strategies and shift their focus.

The company was launched its business with an ecommerce-based model of online sales and product
delivery. It was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 as an online bookstore but has since expanded to include
everything from clothing to housewares, power tools to food and drinks, and electronics.

Company sales increased by 38% in 2020 from the previous year, totaling $386.1 billion compared to
$280.5 billion in 2019. Amazon's operating income also jumped to $22.9 billion for the 2020 fiscal year
from $14.5 billion in 2019. Net income rose from $11.6 billion in 2019 to $21.3 billion by the end of 2020.

The company also expanded beyond ecommerce, providing cloud storage services, video and music
streaming, electronic devices (such as Alexa, the personal assistant, and its Fire TV digital media player).

HOW DIGITAL MARKETING IS HELPING E-COMMERCE TO

GROW

 Digital marketing has penetrated into every field. The primary reason behind this phenomenon is that
business processes are evolving very quickly and there are a lot of experimentation and changes done in the
industry. We are getting diverted by one or the other upcoming trends. Coming to consumers, we can’t
pretend about them as their behaviour is changing by every minute. Digital marketing as a mechanism can
easily adapt to these changes.

Background of the study

E-commerce, is more than just electronics and commerce added together. It represents an entirely new way
of doing business over a medium that changes the very rules of doing business. It is therefore, far more
about strategy and business management than it is about technology. E-commerce and the internet, if
correctly utilized for development, can be instruments for ensuring future sustainable economic growth.
Throughout the world, the profound impact of electronic commerce in the economics and societies of the
glob will no doubt improve economic efficiency, competitiveness, and profitability (for those engaging in e-
commerce) and, therefore result in the development of the information society. E-commerce and the new
emerging digital technologies and services can be tools for development and help improve the livelihood of
millions across the globe, by linking up remote regions and bringing together scientist, administrators
development professionals, managers, and people into projects and programmes to promote economic and
social development
The Internet revolution was really about people customer and fundamental shift of market power from the
seller to buyer. In the new economy customers expectations are very different than before. A company
understanding of this difference and its ability to capitalize on it will be the key to success. The web, the
internet and emerging computing and communication technologies have redefined business erasing
traditional boundaries of time and geography and creating new virtual communities of customers and
suppliers with new demand to product and services. E-commerce only forms a fragment of e-business.
Earlier companies had web sites displaying the company products etc. then they started to use the e-
commerce as one of the distribution channel in addition to the existing system for sales that is e-commerce.
The term Electronic commerce or e-commerce consists of all business activities carried on with the use of
electronic media, that is, computer network. It involves conducting business with the help of the electronic
media, making use of the information technology such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). In simple
words, Electronic commerce involves buying and selling of goods and services over the World Wide Web.
Customers can purchase anything right from a car or a cake sitting comfortably in his room and gift it to
someone sitting miles apart just by click of a mouse. Shipping method is generally used for the delivery of
the goods ordered. Every Bank which is highly leading now performs their transaction through computer
and computer is not only the concept can make off the transaction automatic. All the commercial application
now transfers to the concept of e-commerce and is one of the very important aspects for carrying bank
transactions falsity. In the commercial world surrounded by highly competitive and volatile market
conditions, any new concept or technology would be acceptable only if it provides strong benefits to all
concerned. Ecommerce offers some distinct advantages. The E-commerce is more than just electronics and
commerce added together. It represents an entirely new way of doing business over a medium that changes
the very rules of doing business. It is therefore, far more about strategy and business management than it is
about technology (ILO, 1999). E-commerce and the internet, if correctly utilized for development, can be
instruments for ensuring future sustainable economic growth through the promotion of retail businesses in
Nigeria. Throughout the world, the profound impact of electronic commerce in the economics and societies
of the globe will no doubt improve economic efficiency, competitiveness, and profitability (for those
engaging in e-commerce) and, therefore result in the development of the information society. E-commerce
and the new emerging digital technologies and services can be tools for development and help improve the
livelihood of millions across the globe, by linking up remote regions and bringing together scientist,
administrators development professionals, managers, and people into projects and programmes to promote
economic and social development (Goldsmith & McGregor, 2000). The general category of e-commerce can
be broken down into two parts which are E-merchandize and E-finance.
E-merchandiseis area that concerns the retail business and the focus of this study. E-merchandize involves
selling goods and services electronically and moving items through distribution channels, for example
through internet shopping for groceries, tickets, music, cloths, hardware, travel, book, flower or gifts.
Ahmed (2001) reported that the enormous flexibility of the internet has made possible what is popularly
called e-commerce, which has made inroads in the traditional method of business management. All facets
the business tradition with which we are accustomed in physical environment can be now executed over the
internet including online advertising, online ordering, publishing, banking, investment, auction and
professional services.
E-commerce involves conducting business using modern communication instrument: telephone, fax, e-
payment, money transfer systems, e-data inter-change and the internet. E-commerce is not only a new
technology and a new frontier for global business and trade, it is also still evolving. It is essential, therefore
for Nigerians to understand in detail what is e-commerce, what are their challenges, and opportunities it
holds, lastly what can be done to harness the benefits from e-commerce. All these are being focused upon in
this study.
It is important to elaborate on the definitions of e-commerce as that will help determine the scope of the
technology and how it can be applied into retail business. E-commerce has been simply defined as
conducting business on-line. The organization for economic cooperation and development (OECD) defines
electronic commerce as a new way of conducting business, qualifying it as business occurring over network
which use nonproprietary protocols that are established through an open standard setting process such as the
internet (OECD, 1999). This definition distinguishes it from electronic data interchanges (EDI) type
proprietary based networks or intranets that were not based on an open (and therefore, not cost effective
information infrastructure) like the internet. In the WTO work programme on electronic commerce, it is
understood to mean the production, distribution, marketing, sales or delivery of goods and services by
electronic means. A commercial transaction can be divided into three main stages; the advertising and
searching stage, the ordering and payment stage and the delivery stage. Any or all of these may be carried
out electronically and may, therefore, be covered by the concept of electronic commerce. Broadly defines
electronic commerce encompasses all kinds of commercial transaction that are concluded over an electronic
medium or network, essentially, the internet.
First, portability improves bottom line of and organization. And secondly expanded market share, some
component can be handled by multiple customers at the same time.

Statement of the Problem

A study by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has shown that SMEs,
while generally lagging in ICT, have the most to gain from increases in productivity thanks to e-commerce.
SMEs, however, actually run the risk of missing opportunities in both productivity and profitability by not
engaging in e-business.

Significance of the Study

E-commerce has been hailed by many as an opportunity for developing countries to gain a stronger foothold
in the multilateral trading system. E-commerce has the ability to play an instrumental role in helping
developing economies benefit more from trade. Unlike the requirements necessary to run a business from a
physical building, e-commerce does not require storage space, insurance, or infrastructure investment on the
part of the retailer. The only pre-requisite is a well-designed web storefront to reach customers.
Additionally, e-commerce allows for higher profit margins as the cost of running a business is markedly
less.

Definition of terms
E-commerce
It is the buying and selling of goods and services or the transmitting of funds or data, over an electronic
network, primarily the internet. These business transactions occur either as business-to-business, business-
to-customer, customer-to-customer or the customer-to-business.
 ICT
Information and communication technology (ICT) is another/extensional term for information
technology (IT) which stresses the role of unified communications  and the integration
of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals), computers as well as necessary enterprise
software, middleware, storage, and audio-visual systems, which enable users to access, store, transmit, and
manipulate information.

Economic development
Economic development is the process by which a nation improves the economic, political, and social well-
being of its people. The term has been used frequently by economists, politicians, and others in the 20th and
21st centuries.

E-commerce in India
India has an Internet user base of about 696.77million as of May 2020, about 40% of the population. Despite
being the second-largest user base in world, only behind China (650 million, 48% of population),
the penetration of e-commerce is low compared to markets like the United States (266 million, 84%),
or France (54 M, 81%), but is growing, adding around 6 million new entrants every month. The industry
consensus is that growth is at an inflection point.
In India, cash on delivery is the most preferred payment method, accumulating 75% of the e-retail
activities. Demand for international consumer products (including long-tail items) is growing faster than in-
country supply from authorised distributors and e-commerce offerings. Long tail business strategy allows
companies to realize significant profits by selling low volumes of hard-to-find items to many customers,
instead of only selling large volumes of a reduced number of popular items. The term was first coined in
2004 by Chris Anderson.
In 2017, the largest e-commerce companies in India were Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon. In 2018, Amazon
beat Flipkart and was recorded the biggest ecommerce in India in terms of revenue. In 2020, Flipkart heavily
outsold Amazon by almost two to one by sales during festive retail season.
MARKET GROWTH AND SIZE
India's e-commerce market was worth about $3.9 billion in 2009. As per "India Goes Digital", a report by
Avendus Capital, the Indian e-commerce market is estimated at ₹28,500 Crore ($6.3 billion) for the year
2011. Online travel constitutes a sizable portion (87%) of this market today. Online travel market in India
had a growth rate of 22% over the next 4 years and reach ₹54,800 crore ($12.2 billion) in size by 2015.
Indian e-tailing industry is estimated at ₹3,600 crore (US$800 million) in 2011 and estimated to grow to
₹53,000 crore ($11.8 billion) in 2015. The market went up to $12.6 billion in 2013. In 2013, the e-retail
segment was worth US$2.3 billion. About 79% of India's e-commerce market was travel related in 2013.
According to Google India, there were 35 million online shoppers in India in 2014 Q1 and was expected to
cross 100 million mark by end of year 2016.
CAGR vis-à-vis a global growth rate of 8–10%. Electronics and Apparel are the biggest categories in terms
of sales. Overall e-commerce market had reached ₹1,07,800 crores (US$24 billion) by the year 2015 with
both online travel and e-tailing contributing equally. Another big segment in e-commerce is mobile/DTH
recharge with nearly 1 million transactions daily by operator websites. Year 2016 also saw online sales of
luxury products like jewellery also increased. Most of the retail brands have also started entering into the
market and they expect at least 20% sales through online in next 2–3 years. According to Google India
Research in 2016, by 2021 India is expected to generate $100 billion online retail revenue out of which $35
billion will be through fashion e-commerce.
The ecommerce industry was reported at $24 billion in 2017 and was recognised as the fastest growing
industry in India. The ecommerce market grew to $38.5 billion in 2018. It is estimated that one in every
three Indian shops via smartphone and online retailers deliver to 20,000 pin-codes out of the 100,000 pin-
codes in India.  As per Goldman Sach, India's e-commerce industry will reach $99 billion in size while
online retail is expected to more than double to around 11% by 2024 from 4.7% in 2019 while increasing at
27% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). The online grocery segment that is below $2 billion will reach
$29 billion in size by 2024. Online grocery orders will grow from 3,00,000 per day in 2019 to more than 5
million per day by 2024. Non grocery eCommerce penetration will be 16.1 percent by 2021.
As per property consultant Colliers International, the demand for warehousing of 5,000 to 10,000 square feet
size will increase due to COVID-19 lock-downs which lead to a surge in online orders of essential items for
same day delivery especially in tier-1 cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai and New
Delhi. Flipkart will debut a hyperlocal service called Flipkart Quick in Bengaluru to start 90 minutes
deliveries. Amazon observed spike in page views with four times increase in “Add to Cart” during the
lockdown, leading to doubling of sales. It also started selling auto insurance in partnership with Acko
General Insurance which is available to users through Amazon app and mobile website. With opening of 10
new warehouse, the count of Amazon warehouse in India stands at 60 across 15 states that has an area
equivalent to more than 100 football fields.
Report from software as a service (SaaS) provider Unicommerce shows increasing penetration of e-
commerce beyond tier-1 cities with major growth coming from tier-2 and tier-3 towns/villages due to
increasing vernacular language content and improving last mile delivery. Consumers are also diversifying
their purchasing option from large scale e-commerce channels like Amazon or Flipkart to specific retail
brand websites. As per Goldman Sachs, three or four players can co-exist in the e-commerce space given the
size of India but travel, food delivery, ride-hailing services will see a maximum of two players capturing the
market. Reliance Jio will increase competition in grocery, fintech, online retail, food delivery. From
February 2020 to June 2020 during the Covid19 lock-down period, e-commerce increased by 117% with the
delivery of only essential supplies that is now bigger than the pre-Covid19 level. Flipkart surpassed 1.5
billion visits per month with 45% growth in monthly active user while 30% growth in transaction per
consumer. Tier-3 markets are showing 53% year on year growth with higher internet penetration and
connectivity. Kinetic Green started selling electric auto rickshaw and golf carts online mainly in eastern and
northern parts of India with a revenue of ₹75 crore in 2019 which now stands at ₹100 crore as of August
2020. E-commerce helped Nestlé increase sales at a rate of 122% which contributes to 3.6% of overall sales
during Q2 of 2020-21. Apple Inc. is opening online channel to sell products in India for the first time during
August 2020 to target the festival seasons.
MERGERS AND ACQUISITION
According to a report by Grant Thronton, as much as US$2.1 billion worth of mergers and acquisitions were
inked in 2017 in the booming Indian e-commerce industry. Here is the list of Mergers & Acquisitions which
happened in India over a period of time:
MERGER OR ACQUISITION TABLE
DATE MERGER / COMPANIES INVOLVED COST
ACQUISITION

May 2014 Acquisition Flipkart acquires Myntra US$300 Million

March Acquisition Snapdeal acquires Unicommerce Undisclosed

2015

April Acquisition Snapdeal acquires FreeCharge US$400 Million

2015

April Acquisition Flipkart acquires PhonePe Undisclosed

2016

June 2016 Acquisition Myntra (owned by Flipkart) acquires Jabong US$70 Million

July 2017 Acquisition Axis Bank acquires FreeCharge US$60 Million

May 2018 Acquisition WalMart acquires Flipkart US$16 Million

January Acquisition Zomato acquires Uber Eats US$350 Million

2020

SOCIAL COMMERCE IN EMERGING MARKET

Understanding the landscape and opportunities for mobile money

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators with
over 350 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software
companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organizations in adjacent industry
sectors. The GSMA also produces the industry-leading MWC events held annually in Barcelona, Los
Angeles and Shanghai, as well as the Mobile 360 Series of regional conferences.
The GSMA’s Mobile Money programme works to accelerate the development of the mobile money
ecosystem for the underserved.In emerging markets, social commerce has the potential to improve economic
livelihoods for a large amount of the population—particularly within the informal sector, where most people
make their living.1 In doing so, it is becoming an important element of the digital economy: by 2020, global
social commerce sales are expected to triple to $720 billion.2 To better understand the social commerce
business models and the potential opportunities for mobile money providers, the GSMA recently
commissioned a global landscape analysis of twenty social commerce players. Key findings from this
analysis include: • Social commerce positively benefits underserved merchants and customers. Social
commerce enables small merchants and entrepreneurs to build an online presence at minimal cost and
complexity; and for those just starting, it can provide an easy way to set up a business and acquire an initial
customer base. Low-income, rural and price-sensitive customers can benefit from lower prices and better
bargaining power through features such as group buying. • Successful platforms integrate common best
practices into their offerings. These include providing personalised and seamless customer journeys;
creating online user communities that align with the shopping behaviours of the target demographic;
establishing user trust through social interactions and aftersales support; empowering users to share and
influence; and using influencers to endorse products and increase customer bases. • Social commerce acts as
either an e-commerce ‘intermediary’ or a ‘super app’ to varying degrees. Six platform types were identified
depending on a player’s core focus on either social media or e-commerce. Intermediaries generally serve as
a bridge between users and e-commerce or social media. These include international social media platforms,
group buying platforms, and social reselling platforms. Super apps integrate several social and e-commerce
features—such as buying, selling and chatting—on a single platform or interface. These include product
review platforms, social commerce support platforms and e-commerce players from large groups. •
Marketing fees and sales commissions are the most common revenue sources. While there are four main
revenue sources, most social commerce players leverage at least two. Players with a social focus are more
likely to rely on marketing fees as a primary revenue source, while players with an e-commerce focus are
more likely to leverage sales commissions. Some players also charge account fees or payment and logistic
fees. • Mobile money providers can play several roles in social commerce and help formalise the sector. In
most markets, social commerce is not yet designed end-to-end, requiring support for logistics, delivery, and
payments, and leading to frictions in the online journey between merchants and customers. Mobile money
providers can either leverage their existing assets to address these frictions or offer new features and tools
built in-house or through partnerships with third-party providers but must ensure they fully understand the
market dynamics. Providers should develop one social commerce feature and over time integrate other
features and tools. Similarly, providers should prioritise features based on their ease of implementation and
the potential user impact in their market. Where feasible, providers can partner with third parties to quickly
test and launch these solutions.

STRATEGIES FOR EXPANDING INTO EMERGING MARKETS WITH

E-COMMERCE
E-COMMERCE GOES GLOBAL

The growth in e-commerce over the past five years has transformed consumer spending and shopping habits,
affecting emerging and developing countries product pricing, consumer behaviour, lifestyle and products
and goods availability. According to Euromonitor International, global e-commerce is projected to grow at a
constant value Compound Annual Growth Rate (Cagr) of 12% globally from 2015 to 2020. In contrast,
store-based retailing, which continues to be the biggest channel by value, will grow by a Cagr of just 2%
over the same time period. To date, much of this growth has taken place in developed markets; however, as
more consumers in emerging and developing countries gain access to the internet and consumer and investor
interest increases with intensifying retailing competition, e-commerce will create a better business
environment. Emerging market economies will become an increasingly attractive destination for foreign
players looking to expand their global footprint and enhance their product and service offerings, impacting
prices, product quality, variety and the range of services available online. With internet use growing rapidly
across most of the world, retailers and manufacturers seeking to broaden their reach have an unprecedented
opportunity for international expansion through digital channels. Choosing the best markets for an internet-
based expansion and developing an effective model for a chosen market requires careful analysis of the
opportunities and consumer expectations across strategy, payments and logistics to ensure effective market
entrance and prevent expensive missteps. This white paper presents five strategic considerations for
assessing and expanding into emerging and developing countries, identifying market characteristics and
indicators specific to emerging and developing countries that retailers and manufacturers should understand
when selecting a market for entry. Case studies demonstrate how successful retailers have effectively
entered emerging markets by navigating local conditions and consumer preferences.
E-Commerce Sales Outlook for Emerging and Developing Markets: 2015–2020

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KNOW YOUR TARGET MARKET: DEMOGRAPHIC AND INCOME

Understanding local consumers is essential for shaping a successful strategy. Home to over 85% of the
world’s population and totalling six billion people in 2016, emerging markets will continue to drive global
disposable income growth through 2030. As a result of rising income and the expansion of the middle
classes, emerging and developing countries represent attractive opportunities for consumer goods
companies. And internet penetration will continue to grow: Euromonitor International projects the
percentage of the population with internet access in emerging and developing countries will increase from
34% in 2015 to 45% in 2020 and 50% in 2025. This increased access is changing and informing consumers’
decision-making process along the path to purchase. For this reason, it is imperative that companies consider
how demographic factors differ between emerging and developed markets. Age: Rise of the millennial
consumer A natural and gradual shift in consumer demographics will continue to shape commerce around
the globe. Members of the millennial generation, also known as Generation Y or the “Echo Boomers”, were
born between 1980 and 1994 and will take centre stage as consumers in the future. In fact, millennials
represented over 1.5 billion people in emerging markets in 2015. In both developed and emerging markets,
the demographic cohort following Generation X is the first generation to come of age using digital
technology and services, making them a prime audience for retailers to reach through the internet. For this
reason, it is important for companies to understand how to target this segment. Across many markets, this
generation is, on average, more educated, better able to multi-task and has had greater exposure to the world
of information through the internet when compared with preceding age groups. Despite the fact that baby
boomers are currently the largest generation of active workers, millennials have increasingly more
purchasing power and decision-making influence in economies worldwide.
China and India represent the biggest markets of millennial consumers, with over 600 million people
combined in 2015—twice the size of the total US population. Millennials in countries such as Indonesia,
Brazil, Russia and Mexico accounted for over 25% of the total population in each country in 2015. Given
the prominence of this demographic in years to come, it is critical for companies to know how this
generation makes decisions along the purchasing path. Having grown up with the internet, millennials are
highly attached to their smartphones, which they use for browsing, researching products and services,
conducting price comparisons and when companies create a trusted payment environment and comfortable
user experience, completing purchase transactions.
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Income: Expansion of the middle class

In 2016, there will be more than 1.1 billion households with an annual disposable income over US$10,000
(in purchasing power parity terms) across major emerging markets and developing countries. The expansion
of the middle class in these countries continues to bring a new way of living. There is a clear disparity
among the world’s largest emerging markets and the average incomes of their middle income households
from 1995 to 2015. Saudi Arabia, for instance, had the highest average disposable income at US$33,393 in
2015, while Ukraine had only US$3,086—a difference of over US$30,000. At the same time, China has
aggressively grown its average disposable income with 308% (or US$2,337 to US$9,532) period growth.
Similarly, countries like Kazakhstan and Vietnam increased their disposable income by 317% and 107%,
respectively, in the last 10 years. These disparities demonstrate how consumer conditions vary significantly
across emerging and developing countries and highlight the importance of tailoring retail sales strategies to
suit market-specific conditions. For example, retailers and manufacturers should approach consumers in
Brazil differently from those in India.
 Average Disposable Income Climbs across Emerging Markets

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Internet penetration rates

Consumers connecting online Understanding if—and how—consumers access the internet is a second early step for
developing an e-commerce strategy. Access to the internet varies significantly across emerging markets, and
companies seeking to target consumers in these countries will need to understand local internet conditions to develop
an effective strategy for that market. For example, in 2015, the United Arab Emirates had the highest number of
people using the internet at 92% of the population; by contrast, the internet usage rate remained below 50% in
Mexico, Ukraine, Peru, the Philippines and Vietnam in that same year. Many emerging markets are experiencing rapid
change in connectivity: from 2010 to 2015, Chile, Russia and Argentina saw the fastest internet penetration increase,
from an average of 40% of the population using the internet to an average of 70%. In places where this growth has
taken place very rapidly, many consumers are accessing the internet for the first time—and for many of the newly
connected, the idea of shopping online may not yet be intuitive. Further, shopping online versus in-store presents
different “risks” to consumers, including a greater perceived threat of payment fraud, the possibility that a product will
not meet the consumer’s expectations, or that the product will not arrive at all. Retailers in markets where perceived
risk is a barrier will need to work to build greater trust with consumers before they feel comfortable shopping online.
Mobile internet subscription rates
More devices at-hand In some countries, mobile phones are the main way consumers access the internet,
suggesting strong growth potential for m-commerce. The rise in mobile internet access in emerging and
developing countries increased sharply between 2010 and 2015, with the number of mobile internet
subscriptions growing from 299 million to two billion in just five years. China represents the biggest market,
with 660 million subscribers in 2015. Similarly, Brazil, Indonesia and Russia have rapidly increased their
mobile internet subscription rate, collectively representing a total market of over 397 million in 2015. In
countries where mobile is the primary way of accessing the internet, retailers must adjust their strategies to
ensure a very strong mobile experience and be sure they are positioned to take advantage of consumers
shopping on-the-go. For example, companies will need to ensure their website is mobile-optimised, evaluate
whether an app is an appropriate tool considering their value proposition and target audience and look for
ways to use mobile technology outside of the purchase transaction, such as to engage with consumers
through social media.
ASSESS THE STRATEGIC STATUS QUO
Market conditions Once a company has an understanding of the consumer demographics in their target
market, devising a strategy for expansion into an emerging market via e-commerce requires assessing the
channel’s state of development to understand how to situate their brand in the market. This includes
identifying the factors that have limited the channel’s development so far: for instance, a prevalent consumer
opinion that shopping online is risky, or a signal that companies already operating in the space have left gaps
in their strategies that others may be able to fill, such as only shipping to consumers in tier one cities, thus
neglecting consumers in second tier cities and rural areas. Understanding the “status quo” enables potential
newcomers to improve the overall online shopping experience for consumers in a given market or take
advantage of competitive opportunities. Consumer-side factors such as a lack of internet access or a low
level of trust in shopping online are more characteristic of markets that are relatively earlier in their e-
commerce development. In cases like this, marketing campaigns that aim to educate consumers can be
effective. Case in point, Amazon India’s partnership with Vakrangee is a venture designed to both educate
people and offer additional security to consumers who are not already heavy online shoppers. Vakrangee,
which operates across 50,000 outlets in India, 70% of which are in rural locations, takes over many of the
physical store functions Amazon ordinarily does without. For example, Vakrangee provides pick-up services
for purchases made on Amazon India’s website, performs follow-up on orders on behalf of customers and
offers other services that promote the idea of shopping online.
Competitive landscape
Next, potential new entrants should consider the nature of the emerging and developing countries’
competitive landscape, which in the e-commerce channel across emerging markets ranges from consolidated
to highly fragmented: Early-stage markets tend to be dominated by a small number of players, often
companies without local operations who benefit from cross-border transactions. This scenario explains
Amazon US’ popularity in markets like Ecuador. Mid-stage emerging markets tend to have highly
fragmented e-commerce landscapes, as they represent a more attractive target for international retailers and
store-based domestic players increasingly investing in the channel as part of an omnichannel strategy. Later-
stage markets in recent years have generally returned to a more consolidated landscape, as marketplace-style
companies become immensely successful and smaller players are acquired or exit the market. For example,
the top three e-commerce companies in Japan control 42% of sales, and Alibaba alone accounts for almost
half of China’s e-commerce sales. Expansions across significant geographic, linguistic or cultural
boundaries are generally more difficult to complete successfully, especially for companies lacking
significant international experience. Companies seeking to execute such an expansion may find that
marketplaces—where e-commerce is already present—may constitute the easiest route to market.
Consumers are drawn to online marketplaces for their wide variety of inventory as well as the additional
services they provide to uniformly handle every step of the purchase and delivery processes. The benefits
are similar for manufacturers seeking to sell online in a market for the first time, as marketplaces often
function as a one-stop shop and it is easy for businesses to set up and manage store fronts, handle payments,
manage logistics and draw traffic from a wide and diverse group of consumers.
Case study
MercadoLibre MercadoLibre is an example of a marketplace offering new market entrants both technology
and potential customers. With presence in 16 countries, primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean in
2015, it is a platform on which a new market entrant can sell their merchandise and functions as an
alternative to launching their own website. It provides a convenient place for consumers to find products
from a wide variety of brands, making it attractive for manufacturers looking to reach a broad audience.
MercadoLibre offers a secure method of online payment called MercadoPago and coordinates shipping
services through their platform MercadoEnvios. The company reports that in 2015, 72.5% of gross
merchandise volume done on the marketplace was paid for via MercadoPago, and in mid-2014,
approximately 18% of inventory sold was shipped via MercadoEnvios. Marketplaces like MercadoLibre
have found demand not just from local manufacturers, for whom retail operations are either a side focus or
are completely unknown, but also from foreign retailers who find the ease of using a marketplace’s services
too compelling to ignore. These foreign retailers may partner with the marketplace to complement their
proprietary e-commerce operations or as a substitute for dealing with the complexities of establishing
proprietary e-commerce operations in an unfamiliar environment. Gucci, for example, maintains an official
storefront on MercadoLibre Mexico and US-based retailer Costco has found tremendous success selling on
Alibaba’s T-Mall platform throughout China. Consumer preferences When it comes to attracting customers,
a company deciding to launch proprietary e-commerce operations—as opposed to simply opening a
storefront on an established marketplace—has a more complex task ahead of them, whether their initiative is
their sole e-commerce strategy or is occurring in tandem with developing an online marketplace presence.
The primary challenge for new entrants is persuading existing online consumers to do their online shopping
with them rather than with a competitor. Earning away their dollars requires delivering a superior shopping
experience, and that takes a deep understanding of what consumers in the market are looking for from a
retailer.
Consumers will have different concerns about the internet as a shopping platform depending on the
conditions of their markets, but a few generalities can be drawn across markets about the features
shoppers care the most about in an online experience. Consumers tend to prioritise: product variety, ease
and low cost of shipping and returns, reliable and quick delivery and payment transaction security. Global
leaders in e-commerce such as Amazon or Alibaba generally deliver services that meet these criteria. It’s
important to note that today, consumers do not view these services as exceptional; rather, they represent
a standard level of service that they increasingly expect from their internet retailers. That is why all
internet retailers should be watching for opportunities to continually improve on the services they offer.

UNDERSTAND PAYMENT PREFERENCES

The payments dilemma
Tangential to the developmental state of e-commerce in a market, but equally relevant for brands seeking to
enter a market for the first time, is understanding consumers’ preferred payment methods. While card-based
payments are the dominant method of payment in developed markets, cash payments are by far the preferred
method across the consumer populations of most emerging markets. The prevalence of cash can be
attributed to a variety of factors ranging from the dominance of traditional retail and foodservice outlets in
these markets that generally do not accept card payments to credit card application requirements that are
difficult for lower and middle class consumers to meet. It’s easy enough to transact with cash at brick-and-
mortar locations, but cash payments cannot be processed for online transactions, posing a dilemma for
internet retailers—especially purely online players—who want to attract customers from Southeast Asia and
other emerging and developing countries through internet channels.
Case study
Lazada
Lazada launched as a pure e-commerce player in 2012 and quickly grew sales to nearly US$1,025 million
by the end of 2015. Formerly owned by German Rocket Internet, Lazada was purchased by Alibaba in early
2016 and has a strong presence in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, some of the
most cash-prevalent markets in the world. To circumvent the issue and ensure that the majority of potential
consumers in these markets could shop on Lazada’s platform, Lazada implemented a cash-on-delivery
service. This gives consumers the option of either paying online via a card at the time of purchase or paying
in cash when the product is delivered. Allowing cash on delivery has proven to be a very successful strategy.
According to a 2015 interview between the Philippines’ Business Mirror and the CEO of Lazada e-Services
Philippines Inc., 75% of the company’s Philippines revenue comes from cash-on-delivery sales, with chief
executive Alessandro Piscini telling Thailand’s the Nation that approximately 70% of Lazada customers
prefer cash on delivery in that country as well. The paradox of accepting cash There are two substantial
caveats to a cash-on-delivery strategy, however. First, allowing cash-on-delivery significantly increases the
complexity of delivery logistics, wherein logistics divisions or third party logistics companies handling
deliveries on behalf of retailers must prepare employees making deliveries to accept cash and ultimately
deliver the payment back to the retailer. Additionally, some consumers will, upon receiving the product in
person, decide to make an immediate return. That means the delivery person must also be prepared to accept
returned merchandise and store these items until they can be returned to the retailer. These circumstances are
relatively easy to manage when logistics are handled by the retailer directly, for example, in the case of
MercadoLibre’s MercadoEnvíos service or Alibaba’s logistics network. But they make cash-on-delivery
more difficult to establish when a third-party logistics company is used for deliveries or if the notion of
cashon-delivery is not yet commonplace in a market, as is the case in many emerging and developing
markets whose e-commerce markets are not yet heavily consolidated by a small handful of players.
In Mexico, for example, where cash payments account for 82% of all consumer purchase transactions due to the fact
that 51% of the population over the age of 15 was considered unbanked in 2015, many major e-commerce companies
offer cash upon receipt of the product. This is done in an attempt to facilitate online purchases by consumers that
would prefer not to risk their payment information or are cardless. In an interesting strategy, some retailers, including
the leading company in Mexican e-commerce, MercadoLibre, which does not operate stores, allows consumers to
make a purchase online via MercadoLibre and then pay for their purchase in cash at an outlet of the convenience store
chain Oxxo, which has more than 14,000 locations throughout Mexico. This brings to light the second potentially
disadvantageous factor surrounding cash-on-delivery strategies: even in cash-preferred markets, some consumers may
not be interested in paying cash on delivery. Offering cash-on-delivery or the option to pay cash at a brick and mortar
location has not proved to be the panacea for boosting e-commerce in Mexico, where online sales accounted for just
2% of total retailing in 2015 despite the extensive efforts made by companies to facilitate card-less payments. This is
low, compared to global level of 7% as well as in comparison to others in Latin American markets such as Brazil and
Argentina, where online sales accounted for nearly 4% of total retail sales.

There are several hypotheses as to why cash-on-delivery or cash at third-party locations have not proved
popular in Mexico. One of these is that it requires payment to be made in full before receiving the product—
not necessarily an attractive option if retailers and banks provide interest-free financing for in-store and
online, credit card-based purchases. And unlike in developed markets, where such financing is generally
limited to durable goods with high unit prices, this financing is available in emerging and developing
countries across a wide range of product categories, allowing consumers to make payments towards a
purchase over the course of an extended period of time, sometimes up to 18 months. Looked at from another
angle, high-income consumers are more likely to be banked and have access to a credit card or alternate
method of financing beyond what is offered by retailers, as well as a greater ability to make a purchase
without making payments over time, whereas store financing is favoured by consumers who find it
inconvenient or impossible to pay the full cost of their purchase up front. As a result, those who are least
likely to pay by card are also the consumers that are most likely to rely on store-offered financing, an option
that is sacrificed by paying in cash.
Case study
Falabella’s focus on financing
Falabella Saci, a Chile-based department store with a presence throughout South America and one of the
leading regional players in e-commerce, employs an innovative payments strategy to help address the
challenges of expanding to and operating in emerging markets. Through its subsidiary, Falabella Financiero,
the company has developed payment and financing options for consumers who lack access to traditional
financial services or are underserved by existing financial institutions. They offer two successful credit card
products that function as a card-based method of financing: the first is a store credit card that can be used to
finance purchases made within the Falabella network of stores, and the second is a Falabella-branded credit
card that is accepted by all Visa and MasterCard merchants. Thus, a major credit card is issued with lower
application requirements than those from conventional banks and is backed by a brand that frequent
Falabella shoppers already trust. The company reports that as of the end of 2015, it had 5.8 million active
cards combined in Chile, Colombia, Peru and Argentina.
The strategy of offering financing options like store cards has also proved popular in Mexico. The
department store chain, Liverpool, with 254 outlets in 2015, issued more cards in the country than leading
banks including Santander, Banorte and American Express. Likewise, Palacio de Hierro has found success
with store cards and co-branded credit card offerings among its higher-income segment of customers.
Despite the likelihood that they have their own bank credit cards, the Tarjeta Palacio accounted for 43.7% of
sales in 2015. This shows that beyond providing a method of payment for online purchases, store cards and
unique financing options are an effective way to build brand loyalty.
ADAPT TO THE LOGISTICS ENVIRONMENT
Consumer expectations for logistics Once the payment is made—or, in the case of cash on delivery, planned
—the next challenge and fifth consideration for brands is ensuring their logistics network is prepared to
deliver products to the consumer. While reliable shipping is a key part of a retailer’s strategy in any market,
it is especially important in markets where e-commerce is underdeveloped and many consumers are not yet
regularly purchasing online since consumer trust in the channel has not had a chance to develop. Shopping
online offers several benefits for consumers in the form of generally lower prices, wider product variety and
the convenience of anytime, anywhere shopping. It does, however, increase the risk associated with the
purchase. As with payments, where consumers see more potential for transactions to go awry or be
conducted fraudulently, consumers risk the possibility that their purchase will arrive late or not at all, and
then face additional hassles in the event the product needs to be returned. It is critical, therefore, that
retailers seeking to sell online ensure consistent delivery operations to build consumers’ faith in the process.
Potential pitfalls just in the initial delivery include: packages that are lost, delivered to the wrong address,
delivered late or stolen by a consumer’s neighbour. The challenges are similar for product returns.
Case study
Alibaba
One company that has risen above a complex logistics environment to ensure reliable delivery is Alibaba,
now the largest retailer in China and one of the largest internet players globally. In the earlier days of its
operations, Alibaba relied on local delivery services. But recognising that consumers wanted a high quality
delivery system to match a strong shopping and payment experience, the company formed its own
distribution system to ensure purchases would arrive reliably and within a predetermined time frame. As in
many emerging markets, Alibaba was working to persuade consumers who were not habitual internet
shoppers to increasingly shop online. Building trust amongst consumers, not just during the path to purchase
but also to the very end of the consumer’s interaction with the brand, is a key component in convincing
consumers to even consider the online channel. While not every new retailer in a country can or should build
their own distribution system from scratch, it’s important for companies to commit to providing services that
customers expect. Identifying customers’ preferences and finding logistics partners that can deliver on those
preferences are key tasks for any company seeking to enter a new market. The operational environment Of
course, it is never easy to find or build a high-quality distribution network, and in many emerging markets
the universal challenges associated with efficiently and correctly delivering millions of packages are further
compounded by operational complexities that may be more common in emerging markets than in countries
that currently lead e-commerce sales. The lack of proper infrastructure, for instance, could diminish or
complicate the process for establishing proper business operations in a market. Countries with large rural
populations represent an immense challenge for last mile delivery, while dense urban areas in emerging
markets bring other difficulties, like heavy traffic and other logistical restrictions that make it difficult to
transport goods. In both areas, formal addresses may not be commonplace. These challenges are real and
new entrants should arrive informed and with a plan. At the same time, these market conditions also signal
opportunities for companies that are prepared to adapt to them. For example, companies that plan efficient
delivery routes will likely find that home delivery can be much more cost-effective in densely-populated
cities than less densely-populated ones as seen in the US. This makes it easier to offer low-cost or free
shipping, which consumers across markets identify as one of the key features they expect from internet
retailers.
This is evidenced by retailer Konga.com’s strategy. Konga launched in 2012, selling only to consumers
living in Lagos, later broadening its reach to all of Nigeria. Shipping costs for items purchased on
Konga.com varies by where the consumer is based, with Lagos having the lowest shipping costs. At the time
of this writing, major cities other than Lagos had shipping fees 33% higher than Lagos, while shipping to
locations outside of major cities cost three times as much as shipping to Lagos. A second benefit is that
shipping to major cities is often faster, given that they facilitate more efficient warehouse locations.
Densely-populated cities also tend to have thriving networks of convenience stores and / or independent
small grocers, which make prime pick-up partners especially for pure e-commerce players, who do not have
their own network of brick and mortar stores to rely on as distribution centres. Amazon, for example, is
piloting this strategy in a number of markets, including partnering with convenience store chain Oxxo in
Mexico, as well as 7-Eleven in the US and Canada. Pick-ups at third-party locations are another strategy for
improving retailer margins.
Rural opportunities
Due to the limited infrastructure in many rural areas across the emerging and developing countries, it can be
more challenging for businesses to reach rural markets and get the products consumers purchase online into
buyers’ hands. This makes urban areas an obvious target for emerging and developing countries market
growth, but by no means are they the only option. Thanks to the growing popularity of the internet and
smartphone access even outside urban areas, internet retailers have the potential to boost rural consumption
via digital channels. Limited infrastructure affects internet retailers looking to ship product to rural areas, but
they also impede efforts to establish brick and mortar locations. As a result, consumers in rural areas are
often underserved by store-based channels, making those with digital access receptive to online purchases.
Towards this end, Alibaba has identified growing share in rural areas as a strategic priority. AliResearch,
Alibaba’s research division, estimated in 2014 that by 2016 total e-commerce sales from rural China would
reach US$75 billion. Alibaba plans to reach these consumers by using Taobao stores as pick-up partners,
building rural distribution centres and encouraging more rural sellers to list on the platform.
Emerging and developing
Emerging and developing countries are countries, which don’t match the criteria of developed markets
according to the imf, are classified as emerging and developing. It is composed of 170 countries:
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba,
Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia-
Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia,
Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia,
Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba,
Curacao, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Fiji, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada,
Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India,
Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos,
Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali,
Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique,
Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Oman,
Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Réunion,
Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tomé e Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra
Leone, Sint Maarten, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, St Kitts, St Lucia, St
Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo,
Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab
Emirates, Uruguay, US Virgin Islands, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia,
Zimbabwe. Developed countries are countries that have a high level of development. According to the
International Monetary Fund (Imf) the following 38 countries are classified as “developed countries”:
Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein,
Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia,
South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States. Middle class
households are households with between 75% and 125% of median income in a given market.
Impact of e-commerce on emerging market

The internet revolution is really about customers, suppliers, groups, organisations, government, and the
general public. It has created fundamental shift of market power from the seller to buyer taking into
considerations provisions guiding business transaction on the internet. In the new economy customers
expectations are very different than before. A company understanding of this difference and its ability to
capitalise on it will be the key to success. The web, the internet and emerging computing and
communication technologies have redefined traditional boundaries of business in relation to time, geography
and creating new virtual communities of customers and suppliers with new demand for products and
services. Electronic commerce (EC) has been recognized globally particularly in the developed markets as a
mechanism for business organisations to reach global markets and guiding a wide spread of customers in
different geographical locations.

The adoption of e-commerce is widespread and also regarded as an essential tool for the efficient
administration of any organisation and in the delivery of services to its clients. According to Laudon and
Laudon (2013) the trend of e-commerce began in 1995. It requires the digital goods for carrying out their
transactions. Digital goods are goods that can be delivered over a digital network. E-commerce is rapidly
transforming the way in which enterprises are interacting among each other as well as with consumers and
governments. As a result of changes in the landscape of ICTs, e-commerce is now growing rapidly in
several emerging markets and developing economies (UNCTAD, 2015).

E-commerce has been hailed by many as an opportunity for developing countries to gain a stronger foothold
in the multilateral trading system. E-commerce has the ability to play an instrumental role in helping
developing economics benefit more from trade (WTO-2013). The growing use of the Internet, tablet
devices, and smart phones coupled with larger consumer confidence will see that e-commerce will continue
to evolve and expand. The adoption of e-commerce in Nigerian business organisations has increased since
the users of internet in Nigeria has grown from 0.1% in 2000 to 29.5% of its population in June 2010 and
still has the potential to grow higher (Ayo, Adewoye and Oni, 2011). According to Tunde, (2013) Nigeria
recorded an estimated 25 per cent growth in online shopping with revenues valued at N62.4 million in 2011.

E-commerce refers to the use of communications technology particularly the internet to buy, sell and market
goods and services to customers. The Internet has brought about a fundamental shift in national economies
that are isolated from each other by barriers to cross-border trade and investment; isolated by distance, time
zones and language; and isolated by national difference in government regulations, culture and business
systems (Mohammad, 2004).

Electronic commerce has facilitated the emergence of new strategies and business models in several
industries in developing countries, Nigeria inclusive. Significant changes are happening in supermarket
retailing with the introduction of online shopping, especially in terms of channel development and
coordination, business scope redefinition, the development of fulfillment centre model and core processes,
new ways of customer value creation, and online partnerships. In fact the role of online supermarket itself
has undergone some significant changes in the last few years (Irene Yousept, 2004). The electronic
commerce segment of the retail market has witnessed tremendous growth in terms of participation in the
Nigerian economy in the last one year (Adewale, Ayo-Oyebiyi and Adebayo, 2013).

According to Johnson (2012) over 100 firms both local and foreign have shown greater interest in the sector
alleged to worth over $50 billion annually. She said the industry has no doubt opened doors for the coming
generation of young Nigerian entrepreneurs. Electronic commerce industry has no doubt increased the
percentage of local content in products and services as well as increased utilization of local capacity. 

Organisations operating in emerging markets like Nigeria cannot compete solely on past record of success in
today’s rapidly changing business environment that is characterized by boundary blurring, disintermediation
and hyper competition. To move ahead of their rivals they need to seek innovation constantly at every level
of activities. Their ability to generate successful business models and strategies as well as new products, will
be the key for their survival in the 21st century. The first step of such innovation is internet, which made the
traditional commerce to evolve in to e-commerce trend. It is surprising however, to note that despite the
enormous benefits derived from e-commerce in the field of business, trade, industry and commerce,
in emerging markets like Nigeria, it is widely speculated by business analysts and stakeholders that most
organisations and business operators hardly embrace the immeasurable advantages of e-commerce in their
businesses.

The present system of business transaction in most organisations in Nigeria is slow as a result of the manual
processes that have become a drawback to operational efficiency as customers are asked to wait indefinitely
on queue or come back another day because of the slow manual process or sometimes. One wonders what a
customer in desperate need of medical attention in the government hospital could do in such a situation.

Despite advances in computer systems and the acceptance of such technologies by organisations in the
developed economies or markets, the same level of adoption is not evident among several organisations in
developing economies or emerging markets like Nigeria, its adoption is very slow and characterized by
infrastructural problem, government policies issue and so on. It is against this background that this research
study is being carried out to investigate the impact of e-commerce on emerging markets.

Emerging Markets: India, eCommerce Statistics and Challenges

The success of Indian eCommerce has risen to such a degree that the country is now reconsidering its ban on
foreign investments in its eCommerce sector. Amazon and eBay, which are currently only allowed to
function as third-party marketplaces, are anxious for a lift on the ban, which will allow them to sell their
own merchandise. But beyond the opportunities soon to be available to the eBays and the Amazons of the
world, U.S. retailers should also be hopeful for what the future holds in India, the world’s second most
populous country.

To fully understand the eCommerce opportunities happening in India, here are a few statistics to put it into
perspective:

1. India’s e-Commerce market grew by 88 percent in 2013 to USD $16 billion.

2. India’s Internet base, as of August 2013, was at 150 million users, representing about 10 percent of the
country’s total population.

3. Popular products sold in India include those in tech and fashion categories, such as mobile phones, iPads,
accessories, MP3 players, digital cameras and jewelry.

4. Indians spend 8 hours per day online according to a study conducted in 2012.

5. Myntra.com just surpassed Flipkart.com as India’s biggest online retailer with 13.17 million unique
visitors in the month of June 2013.

6. The mobile audience in India is growing with 78 percent of shoppers preferring to shop on mobiles for
deals on purchases and with 60 percent shopping on mobiles to save fuel.

7. About 75 percent of online shoppers in India are 35 years old or younger, although those between the ages
of 35 and 44 show the highest usage.

8. Medium-term growth for India’s economy is positive due to its young population, low dependency ratio,
healthy savings and investment rates, and increasing integration into the global economy.

Although the opportunities are vast, doing business in India still carries some challenges, such as a
reluctance from some of the country’s population to shop online.

“Around 30% of people who buy from retail stores actually research about the product online,” said a
reporter for DazeInfo.com. “However, 25% of people are still skeptical about online security and don’t share
their financial information online. 20% people, who blamed high shipping costs as the main reason, follow
this, while 15% are unsure about the handling of the product during transit and receiving the product in a
good condition.”

The difficult shipping situation is primarily due to India’s underdeveloped infrastructure, a common issue
shared by many emerging countries. India, however, has initiated several infrastructure improvement
projects, which will do much more for the country than just easing the logistics of getting products into
online shoppers’ hands.

“The rural roads programme has built more than 300,000km of new roads in rural areas,” explained
FTAdviser.com. “This has resulted in a roughly 50-100 per cent increase in household income for those
affected. More recently, a plan was announced to build 24 cities along the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor
by 2040, with phase one scheduled for completion by 2019.”

Additionally, U.S. eCommerce companies will be happy to hear that there are no sales taxes assessed on
goods shipped into India. Furthermore, some goods, such as laptops and other electronic products, aren’t
subject to duty. It’s important, however, to understand that there are indirect taxes like a 1 percent landing
charge for all products entering the country. To get an overview of what fees could be tacked onto imports,
DutyCalculator.com is a helpful resource.

Finally, U.S. businesses wanting to take advantage of the growing e-Commerce opportunities in India must
take the language barrier into consideration.

The Most Common Ecommerce Challenges for Online Businesses

1. The need for online identity verification

2. Delivering an omnichannel customer experience
3. Outshining the vast competition
4. The need to revamp selling tactics
5. Shopping cart abandonment
6. Maintaining customer loyalty
7. The headaches of product return and refund
8. The struggle of competing on price and shipping
9. Competing against retailers and manufacturers
10. The heightened demand for data security

Solutions for the above 10 challenges are as follows

1. The need for online identity verification

When a visitor goes to an ecommerce website and signs up, you need to somehow be sure that this is a legit
person who wants to buy. This way, you'll avoid fraudulent accounts or bots which could result in revenue
losses (especially with cash-on-delivery (COD) purchases).

Solution: Take proper steps to verify online shoppers' information. Always send a verification link when a
customer signs up. With COD purchases, an automated call could even go out to the customer, asking them
to validate the delivery address. Also, use automation to identify fake phone numbers and email addresses
and check whether zip codes match with the state/city.
And of course, look out for signs of suspicious activity. This could take the form of particularly high value
or large orders. 

2. Delivering an omnichannel customer experience

One of the biggest problems an online retailer faces is achieving an effective omnichannel customer
experience. Customers expect they can reach out to your brand through any number of touchpoints, such as
your website, phone, email, social media, your store, and more. All of these touchpoints need to be unified.

Creating an omnichannel customer experience in retail allows companies to communicate with customers on
all channels.
In fact, according to ecomdash, any business that isn’t moving toward an omnichannel retailing strategy will
likely be left behind.

Solution: To create an omnichannel strategy that works, think about potential customer needs, and
implement the right customer experience technology. Here are a few steps to follow to solve ecommerce
challenges of this type.
*Identify key channels first. How are your customers reaching out to you? What channels do they prefer? 
*Integrate these channels. Use customer experience technology to talk to customers via their preferred
channels (like phone, email, live chat, video call, online help centers or in-app messaging).
*Maintain context. Use interaction history to inform conversations. Unified view features on CX platforms
can offer this ability.

3. Outshining the vast competition

Ecommerce is one of the most competitive industries. Variations in different parameters — costs, service,
supply chain operations, and more — can make a huge difference for customers. Getting and maintaining
your customer base is one of the most tough-to-crack ecommerce challenges.

For example, if one of your competitors strikes a partnership with a delivery app, this may help them get a
greater market share. And that’s even if your prices or products are better.
Solution: Conduct thorough research into competitors and the market to develop your digital marketing
strategy. Invest in promotional offers to help create a better brand presence. Remember that online
businesses with customer loyalty programs, on average, are 88 percent more profitable than those that do not
offer these programs.
Also, invest in better customer service. Furniture retailer Dufresne saw positive results when they took a step
into digitizing support and sales.

4. The need to revamp selling tactics

One of the most pressing customer service issues in ecommerce is catching up to modern customer
expectations. Many companies lack the necessary insight into customer behavior and buying patterns.

Solution: Consider offering your products in prominent marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. These
ecommerce sites already have a vast network of buyers so pitching and branding your product (and figuring
out what works and what doesn't) becomes somewhat easier.
Also, segment your data. Visitor segmentation allows ecommerce companies to identify and communicate
with visitors based on their customer journey, past conversations, geographical location, browsing behavior,
referral page, and much more.

5. Shopping cart abandonment

Shopping cart abandonment is a huge ecommerce business challenge. Even ecommerce giants are not
immune to it.
For instance, when brick and mortar heavyweight Nordstrom started an ecommerce portal, they witnessed
big opportunity losses of ecommerce sales from abandoned carts. The tedious and bug-filled checkout
process was causing customers to flee mid-purchase. This ecommerce problem can’t be ignored.
Ensure your ecommerce shopping cart is optimized and easy to use by enabling a two-step checkout process.
Solution: Nordstrom had to come up with a new checkout design, turning checkout into a much easier two-
step process.
Consider redesigning your shopping cart, too. Remove bugs or unnecessarily long forms. Offer instant help
tools that customers can use if they get stuck. Visual tools can also help address customer queries during the
checkout process. For instance, if a customer has trouble creating an account, your agents can initiate a
cobrowsing session to show them how to do it.
Applying this simple solution can greatly improve your shopping cart conversion rate.

6. Maintaining customer loyalty

Without customer trust and loyalty, your business is bound to struggle. But, acquiring and maintaining
customers requires massive effort. 

One of the reasons ecommerce businesses face a challenge in building customer trust and loyalty is that
often the seller and buyer don’t know or can’t see each other. This makes interactions less personable.
This ecommerce challenge can only be solved through time and effort. Across multiple transactions,
eventually, the company can build this trust and loyalty.

Solution: First make sure your customer service processes are effective, from ordering online to shipping.
Also, consider:
*Displaying your address, phone number, pictures of staff, customer testimonials, and credibility badges on
your website.
*Creating valuable content.
*Making customer service a priority over profit.
*Asking for customer feedback.
*Refining loyalty programs.
Related: Your Ecommerce Information Center: Get free Shopify educational resources to help you grow
your brand and forge strong customer relationships.

7. The headaches of product return and refund

One of the problems faced by customers in online shopping is returning items. A survey by comScore and
UPS, showed 63 percent of American consumers check the return policy before making a purchase and 48
percent would shop more with retailers offering hassle-free returns.

But, when a product is returned, the business suffers a heavy loss in shipment and reputation. Shipping costs
in this case have always been an ecommerce problem to sellers.

A common ecommerce challenge is returns and refunds, make the process easy for both parties.
Solution: You can't avoid having good return and refund policies. But, you can build your policies carefully
and communicate them clearly. Consider the following tips:
*Be transparent. Never hide your policy hoping customers will not see it.
*Use plain English. It's important for these policies to be understandable to everyone, regardless of cultural
background or education level.
*Set expectations. Provide different options for payments and shipping.
*Educate staff. They need to know your return policies to assist customers effectively.
*Be prepared to face the music. If the product is shipped wrong, take extra effort to keep the customer
happy.

8. The struggle of competing on price and shipping

Despite customer experience being the most important thing for consumers, online merchants frequently
compete on price, too. Price competition particularly affects small ecommerce businesses, as mid-sized and
large competitors can often offer products less expensively.

For example, giants like Amazon and Walmart generally have shipping amenities distributed across the
country. Their warehouses allow orders to be shipped from the closest facility. That way, the cost of
distribution decreases and the order arrives really fast.

Solution: This is one of these ecommerce challenges that can make or break a business. It’s hard to thrive in
a competitive market, but you can still find ways to distribute inventory to fulfilment warehouses. You can
also become an extremely resourceful shipper, or find some unique products consumers won't be able to find
elsewhere.

9. Competing against retailers and manufacturers

Many online stores bulk buy products wholesale from manufacturers or distributors, selling them online.
This is the basic business model for ecommerce.
But, due in part to ecommerce's low barrier to entry, product manufacturers and retailers have started selling
directly to consumers, too. The same company that sells your products may also be your competitor. 

For example, ABC Garments sells to your online marketplace and directly to consumers on its website. Even
some of the manufacturers create distributors, making the scenario worse.

Solution: You can’t stop manufacturers selling products directly to customers, but there are a few tactics to
try:
*Give priority to manufacturers less likely to sell directly to customers.
*Offer the product at a lower price or with additional benefits to increase sales.
*Restrict the manufacturer from selling the product directly to customers by setting this out in the contract.
It will not be possible for every manufacturer, but you can work with smaller ones this way.

10. The heightened demand for data security

Security issues can lead to nightmare scenarios. Fraudsters may post spam and infect websites with viruses.
They can potentially gain access to confidential data about your customers' phone numbers, card details, and
more.

A common ecommerce challenge for online retailers is security issues when shoppers are using credit cards
and adding personal information.
Consumers, though, don't care what you do, they expect you to protect them fully. Security shouldn’t be
seen as part of ecommerce challenges — it should be a bare necessity. 

Solution: To make sure your site is safe, here are some ideas:
* Manage your own servers.
*Don’t use common FTP to transfer files
*Employ cybersecurity services or engineers
*Have effective verification processes (as we mentioned in #1)
Also, if any developer copies files in an open Wi-Fi network, passwords and other confidential data can be
stolen. By constantly updating the shopping cart, you can minimize the risk of stolen data. 

Most content management systems store their data in the database. Developers should take backups at
regular intervals, retrieving the data if stolen.

Ecommerce challenges can be opportunities

Surviving the fierce ecommerce competition requires outstanding strategies. Be prepared to address all
possible ecommerce problems and focus on building a customer-centric culture. This way, you may not only
address customer service issues but you may also find what makes your customers tick, and offer them an
online shopping experience they'll remember.

FUTURE OF E-COMMERCE IN EMERGING MARKETS

E-commerce is the technology which is expected to become more popular in the future. While e-commerce
is the maturing market, emerging economies are poised to become the next mega market as the adoption of
internet rises gradually. Emerging markets are the hotbeds for e-commerce that comes with unique
opportunities and challenges across the regions.

In emerging markets, the e-commerce has been growing exponentially, and at a rate may soon surpass the
developed countries in 2018. As, e-commerce achieves higher penetration rates in developing countries, and
it will overcome obstacles to adopt the high-speed networks which are fast enough for Smartphone and
shipping cost.

Future of Ecommerce in Emerging Countries

These obstacles can only be overcome by better infrastructure and greater scale. As, the popularity of e-
commerce grows in some of the major industry sectors like retail, manufacturing, online businesses,
logistics and supply chains, etc. A larger share of the online population will be purchasing online goods by
2018 in many countries. Around 50% of the population in emerging markets will shop online by 2018,
which is not far from the average penetration of 63% in developed countries.
The growth of E-commerce in Emerging Markets

The future potential growth for e-commerce across the developing world is quite strong enough. The total
annual online retail sales across our markets (Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia,
South Africa and Turkey) could reach up to 3.5 trillion and has impacted the companies across multiple
industry sectors like retail, finance, manufacturing, security, and technology. The main drivers behind this
soaring demand for online shopping are the rapid increase in internet access as well as expanding incomes.

The emergence of e-commerce over past decade has radically transformed the economic landscape and has
found the great amount of increase in the factors that led to the development of the internet. While
developed countries who have been offering e-commerce have shown some impressive performance in their
respective economies.

 7 BENEFITS OF ECOMMERCE TO ORGANIATION

Around 50% percent of people in emerging markets will shop online by 2018 which catch up quickly to the
average of 63% in developed countries. For example in India, nearly 2/3 of the internet access is done on
Smartphone whereas in China 3/5 is done. While, China and India are still dominating the e-commerce
market outside the US, companies in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America have helped in the
makeable growth of their respective regions. The current scenario of online marketing in these countries is:-

China

China is the largest and most innovative retail e-commerce market all over the world. Online retailing in
China is expected to grow from 17% in 2017 to 25% by 2020. Alibaba dominates the e-commerce sphere in
China and in many parts of Asia which accounts for 1/10 of China’s total retail sales.

India

E-commerce has transformed the way business is done in India. Due to the increase in smartphones ad
mobile phone, the online shopping has resulted to rise in India gradually. Flipkart and Snapdeal are the two
most dominating online stores dealing in India. The value of e-commerce market is expected to cross $50
billion by the year 2018.
Africa

In Africa, some of the countries like Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria etc are experiencing information and
communication technology revolution which is increasing the access to mobile banking. Over 60% of Africa
has mobile phone coverage and over 10 times as landline phone in use. Alongside, a growing middle class in
Africa, e-commerce growth is creating the foundation around each region.                                            

Latin America

By 2019, 15.1 million people in Latin America are expected to buy goods and services through online which
is a dramatic increase from 12.1 million in the years 2016. According to the survey, it is clear that the e-
commerce market for Latin America is still smaller than Asia or other countries.
E-commerce Drivers in Emerging Markets

With the use of e-commerce, accelerating on the back of improved internet penetration in emerging markets,
it is important to understand the specificities of customers and how they approach for online shopping.
Unlike, in most advanced economies, both the choice and range of goods offered by web retailers in
developing markets are limited.

To provide an expansive range of payments options is also the key factor which reaches to a wider audience,
as most of the emerging nations are significantly under banked. Some of the e-commerce drivers in
emerging markets state that:-
 

 Choice and range enhanced by global shipping

There are many retailers in developing countries who have limited stock of goods. Due to which domestic e-
commerce in some of the regions can, therefore, be limited in terms of international products. For ex- China
has low-cost wealth for fashion and electronic products, but if we search for specific types of authentic
brands such as Gucci handbags, etc can be difficult.

Nonetheless, the segment faces challenges and remains held on at the border controls during busy festive
periods and the lengthy return time for damaged products.

 Emerging consumers more active in social media shopping

Although, the use of Smartphone and mobile phones or laptops or desktops boosts up the internet
penetration rates, emerging market consumers are well ahead of their counterparts by using the handset to
shop. The importance of mobile phones is a necessity rather than a choice to shop.

Many emerging markets in Asia, Pacific, Africa, etc are mobile first enabled device accessed by consumers.
Laptops or desktop are simply found in much fewer homes rather than developed countries.

 A range of payments to server underbanked shoppers

Many emerging markets have a large number of underbanked populations. In Brazil, more than 15+
population held with no bank accounts. In order to reach a wider audience, online retailers should provide as
many payment options as possible for their customers so that their customers do not face these disruptive
issues.

Whereas, in countries like USA & UK payments are primarily be carried out online via bank card. China
accepts stand-alone, mobile phone credit card and of course cash on delivery. The online retailer's primary
goal must be to survive in cash driven environment which still dominates the most of emerging markets.
Challenges Faced by E-commerce in Emerging Markets

It is easy to connect with new customers by expanding into new international markets especially with the
help of online channels. For e-commerce portal to achieve the growth in new markets, they must use local
languages to communicate & connect with the customers. Indeed, nearly 60% of customers spend their time
more on e-commerce websites.

But companies must also look at some of the challenges when viewing international expansion
opportunities. Here are several key challenges that are faced by e-commerce in emerging markets:-

 Technical infrastructure

To launch sites in international markets does not mean that those websites must be hosted by servers in those
markets. Many times, it is not possible due to the local infrastructure limitations. Latency issues are usually
common when robust solutions are used which smartly distribute the load of a server across large regions
such as Europe.

 Logistics status

Internet and e-commerce have ushered in the era of untold changes in culture, conversation, and
consumption.According to the survey, a provider for international services for businesses, savvy companies
that ship overseas, have increased their revenue up to 17%. Further, some of the international markets are
famous for local corruption.
  In-market customer support

Companies keen to expand their business in international markets, but they must not forget that customer
support is the most vital aspect of their business. If your business provides customer support to your
customers through email or phone call or live chat, etc it must deploy a localized version for the new
consumers too.

 Relevant Payment method

Most of the payment providers by market allow for simple adoption in CRM platform. You must look for
the partner who can identify the proper payment methods for each market. Therefore, there must be proper
arrangement for payment options for your business and customers too.

E-commerce booms in emerging markets

E-commerce continues to soar in emerging markets, driven by growing middle classes, increased internet
penetration, and the expansion of mobile commerce.
 
The e-commerce potential of developing countries has long been clear.  A 2015 survey conducted by Credit
Suisse Research Institute on the latest emerging consumer showed that the overall annual online retail sales
across surveyed markets – which included China, Brazil, India, Mexico, South Africa, Russia, Saudi Arabia
and Turkey – could reach $3.5 trillion USD as e-commerce spending converges with existing levels in
developed countries. In addition to the rapid rise in internet access, other factors propelling online retail are
expanding incomes, which are resulting in a larger emerging middle class shopping online for products and
services.
 
 
Mobile commerce leads the way in emerging markets

The majority of consumers from emerging markets are predominantly making online purchases through
smartphones rather than by means of the fixed-line-based internet, due to the fact that in regions which
include Asia Pacific, Latin America and Africa, mobile handsets are the first web-enabled device the
majority of the populations have access to. Already fully established e-commerce markets may have much
higher mobile device counts and internet access, however, consumers in developing countries make greater
use of smartphones to shop compared to their wealthier counterparts.
 
According to the survey conducted by Credit Suisse, if internet usage across the developing countries
reaches the levels found in developed countries, this would result in an additional one billion internet users
in the nine countries surveyed, with India and China likely to have the largest number of prospective
consumers to this projection. At the time the survey was conducted, two-thirds of the internet access was
through smartphones in India, and close to three-fifths in China. This indicates the importance of having a
well-thought-out mobile commerce strategy for companies planning to benefit from the ongoing e-
commerce boom in emerging markets.
 
 
Current developments

Although developing countries still need to catch up with developed countries in terms of e-commerce
infrastructure, they are likely to see stronger sales growth in the future. Because of this, the global e-
commerce landscape may change rapidly over the course of the coming years.
 
According to LSE’s Emerging Markets Forum:
“While China and India continue to dominate the e-commerce market outside of the US, companies in
Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America have helped spur growth in their respective regions and should
be watched as potential global competitors in this space.”
 
A good example is Indonesia, which has set itself apart as a mobile-first country. It was recorded that in
2015 more than 70% of Indonesia’s online sales were made through mobile devices. Latin America’s e-
commerce market, meanwhile, reached $100 billion in 2018 and is expected to grow by 25% to the end of
2021. With three Latin American nations (Brazil #2, Mexico #6, and Argentina #8) in the top 10 countries
overall for total internet usage, yet with rates of online shopping that lag behind those seen in the United
States and Canada, the fundamentals are in place for further growth.
 
Source: Latin American Business Stories/Americas Market Intelligence

 
 
Developing countries currently present a variety of unique opportunities in maturing to some of the biggest
e-commerce segments. Their shortcomings, such as payment challenges and poor logistics infrastructure
mean there is also significant untapped potential, which if tapped into could lead to continuous progress. An
expanding middle class, with more spending power, will also continue to boost e-commerce markets in
emerging regions.
Reasons Why E-Commerce Is Set to Grow in Emerging Markets
The Emerging Consumer Survey 2018 shows that today's emerging consumers are just as connected as
their peers in Europe or the USA, and are as likely, if not more so, to opt for online retail
services. Smartphones are a key driver for online access.

The rapid adoption of smartphones and subsequent access to the internet has allowed emerging market
consumers to be a major global force across a range of online activities including online retail, gaming
and eSports. Internet access among Emerging Consumer Survey respondents is now around 80 percent or
more in all countries except Indonesia and South Africa. Quite clearly, lower average spending power has
not deterred consumers across our emerging economies to gain access to the internet and start benefiting
from its range of services. In conjunction with total population sizes, it clearly makes them stand out among
the economies surveyed as the biggest online retail markets.

There is huge growth potential for online retail. We note that current online spending of around USD 1.29
trillion across the economies surveyed would increase to around USD 2.7 trillion if the share of online retail
spending were to increase to just 25 percent in China and 15 percent elsewhere, and assuming that total
retail spending increases at 5 percent per year.

In our view, there are a number of factors indicating that online retail spending across emerging markets is
far from played out.

1. Urbanization Coincides with Greater Propensity to Shop Online

As urbanization is set to continue to rise across emerging markets, it should coincide with a
growing share of online consumer spending in our view. This is due to the fact that greater
urbanization and population density help to ease the logistical challenges that online companies
face when developing their services.

2. FMCG and Food Delivery to Support Growth

At present, online shopping is dominated by more price-elastic consumer items such as books, electronics or
apparel. Going forward, however, we expect stronger online retail growth to be generated by so called fast-
moving consumer goods (FMCG), such as beverages, food or toiletries. To indicate the upside potential of
FMCG, we note that, in Europe, only 2.4 percent of grocery sales are made online compared to over 12
percent of other retail sales. Not only is the share of FMCG and groceries purchased online very low (with
the exception of China), but continued urbanization should also help to lower logistical challenges.

3. Traditional Retailers Developing Online Capabilities

Given their dominance in terms of market share, it seems that only a few companies have been quick to
realize the demand potential for e-commerce services. As a result, companies such as Amazon have been
able to grab market share, leaving traditional retailers under significant pressure due to their lack of online
presence. Recently, omni-channel strategies (e.g. offline retailers developing online capabilities) have
become increasingly popular. For example, Google and Walmart are cooperating in the US, while Lidl has
set up a collaboration with DHL in Germany. These developments are likely to intensify competition among
the various companies active in the segment, but should still allow for continued growth in online consumer
spending.
4. Pure-Play Online Companies Expanding Offline Offerings

Though connectivity and mobile access are the most relevant factors for more traditional purchases, other
factors such as improved delivery logistics, ease of buying and retailer presence are also relevant, not least
in the area of online FMCG.
Some of the key online players have realized that they need to expand their service offering to cater for these
consumer demands. Improving consumer access and convenience should help grow e-commerce revenues
further as "saving time" is one of the key reasons why consumers buy online according to Nielsen.

5. Cross Border E-Commerce As an Additional Driver

Greater connectivity allows consumers to become familiar with products and services that are not
necessarily produced locally. According to Nielsen’s 2017 Online Shopper Trend Report, the share of
Chinese consumers who buy products from overseas websites has doubled to 64 percent since 2014.
Although the share of Chinese consumers who buy from overseas websites is rising, we note that the lion’s
share of their buying remains domestically focused leaving lots of potential for further development.

6. Data Analytics Can Drive Online Revenues Further

The proliferation of the number of online sales channels (e.g. desktop, mobile, tablets) implies a growing
need for advertisers and retailers to understand consumer behavior across these channels in order to
maximize the benefit from online sales. Technology, and specifically data analytics, can help in this regard
as these allow for the optimization of consumer marketing, which in turn should help drive online commerce
growth further.

7. Greater Adoption of Mobile Payments in Emerging Markets Drives Growth

Owing to the development of internet access and smartphone ownership, digital non-cash payment systems
are possible. At the same time the intensity of a country's e-commerce activities correlate with the
willingness to make non-cash payments. India is likely to follow China, where the share of cash in retail
transactions has fallen from 61 percent in 2010 to 38 percent in 2016. At the same time, the share of mobile-
based payment transactions has increased to more than 11 percent in China from zero five years ago.

E-commerce growth correlates with non-cash payments

The speed of technological progress and the subsequent sharp decline in the cost of technology has allowed

emerging consumers to leapfrog various stages of development compared to consumers in developed

markets. There is every reason to believe that there is still much to come in this area.

What is an eCommerce Business Model?

Electronic commerce, or eCommerce, is a business model that lets businesses and consumers make
purchases or sell things online. There are six major eCommerce business models:

 Business to Business (B2B)
 Business to Government (B2G)
 Business to Business to Consumer (B2B2C)
 Consumer to Consumer (C2C)
  Consumer to Business (C2B)

 Business to Consumer (B2C)

Emerging Market Under Business- to-Business E-commerce

Electronic Markets For B2B

There are several types of markets structures operating in the B2B electronic market domain. However, we have
identified 13 dominant structures based on our study of about 200 B2B market sites in operation today. The selection
of B2B market sites for this study was primarily on the basis of Forbes.com’s 2001 listing of Best of Web B2B sites
The list includes auction sites, catalogue aggregators and exchanges. However there are others that are least understood.
These include extranets, trading partner networks and buyer and supplier centric market structures and consortia
market places. One set of market structures includes Extranets, TPN and web EDI. These are enabled when computers
cutting across organizational boundaries are connected to a single network for the purpose of sharing vital data of
interest to the network members. An Extranet uses Internet protocols and public telecommunication system to securely
share part of a business’s information or operations with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers, or other businesses.
However, two narrower applications of Extranets are TPN and web EDI. These market structures increase the
collaboration capability of the network members and help in speeding up business processes. They also help
eliminate duplication of resources, cut costs and improve responsiveness of the supply
chain.
The set of market structures, one or a small group of either the buyers or the sellers will initiate the market place, host and
monitor, enroll market participants and moderate the market behavior if required. In a buyer centric marketplace, buyers take
the initiative to host the market and appropriate greater benefits than other market participants and so the suppliers in a
supplier centric market. Two well-known variations of seller and buyer centric market structures are forward and reverse
auction sites respectively. Alternatively, a few buyers belonging to a sector of an industry or a few suppliers of
products to get together and create a consortium market place.
The set of market structures includes Neutral Auctions, Exchanges, Catalogue Aggregators, On-line c ommunity and
Click & Mortar. We define a neutral auction as one in which several forward and reverse auctions are
hostedsimultaneously. Bidders understand that there are substitutable products available for the item that they may be
bidding for in one such auction. For instance, when a second hand capital goods or surplus inventory is put on sale
in a site, the items are not unique to give any significant advantage to the seller. Neutral auctions have contextual relevance only
in electronic markets. In traditional markets, it is practically not possible to know the existence of such substitutable
auctions hosted at other places and participate in those auctions due to high search costs. In some sense, we
introduce a new market structure through our definition of neutral auctions. However, it is consistent with the
observation made by Bakos [10] that when search costs come down, new markets (those infeasible in an era of
high search costs) are invariably created.
Unlike an auction, exchanges promote many-to-many relationship. In our definition, any market structure where both
buyers and suppliers negotiate prices, usually with a bid and ask system, and where prices move both up and down
would be classified as an exchange. Typical examples of exchanges include trading in commodity markets such as
metals, crude, bandwidth in telecommunication networks and energy. Catalogue aggregators standardize information
coming from diverse sources to enable comparisons of similar products. Catalogue aggregator acts as a neutral
intermediary and may also provide additional services to buyers such as comparison across
multiple vendors, trust, logistics, and payment mechanism .It is also possible to virtually host a community or special
interest group belonging to one sector of the industry. For instance, a group of neurosurgeons could be organized
into an online community. As the community grows in size and reaches a threshold a virtual market place can be
organized. A large online community attracts the attention of several suppliers of products and services pertaining to the
group. Several firms operating in that sector could target their marketing. Several reputed players operating in traditional B2B
markets have established their presence in the electronic market domain also. The market in such cases is more appropriately
defined as click & mortar. Our definition of the 13 market structures fall under three distinctive categories: collaborative
mechanisms, quasi-market mechanisms and neutral market mechanisms. Collaborative mechanisms consist of market
structures that fundamentally enable the market participants to engage in a variety of collaborative exercises. The first set of
three market structures belong to this category. The second category consists of a set of market structures that have
an inherent bias towards one of the market participant viz., the buyer or the supplier. The bias arises on account of several
factors including the rules governing the market place, the ownership and the market participant initiating it. The second set
of five market structures that we have introduced belong to this category. The last five market structures are characterized by
neutrality in the market.
Irrespective of the type of the market structure each one of them respects several governing principles behind the
functioning of electronic markets. For instance, catalogue aggregators significantly bring down product search costs
and improve transactional efficiency. Auction sites increase the reach of the market and make the price discovery process
very efficient. However, each market structure has specific relevance to organizations.

Business 2 Business (B2B)

In era of internet eCommerce is an emerging pattern in Indian market to sell or buy things via internet.
Every 1 out of 5 customers buying through ewebsites like Amazon, Alibaba, Flipkart, Shopclues of
Banggoods. It is very easy to buy anything through websites. When a seller is selling directly to the
customer, it is called B2C commerce and when a seller is selling via such websites, it is called B2B
Commerce.

Definition

B2B ecommerce which is also known as eCommerce, short for business-to-business and electronic
commerce, is selling products or services between businesses through the internet via an online sales portal.
In general, it is used to improve efficiency for companies. Instead of processing orders manually – by
telephone or email – with ecommerce orders can be processed digitally.

Different Differences between business-to business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C)

When selling to consumers, it is very important to understand the consumers’ feelings. Consumers need to
trust your organisation and they need to feel nice and comfortable when purchasing at your company. It is
all about emotion; it turns out that 20 percent of the decision to make a purchase is logical and 80 percent is
emotional. Facts are being used to justify an emotional choice. Although consumers do have various
emotional motivations to buy products, purchase behaviour is often the same. Consumers are purchasing
products for their own usage, because they like it to buy something new. Most of the times it’s not a
necessity. Therefore, consumers are not buying every day and they are not buying a lot of products at the
same time. In other words, order quantities and order value is relatively small. Also, for a lot of consumer
goods, purchases are being done just once in a longer period of time. Think about a new TV: consumers are
buying a new TV once every couple of years, and they are just buying one (maybe two) TV’s per purchase.
Since consumers are buying because they like it, emotion is an important aspect for B2C companies to focus
on. By having state of the art product design, packages and more, B2C resellers can anticipate on customers’
emotions.

Main features of typical B2B ecommerce

There are a lot of benefits of integrated ecommerce. Sana Commerce has even defined 36 benefits based on
their customers’ experiences and shares the most important ones here. 1.Customer specific pricing 2.Product
discounts 3.Tier pricing 4.Customer specific product catalogues 5.Real-time order placement 6.Re-ordering
7.Order history 8.Facetted search 5. Design of B2B web stores When designing a web store it is important to
keep the design and functionality as light, clean and simple as possible. The focus should be on helping B2B
buyers to navigate through content and not bother them with unnecessary features. The following features
and functionality will ensure your customers have a positive B2B web store experience: Ensure your web
store is fast. Nothing is more annoying for customers than a web store that takes a long time to load. Slow
speed is one of the main rea sons why visitors leave a web store and can also lower your search engine
ranking. Making sure your web store loads within one to two seconds is important for a good user
experience. When considering elements such as full screen video, first think about the impact on your
loading time. Make bulk purchasing easy and fast by providing a multi-add to cart feature and enabling bulk
ordering. Create a responsive website that automatically adapts screen sizes and capabilities to the device a
customer is using e.g. laptops, smartphones or tablets. Offer suitable B2B payment methods such as invoice
billing, credit cards and ACH payment processing. Ensure a consistent corporate identity throughout the web
store so there is uniformity between all the pages. That means keeping the corporate identity layout uniform
throughout your tabs, buttons, commands, imagery, and menus. Usage of design templates will ensure
consistency in your web store. The readability of the website is largely dependent on contrast, color, font
and the use of formatting features. The right contrast between the background of the website and content is
one of the most basic yet most important web design principles. With regard to the color scheme used,
customers generally prefer to visit light and bright web pages. People process information best in black and
white as our brains are designed for simplicity and efficiency. Similarly, a simpler font will increase the
readability of the web page. Most design experts agree that san-serif fonts work best for online design.
Formatting can also greatly improve the design of your web store. Avoid long chunks of text and instead use
headlines, bulleted lists and bolding to increase readability.

Available B2B applications and software

Here are some of the well-known software companies which offer software services and are used to manage
business's operations and business-to-business customer relations.
 Contalog
 Sana Commerce
 EPiServer
 NetSuite
 Insite
 Hybris

Advantages of B2B ecommerce

1. Scalability-An effective e-commerce solution will enable your organization to grow and scale easily to
meet market demand and customer needs by opening new sales channels and continuously reaching new
market segments.

2. Improved efficiencies-Through integration to the enterprise resource planning (ERP) and other back-end
business systems, ecommerce provides marked efficiencies for B2B organizations. Customers are able to
order online at their convenience, customer service can focus on actual customer service functions rather
than simply being order takers, and the need to rekey data in independent systems is eliminated, thereby
eliminating the possibility of errors and improving shipping processes and increasing order throughput.

3. More customers-A B2B e-commerce site with public-facing catalog pages is a powerful way to reach
new B2B customers. Your future buyers not only prefer to shop online but will demand it. As B2B buyers
head online to find the best prices, manufacturers and distributors can leverage the power of the search—and
therefore, ready to index—pages of their site to locate new visitors and convert them into customers.

4. Improved brand awareness-Improve brand awareness in the market place. Developing pages that can be
indexed by search engine crawlers is a fast way to improve your site’s search engine optimization and
improve the likelihood that your target audience will know who you are.

5. Increased sales-Not only will you reach new customers, e-commerce also allows you to easily
implement an automated cross-sell and up-sell recommendation program, offering relevant suggestions to
customers on the site and encouraging them to purchase related items or items with more features and
functionality.

6. Analytics-B2B e-commerce provides the perfect platform for an organization to launch a comprehensive
analytics campaign. Through ecommerce, organizations can more easily measure and evaluate marketing
campaigns, sales effectiveness, product mix, inventory turns, customer sales effectiveness, and customer
engagement. Google Analytics offers e-commerce tracking, but integrating analytics with your ERP as well
gives you much more valuable data with actionable insights.

7. Customer-centric experience-Amazon.com sets the standard for providing an exceptional e-commerce

experience and today’s online shopper expects an Amazon-like experience whether they are shopping for
business or pleasure. While there are certainly differences in experiences for retail shoppers and B2B
buyers, B2B organizations still need to employ intuitive design, rich content, and interactive functionality in
their websites.

8. Exceptional customer service-E-commerce provides an exceptional opportunity for the B2B

organization to improve its customer service initiatives. E-commerce sites can provide access to self-serve
portals with account, order, history and tracking information. Through integration with an organization’s
enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, a robust e-commerce site can display customer specific
products, services and pricing based on customer log in credentials.

9. Improved sales engagement-Your physical sales team will also benefit from the launch of a
comprehensive e-commerce effort. A B2B e-commerce site or portal will improve your sales teams’
visibility into customer orders, pricing, and history while on the road or working remotely.

10.Multi-site capability-Launching channelspecific or co-branded e-commerce sites is easy with the right
B2B e-commerce platform. This capability allows you to offer co-branded websites or microsites for each of
your distributors or key clients as well allow for sites that cater to a specific international audience by
presenting content in alternate languages or currencies.

E-commerce in Emerging Market Under Business 2 Government (B2G)

Business to government (B2G) is when a company markets its products and services directly to a
government agency. This agency could be a local, county, state, or federal agency.
An example of a B2G relationship is when an ammunition manufacturer sells ammunition to the US Army.
And an example of a local B2G relationship is when a private engineering company sells its engineering
services to a county government to develop a new water and sewer system for the community. In B2G,
companies typically bid on projects when governments announce Requests for Proposals (RFPs).

Interacting with government agencies is very different from working with other businesses or consumers.
Due to having to deal with bureaucracies, business deals tend to move at a much slower pace than in other
sectors. Ecommerce companies can definitely bid on government contracts, the same as other companies.
Unlike many B2C transactions, however, many government agencies will not go directly to an eCommerce
website and place an order.

There are exceptions to this, of course.

A local government agency could, for example, place an order directly from an eCommerce company for a
part to repair a piece of equipment. It depends on a variety of factors including the size of the agency and the
need.

E-commerce in Emerging Market under Business 2 Business 2 Consumer (B2B2C)

In B2B2C ecommerce, a company sells products to another company which are then sold to consumers. An
example of a B2B2C arrangement is when a wholesale distributor sells merchandise to retail stores that then
sell the merchandise to end users. The B2B2C model is comprised of three parts: the first business (the
business of product origin), an intermediary, and the end user.

There are several different ways the B2B2C model can be used in eCommerce applications. For example, a
company could partner with another company to promote its products and services, giving the partner a
commission for each sale.

The primary advantage of the B2B2C business model for eCommerce companies is the acquisition of new
customers. This is an important consideration for new eCommerce companies that need a way to rapidly
grow their customer base.
E-commerce in Emerging Markets under Consumer 2 Consumer (C2C)

Another model most people don’t typically think of is the consumer to consumer business model. The rise of
the digital landscape has really enabled the concept to take off, with companies like eBay, Craigslist, and
Esty leading the way.

In C2C ecommerce, consumers sell goods or services directly to other consumers. This is most often made
possible by third-party websites (such as the examples we previously mentioned) or marketplaces, that
facilitate transactions on behalf of the buyers and sellers.

These ecommerce marketplaces allow smaller businesses, or even hobbyists, to sell their products at their
own pricing without having to maintain their own online storefront.

E-commerce in Emerging Market Under Consumer 2 Business (C2B)

Typically, when we think of commerce strategies, we tend to think of them from the starting point of the
business. However, consumer-oriented models, like Consumer to business, are growing in popularity.

In the C2B ecommerce business model, individuals sell goods and services directly to companies. We see
this most commonly in websites that allow individuals (contractors or freelancers) to share work or services
they’re skilled in. Often, businesses will put in a request or a bid for that person’s time and will pay the
person through that platform.
One of the most recognizable examples of a C2B business is Upwork, a freelancing platform that connects
organizations directly with talent. It’s marketed is a ‘marketplace for work’ and gives businesses the ability
to find and source project support, ranging for anything from software development and content creation to
UX design and even financial needs for things like bookkeeping or filing tax returns.

Another intriguing, newer example is that of influencer marketing platforms such as Upfluence or GRIN. In
a similar fashion to Upwork, both of these platforms connect businesses with individuals selling services. In
this case, people are ultimately selling the ability expand a brand's reach and visibility by sharing across
their social media networks.

One of the key benefits of this business model is that it allows consumers to set their own price and can also
often help expand their individual reach by giving the more visibility.

E-commerce in Emerging Market Under B2C

B2C (Business-to-Customer) ecommerce is the exchange of goods or services over the internet between
online stores and individual customers.

The origins of B2C for Ecommerce

The origins of ecommerce date back to the late 1990s. With increased internet usage, many businesses saw
the benefits of selling directly to consumers over the web. There are now over 100,000 B2C
ecommerce businesses in the United States alone.

Ecommerce growth is rapidly increasing: online sales predicted by some analysts to grow approximately
10% in 2015 over 2014 levels. The estimated $279 billion worth of ecommerce sales in 2015 compares to
2010 sales of $176 billion. Online sales as a percentage of all retail sales, projected at a range of 9-11% for
2015, still leave the industry significant room for market-share driven growth.

Why B2C Ecommerce is Experiencing Rapid Growth

Ecommerce simplifies the shopping experience for both consumers and vendors. Successful online
stores can be launched in a matter of days, while shoppers appreciate the ease of making important
purchases from the comfort of their own home.

How to utilize marketing to drive online business growth

B2C ecommerce is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy, it is not without competition. Many
web-based B2C companies thrive by identifying a niche with competitive opportunity.

Developing a strong web marketing presence is crucial for online businesses. Customers can walk down the
street and stumble upon a physical store; on the web, this type of encounter requires visibility across one or
more channels such as SEO, SEM, and affiliate referrals. Marketing for online businesses isn't optional,
but necessary to continually drive new users to their store. Though more proactive effort is required for
online businesses, ecommerce platforms greatly simplify these efforts with built in marketing features and
simple 3rd party integrations.

User-friendly design

Shoppers at physical storefronts are acutely aware of the store layout, cleanliness, and ease of finding
products and information. These factors are equally present for ecommerce businesses, with shelves and
shiny floors replaced by:

 Color scheme: A website that's hard on the eyes will turn off some users. Make sure the text is
clearly visible in contrast to the background and the colors reflect your brand — in a good way.
 Navigation: No matter how informative the content or attractive the products, consumers need to find
it. Simple navigation that clearly points users in the right direction is essential for maximizing the
hard work you put in to assemble inventory and
 Layout: Much like navigation, the page itself needs to be presented in an attractive manner. Don't
clutter the page with too much info: use tabbed menus if necessary so browsers aren't overwhelmed.

E-commerce in the time of COVID-19

 The COVID-19 crisis accelerated an expansion of e-commerce towards new firms, customers and
types of products. It has provided customers with access to a significant variety of products from the
convenience and safety of their homes, and has enabled firms to continue operation in spite of contact
restrictions and other confinement measures.
 Despite persistent cross-country differences, the COVID-19 crisis has enhanced dynamism in the e-
commerce landscape across countries and has expanded the scope of e-commerce, including through new
firms, consumer segments (e.g. elderly) and products (e.g. groceries). Meanwhile, e-commerce transactions
in many countries have partly shifted from luxury goods and services towards everyday necessities, relevant
to a large number of individuals.
 Some of these changes in the e-commerce landscape will likely be of a long-term nature, in light of
the possibility of new waves of the epidemic, the convenience of the new purchasing habits, learning costs
and the incentive for firms to capitalise on investments in new sales channels.
 Despite the efforts of some governments to foster e-commerce during the COVID-19 crisis,
persistent digital divides imply that not everyone has been able to participate. Moreover, regulations that are
not adapted to e-commerce can create barriers to firms, such as in the case of emerging omni-channel sales
models or new modes of delivery. While many of these challenges existed before COVID-19, the current
crisis and the new role of e-commerce for individuals and firms has heightened the need for policy action.
o For consumers, systemic challenges related to connectivity, financial inclusion, skills and
trust (e.g. digital security, privacy and consumer protection) have been brought into sharp relief. To address
this issue, governments could expand affordable and quality broadband to rural and underserved areas,
enhance financial inclusion, and foster trust and the acquisition of skills to participate in e-commerce.
o For firms, policy makers should reduce regulatory uncertainty to support the creation of
innovative business models, e.g. in the context of an increasingly complementary relationship between
offline and online sales strategies.
o Governments also need to address the particular need of SMEs, including by ensuring a fair
playing field in the context of intermediated services (e.g. online platforms). Ensuring sufficient competition
in the retail sector and a well-functioning enabling environment for e-commerce, including communication
services, logistics or trade, is also crucial.
The COVID-19 crisis is likely to have long-lasting effects on e-commerce

There has been a shift in demand from brick-and-mortar retail to e-commerce

The COVID-19 crisis has led people in many OECD countries to significantly limit physical interactions.
Self-imposed social distancing to avoid contagion, together with the strict confinement measures
implemented in many OECD countries, have put a large share of traditional brick-and-mortar retail virtually
on hold, at least temporarily (OECD, 2020[1]). In the United States, retail and food services sales between
February and April 2020 were down 7.7% compared to the same period in 2019. However, sales increased
for grocery stores and non-store retailers (mostly e-commerce providers),1 by 16% and 14.8% respectively.
In the EU-27,2 retail sales via mail order houses or the Internet in April 2020 increased by 30% compared to
April 2019, while total retail sales diminished by 17.9% (Figure 1). The resulting shifts from brick-and-
mortar retail to e-commerce are likely significant across countries. For example, while in the United States
the share of e-commerce in total retail had only slowly increased between the first quarter of 2018 and the
first quarter of 2020 (from 9.6% to 11.8%), it spiked to 16.1% between the first and second quarter of 2020.
The development is similar for the United Kingdom, where the share of e-commerce in retail rose from
17.3% to 20.3% between the first quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2020, to then rise significantly to
31.3% between the first and second quarter of 2020. Similar changes are also observed for other regions,
including the People’s Republic of China (hereafter China), where the share of online retail in total
accumulated retail sales between January and August 2020 reached 24.6%, up from 19.4% in August 2019
and 17.3% in August 2018.
 The COVID-19 crisis has increased the share of e-commerce in total retail
Note: For the United States, data provides estimates for e-commerce as a percent of total retail sales, based
on data from the Monthly Retail Trade Survey and administrative records. Data for the second quarter 2020
are preliminary estimates. For the United Kingdom, data provides Internet sales as a percentage of total
retail sales. Quarterly data are simple averages over monthly estimates. For the 27 members of the European
Union (EU-27), data indicates the percentage change of retail sales compared to the same period in the
previous year. Total retail sales exclude motor vehicles and motorcycles. Retail sales via mail order houses
or via Internet includes retail sale activities where the buyer makes his or her choice on the basis of
advertisements, catalogues, information provided on a website, models or any other means of advertising
and places his or her order by mail, phone or over the Internet. Only the latter can be considered e-
commerce according to the OECD definition. See (OECD, 2019) for a discussion on e-commerce
definitions.
Source: OECD’s elaboration based on data from the US Census Bureau, the Office for National Statistics in
the United Kingdom and Eurostat.

While official statistics are not available for most other countries, estimates suggest that online orders were
up across several regions during the first half of 2020, including Europe, North America and Asia-
Pacific (OECD, 2020[2]). For Asian-Pacific countries, e-commerce had already increased significantly
during the first quarter of 2020, while the increase occurred later in Europe and North America, namely after
several OECD countries followed Italy’s example and introduced confinement measures within a short
period of time of each other. The fact that Google searches for delivery options almost doubled in some
countries before actual confinement measures were brought in place (e.g. Germany, United Kingdom)
thereby illustrates the close relationship between consumer expectations, government action and behavioural
change (Figure 2).
Google search interest in “delivery”, selected OECD countries (February to April 2020)
Note: Axis represents search interest (all categories) for the term “delivery” (or equivalent in each country)
for a given date and country, relative to the highest search interest for the term “delivery” (value of 100)
observed in the considered period and country. Rolling three-day averages. For example, the highest number
of searches for “delivery” in the UK occurred on 24 March 2020 (100). The three day average for that day
(23-25 March 2020) is 91 (depicted). The number of searches at this point in time was around 9 times higher
than it was around 31 January 2020. The confinement date is the day at which stay at home requirements
were introduced that required “not leaving house with exceptions for daily exercise, grocery shopping, and
‘essential’ trips. In Italy requirements became even stricter the 20th of March.
Source: OECD’s elaboration based on Google Trends and Oxford COVID-19 Government Response
Tracker.
Not all online sellers and product categories benefitted from the rise in e-commerce

The effect of the COVID-19 crisis on e-commerce is not uniform across product categories or sellers. In the
Unites States, for example, a surge in demand was observed for items related to personal protection (e.g.
disposable gloves), home activities, groceries or ICT equipment, while demand dropped for items related to
travel, sports or formal clothing (e.g. suitcases, bridal clothing, gym bags, etc.) (OECD, 2020[2]).3 Shifts
towards e-commerce have been observed in several countries, in particular along the food supply chain,
including farmers who started using digital technologies to sell their produce directly to consumers or
restaurants that switched to providing food or grocery delivery services (OECD, 2020[3]). In Germany,
online sales grew significantly for medicines and groceries, historically laggard sectors in terms of e-
commerce, while overall online sales contracted by around 18 percent in March 2020 in comparison to the
previous year (OECD, 2019[4]). In Korea, where official statistics are available, the e-commerce transaction
value rose by 15.8% between July 2019 and July 2020. Significant increases were observed for food services
(66.3%), household goods (48%) and food and beverages (46.7%), whereas online transactions involving
culture and leisure services or travel arrangement and transportation services declined significantly, by
67.8% and 51.6% respectively. In China, food products were the single biggest winner in e-commerce, with
an increase in accumulated sales from January to April 2020 of 36%, relative to the previous year. In
contrast, total online sales over January to April 2020 remained almost constant compared to the same
period in 2019 (+1.7%), after having grown significantly over 2018-19 (17.8%). Accumulated sales of
clothing products contracted by 16% compared to 2019, after significant growth from 2018-19 (23.7%).

While dynamics likely vary across countries, these data suggest that despite the shift to e-commerce, a
significant share of e-commerce sellers are facing the same economic repercussions as traditional brick-and-
mortar retailers, following reduced spending by individuals on items considered non-essential. A sample of
200 000 third-party Amazon vendors in the Unites States suggests that by April 2020 around 36% of
merchants were inactive, an increase from around 28% in February.4 Particularly affected were sellers with
less than 1 500 product listings (ASINs), while sellers with over 3 000 listings saw positive upswings. This
highlights how the COVID-19 crisis might have involved a shift in demand from small and specialised
sellers to larger and diversified sellers. The COVID-19 crisis also highlights the complementarity between
online and offline sales channels. Thus, while Amazon’s own sales in the first quarter of 2020 were 26%
higher than in the previous year, its share in total e-commerce in the United States fell from 42.1% in
January 2020 to 38.5% in June 2020. In particular, Amazon lost market share to Walmart (from 4.2% to 5%)
and Target (from 2.2% to 3.5%). It can be inferred that these and similar companies benefitted from large
networks of bricks-and-mortar stores, facilitating fast delivery and pick-up by the consumer (kerbside
fulfilment).
Certain shifts brought by COVID-19 likely involve long-term changes in e-commerce

While some demand shifts may be temporary, others are likely to have long-lasting effects. Anecdotal
evidence from the outbreak of SARS in 2002 and 2003 suggests that the epidemic has been a core catalyst
for the digital transformation of Chinese retail. For example, the move of JD.com, now one of the largest
online retailers in the world, from brick-and-mortar to online sales in 2004 was a direct response to the
SARS crisis. The same crises also provided the consumer base for Alibaba’s business-to-consumer (B2C)
branch Taobab, which was launched in 2003.

In the current crisis, for example, elderly consumers who started to engage with e-commerce as a means to
enhance physical distancing might in part stick to their newly acquired routines. The credit card usage of
around 10 million credit card holders in Japan suggests that the increase in the share of online purchases in
credit card transactions was highest for users in their 60s (from 15.4% in January to 21.9% in March 2020)
and those in their 70s (from 10.9% to 16.4%). A global consumer survey measuring the adoption of digital
and low-touch activities during the COVID-19 crisis by McKinsey further suggests that new users (i.e. users
that had never engaged in these activities before) drove over 50% of the increase in online grocery shopping
(Brazil and South Africa), kerbside pickup from restaurants (France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, United
Kingdom and United States) or other stores (Italy, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States). In the
United States, 21% of adults report having ordered groceries online or through an app from a local store as a
direct response to COVID-19. The percentage remains almost as high (19%) among only the elderly (age
65+). In Brazil, around 54% of Internet users had bought food or food products over the Internet in 2020,
substantially up from only 22% in 2018. Significant increases were also observed for cosmetics, toiletries
and medicines. As convenience has always been one of the key drivers of e-commerce participation, it is
likely that many of the new users will keep ordering at least some goods online in the future (OECD,
2019[4]). Others might continue ordering online out of fear of a pandemic blowback or because merchants
manage to retain them through loyalty programmes or subscription models introduced.

On the supply side, many operators of brick-and-mortar stores, who often were forced to completely shut
down their physical business, are now considering e-commerce a potentially crucial complimentary or
alternative sales channel. Because the move to online sales requires an investment, many of the firms that
have enhanced their participation in e-commerce during the COVID-19 crisis have an incentive to capitalise
on their acquired infrastructure or skills over the long run. This is particularly the case for larger merchants
that have invested in their own sales and distribution infrastructure. For example, by April 12,
2020, Amazon’s grocery branch Whole Foods Markets had increased the online order capacity by over 60%
to meet the surge in demand, expanding the pickup services from about 80 stores to more than 150, with
further extensions over time being likely. Even smaller merchants, many of whom have foregone larger
investment by relying on the infrastructure and services provided by online platforms (e.g. fulfilment,
logistics, customer service), might decide to turn their established online identity and experience into a long-
term asset (OECD, 2019[4]). A similar argument holds for a number of other players, many of which are
only now establishing the foundation of an online sales infrastructure, as a response to loosening of
confinement measures. This includes cafes, restaurants, museums or public swimming pools, which
were required in some countries to introduce an online booking system to control the number of persons on
their premises at a given point in time.
Policy makers need to ensure that e-commerce delivers for everyone – now more than ever

As detailed above, the COVID-19 crisis accelerated an expansion of e-commerce towards new firms,
customers and types of products.

For individuals, e-commerce enables physical distancing while retaining access to the full product variety.
While e-commerce in the past for many consumer groups was centred on high tech goods, toys or books, it
now increasingly involves goods for which availability is critical to a large share of the population,
including groceries, medicine and other necessities. E-commerce has further enabled continued access,
either online or physical, to certain areas of public life, such as concerts, museums or swimming pools,
including by efficiently allocating time stamped tickets to avoid overcrowding. Similarly, for many firms e-
commerce is now a vital alternative or complementary sales strategy, allowing continued operation in spite
of contact restrictions and other confinement measures.

It has therefore become increasingly important to close remaining digital divides. For consumers, these can
be linked to factors like access, income, awareness or skills. For example, the elderly, a segment of the
population that would particularly benefit from e-commerce-enabled physical distancing, have persistently
been lagging behind in terms of e-commerce participation in many countries (OECD, 2019[4]). Significant
and persistent gaps also remain for low-income households or individuals with low education, which is
concerning given the decreasing costs of connectivity, the ubiquity of digital technologies and the increasing
scope of products available online. Besides closing these divides, governments also need to ensure that
consumers, and in particular the most vulnerable, are sufficiently protected from unfair, misleading and
fraudulent commercial online practices, which have been increasing in the current crisis (OECD, 2020[5]).

Persistent gaps in terms of e-commerce participation also remain for firms, and in particular small and
medium enterprises (SMEs). In 2017, the participation rate for SMEs in e-commerce was less than half the
rate for large firms in a majority of OECD countries (OECD, 2019[4]). This explains and adds to a low level
of resilience and flexibility among SMEs in dealing with the costs of reduced demand and local containment
measures (OECD, 2020[6]) Low levels of digitalisation and difficulties in accessing and adopting new
technologies make it particularly difficult for those firms to change existing work processes, by introducing
teleworking or an e-commerce sales channel.

The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated many of these divides. Additionally, regulatory uncertainties about
which rules to follow (e.g. offline or online) suddenly can affect a larger number of firms trying to flexibly
combine and shift between offline, online and omni-channel sales channels. While many of these challenges
have existed before the COVID-19 crisis (OECD, 2019[4]), the current situation has heightened the need for
policy action. Some countries have already taken initiatives, in particular to support the digitalisation of
business models, during the COVID-19 crisis, but challenges remain pressing in many countries.
Closing digital divides among individuals and fostering participation of the vulnerable

Factors that limit e-commerce participation for certain groups of individuals are often related to economic
and social conditions that reach far beyond e-commerce, including rural-urban divides, income distribution,
unequal access to education and an aging society. These conditions may manifest themselves in low
connectivity, a lack of digital skills, low levels of trust (including security and privacy concerns) or a lack of
access to online payment mechanisms, all factors that can be addressed by policy action (OECD, 2019[4]).
Relevant measures in this regard include targeted information campaigns, trust building initiatives, adult
training, or public-private partnerships that target the participation of low-income households and those in
rural areas.

During the COVID-19 crisis, governments and businesses in several countries (e.g. Japan, the United
Kingdom and the United States) announced measures to reduce the financial burden associated with Internet
access for particular consumer groups, including poor or young individuals (OECD, 2020[5]). Developing
and emerging countries also provide examples for innovative approaches to tackle lingering digital divides,
including through mobile money (e.g. M-Pesa in Kenya), cash on delivery, deliveries through mom-and-pop
stores in remote areas, or the use of landline phones and social media to co-ordinate online orders for those
with limited digital skills or access to digital tools. In OECD countries, related strategies could be
considered to introduce community-based delivery programmes for particularly vulnerable consumers (e.g.
those in public care homes) and consumers that lack the required skills to participate in e-commerce.

Targeted actions may be needed particularly for vulnerable groups in the context of grocery shopping, a
required activity with high contact probability. Experience from the first wave of the COVID-19 crisis has
shown that difficulties to obtain a delivery slot or wait times of several weeks deterred many elderly with
access to digital technologies from using these tools for grocery shopping. Some grocery merchants have
reacted by reserving online grocery delivery slots for elderly and vulnerable shoppers or asking non-
vulnerable shoppers to shop in-store in order to ease capacities for the vulnerable
(e.g. Waitrose, Tesco, WholeFoods). Governments can actively support this process. Ireland’s Citizens
Information Board provides information on safer shopping during COVID-19 and explicitly recommended
non-vulnerable people to shop in-store or pick-up online orders at the retailer to avoid occupying delivery
slots that could be used by vulnerable people. Many countries have also conditioned the opening of stores on
reserving dedicated shopping hours to vulnerable groups, a practice that could be extended to home delivery.
In some cases it might also be necessary to regulate how grocery stores can identify vulnerable shoppers in
the context of online shopping, with current approaches often being ad-hoc and heterogeneous, e.g. based on
loyalty schemes and customer accounts.

Additionally, even mainstream consumers often become financially and psychologically more vulnerable
during the crisis. Governments therefore might need to foster trust, engage in a dialogue with online
businesses about fair business conduct, educate consumers about possible scams, and avoid rolling back
consumer protection and product safety measures (OECD, 2020[5]). Governments should also ensure
sufficient competition in the retail sector, given that the COVID-19 crisis may lead to the exit of many small
and local brick-and-mortar retailers, enhancing market consolidation (OECD, 2020[1]) to the benefit of
larger retailers with online sales channels.
Fostering innovative e-commerce business models and digital transformation in SMEs

As digital transformation progresses, new business models arise in ways that are difficult to predict and that
challenge traditional policy frameworks (OECD, 2019[4]).In particular, regulatory frameworks may
preserve artificial distinctions between online and offline commerce, even as firms increasingly pursue
business models that combine both elements. Planning and zoning rules can further hinder a swift
repurposing of existing brick-and-mortar facilities (e.g. converting store fronts in warehouses or logistics
hubs in urban centres). They can also prevent or slow down the use of innovative, contact-free delivery
methods, such as drones or robots. This is particularly relevant in times of the COVID-19 crisis, when firms
have to adapt to limitations on physical interactions or supply chain disruptions, accommodating new
business functions and logistics solutions, to ensure their economic survival.

Regulatory approaches to new e-commerce business models, to the extent possible, should therefore allow
for experimentation, and be transparent and flexible. Regulatory flexibility in response to the COVID-19
crisis is observable in a number of countries, including the easing of caps on contact-less payments or
temporary exceptions to planning and zoning rules, e.g. allowing restaurants to increase their terrace space
and creating additional biking lanes (e.g. in Paris). Governments should consider similar flexibility in the
context of e-commerce, relying for example on properly monitored and evaluated experimental regulatory
waivers (e.g. regulatory sandboxes), which have been successfully used to test new technologies like drones
and digital payment mechanisms. Governments could also reduce uncertainty for firms, e.g. with regard to
the rules for an omni-channel business models, by providing clear information about the existing rules and
their implications for particular business models. For example, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade
and Industry provides Interpretative Guidelines on Electronic Commerce and Information Property
Trading since 2002, a good practice that could help to provide specific and simplified advice to firms
transforming their business models in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Several governments have also taken targeted steps to support brick-and-mortar shops in their digital
transformation and in fighting the economic repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis (OECD, 2020[1]). For
example, Japan designed a business continuity subsidy, helping firms to diversify and expand their sales
channels. Korea also encouraged brick-and-mortar shops to open their business online through a dedicated
support programme. In this context, some governments have explicitly acknowledged the role of online
platforms, which can play an important role in easing the move from offline to online sales by providing a
range of services, including logistics, fulfilment or customer service (OECD, 2019[4]). For example, China
and Singapore actively supported MSMEs in accessing e-commerce platforms with regional or global reach,
to help them reduce costs or sell overseas through digital means.

Some online platforms have also directly supported SMEs in the transition to e-commerce as a response to
the COVID-19 crisis. For example, eBay.uk temporarily dropped registration fees for small sellers (up to
250 items), set up free listings promotions for established sellers and protected sellers from downgrades in
their seller ratings due to late delivery or cancellation. In Brazil, large online retailers or platforms opened
up their sales platforms to SMEs, including by providing access to their logistics infrastructure, or
have supported SMEs financially.5 Recent regulatory approaches to promote fairness and transparency for
business users of online intermediation services are particularly relevant in this regard. Related platform-to-
business regulation has, for example, been recently enacted in Japan and is being applied in the EU since
July 2020.6
Fostering the enabling environment for e-commerce

To ensure an efficient e-commerce landscape that delivers for everyone, policy makers should further foster
the enabling environment for online transactions in areas such as digital connectivity,
(international) logistics and trade,7 including in digital goods and services. For example, an area with
immediate bearing for e-commerce are postal services. While logistics and postal services have been slowed
in many countries, due to new COVID-19 related safety guidelines and government recommendations, the
fact that they were considered critical sectors by many governments helped to retain their functioning as key
enablers of e-commerce on the supply side. Additionally, service providers have reacted by fostering
contact-less delivery options in several countries, including via parcel lockers or by replacing signatures
with alternative proofs of delivery. Governments can actively support such solutions. For example, Italy is
considering different measures to encourage the use of automated parcel lockers, including increasing the
coverage of parcel locker networks or promoting a more efficient use of lockers, such as through increased
interoperability or sharing between different providers.

Recommendation
 Close existing digital divides among individuals, for example by expanding affordable and quality
broadband to rural and underserved areas, enhancing financial inclusion, and fostering trust and the
acquisition of skills to participate in e-commerce.
 Foster e-commerce participation by the most vulnerable, for example by introducing community
based delivery programmes for elderly and reserved delivery slots. Ensure that vulnerable consumers are
protected from unfair business practices and unsafe products.
 Support the creation of innovative e-commerce business models, ensuring that regulatory
frameworks remain flexible enough to accommodate combinations of online and offline business functions.
Reduce regulatory uncertainty and promote transparency through information sharing.
 Ensure that SMEs can participate in e-commerce, for example by providing policy, regulatory or
financial incentives for sales diversification and establishing a level playing for SMEs relying on the
services of online platforms.
 Reduce bottlenecks in the enabling environment for e-commerce, including areas such as
connectivity, trade, logistics and postal services.
To Note

← 1. Sales through electronic shopping and mail-order houses account for around 90% of the total turnover
from non-store retailers. Other sales channels include catalogues, door-to-door solicitation or vending
machines.

← 2. 27 member countries of the European Union.

← 3. There has also been a significant increase in demand for many digital services (e.g. music and video-
streaming) in response to confinement measures. Other online services, in particular in travel services or
home rentals, have seen large declines. A discussion of these trends would go beyond the scope of this
policy brief.

← 4. Monthly inactivity estimates are based on merchants’ 30-day feedback scores, assuming that zero
feedback within 30 days indicates a lack of sales activity. Estimates therefore represent an upper bound.

← 5. There are also examples illustrating how governments can cooperate with online platforms to harness
e-commerce technologies for a more efficient response to the COVID-19 crisis. For example, in the United
Kingdom, eBay has been working with several government agencies to build and test a new portal, of
exclusive access to healthcare professionals, which aims to supply personal protective equipment to NHS
primary and social care workers. In South Africa, Uber has partnered with the Western Cape Department of
Health and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to deliver medications to those most vulnerable to
COVID-19. Additionally, platforms like Amazon are offering free access to remote education, working and
research tools to the public sector.

← 6. The new EU regulation ensures that terms and conditions of online platforms are drafted in plain and
intelligible language, cannot be changed without an advance notice of at least 15 days, and exhaustively
spell out any reasons that could lead to the delisting of business users among many others.
← 7. According to the WTO, global trade may shrink between 13 and 32%, raising additional concerns for
e-commerce and the functioning of global supply chains.

=
 CHAPTER 2
RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY

The objectives of the study are given below.

Objectives of the Study

 To study how e-commerce aid in the economic development of developing countries.

 To identify the relationship between e-commerce and emerging market.
 To identify the significant impact of e-commerce on emerging market.
 To assess the influence of e-commerce in developing an economy.
 To study the impacts of e-commerce in emerging markets.
 To study social e-commerce in emerging markets.

Limitations of the Study

This study is e-commerce in emerging markets.
Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the
relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and
interview).
Time constraint– The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This
consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

Scope of the study

 The potential for e-commerce development is enormous. Now a days one can buy products online through
some sites like Flipkart and Amazon. In the age of e-commerce everything from gym equipment to laptops
are available online. E-Commerce is a super set of business cases. It includes E-trading, E-Franchising, E-
Mailing, E-Engineering etc. Scope of e-commerce can be enumerated as follows:
 
1. Exchange of digitized information
2. Technology-enabled
3. Customers retention
4. Accounting
5. Supplier integration
6. Support the exchange
 
1. Exchange of digitized information: The digitized information exchange can represent
communications between two parties, coordination of the flow of goods and service, or transmission of
electronic orders. These exchange can be between organizations or individuals.
 
2.Technology-enabled: E-Commerce is about technology-enabled transactions. Web browsers are perhaps
the best Know of these technology-enabled customer interfaces. However, other interfaces including
automated teller machines (ATMs) also fall in the general category of e-commerce. Business once managed
transactions with customers and markets strictly through human interaction; In e-commerce, such
transitions can be managed using technology.
3. Customers retention: E-Commerce enables organizations to get classified and customized market
information that helps in retaining customers through fast order fulfillment and effective customers
relationship management (CRM). End-to-End supply chain management in e-commerce provides the
opportunity the overall flow of demand and supply and results in fruitful customers retention.
 
4. Accounting: Financial accounting, treasury management and asset management are best possible in e-
commerce because of integrated database. Financial planning and strategy determination become more
convenient in e-commerce.
 
5. Supplier integration: For lowering inventory-carrying costs and broader availability of material and
opportunities suppliers network can be integrated through EDI to implement just-in-time (JIT) inventory
management.
 
6. Support the exchange: E-Commerce includes intra and interorganizational activities that support the
exchange. The scope of e-commerce includes all electronically based intra and interorganizational activities
that directly or indirectly support marketplace exchange. In this sense, we are talking about a phenomenon
that affects both How business organizations relate to external parties customers, suppliers, partners,
competitors, and markets and how they operate internally in managing activities, processes and systems.

METHODOLOGY

Primary research is defined as a methodology used by researchers to collect data directly, rather than
depending on data collected from previously done research. Technically, they “own” the data. Primary
research is solely carried out to address a certain problem, which requires in-depth analysis.

I had used primary method for collecting responses of people with the help of questionnaires created by me
in google form.
 CHAPTER 3
LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter 3 ‘Literature Review’ I had inserted the information and review of my study topic
“Ecommerce in Emerging Market” of the literature who had before handly done their project on same topic.
Gupta (2014) in her paper “E-Commerce: Role of e-commerce in today’s business in Emerging
Markets”, presents a comprehensive definition of e-commerce while isolating it from e-business. The
paper enlists the different e-commerce models i.e. B2B, B2C, B2G and C2C, narratively analysing
the nitty gritties of each. Rina (2016)also elaborates the different applications of e-commerce in
“Challenges and Future Scope of E-commerce in India”, at the same time, defining the degree to which
they are operational in the country.
Gunasekaran, Marri, McGaughey, & Nebhwani (2002) give a broad outlook of electronic commerce within
organisational systems in “E-commerce and its impact on operations management”, defining it with
reference to e-trading and elaborating- how it has permeated every field of business. The paper identifies
the revolutionary role played by earlier internet applications like e-mail and eletronic data interchange and
details the revolutionary changes brought by the internet technologies in manufacturing, marketing,
purchasing, design, production, selling and distribution, warehousing and human resource management.
Internet based technologies have enabled businesses to shorten development, purchase and procurement
cycles, maintain upto date product and market information, significantly increase the speed of
communications and increase the quality of customer relationships by facilitating close contact and
constant communication. The paper studies in depth, the significance of web based technologies in different
business operations, thus, improving their efficiency through effective B2B e-commerce.

Mishra & Kotkar(2015) trace the timeline and development of B2C e-commerce in “A Study on
Emerging of Markets in E-Commerce in India: A Comparative Analysis of Flipkart and Amazon”with its
inception in the
mid 1990s through the advent of matrimonial and job portals. However, due to limited internet
accessibility, weak online payment systems and lack of awareness, the progress was very slow. The Indian
B2C e-commerce industry got a major boost in mid 2000s with the expansion of online services to travel
and hotel bookings which continue to be major contributors even today.Das & Ara(2015) observe in
“Growth of E-Commerce in India”that though online travel and hotel bookings still control the lion’s
share of e-commerce market, their share has comparitively fallen over the years due to the recent
augmentation and consequent rise of e-tailing services. There has been a tremendous surge in the volume of
investment in this sector. With the e-commerce markets in the west reaching their saturation, investors see
tremendous potential in the Indian market, in the light of which, many start ups have received funding
from venture capitalists and private equity firms. China's Alibaba Group and affiliate Ant Financial
became the largest shareholders of One97 Communications, the parent of Indian e-tailer Paytm, by
investing $680 million, in 2015 (Aulakh, 2015).
the potential of what it regards as “underdeveloped internet economy” of India, Japanese investment
company and and technology powerhouse Softbank invested $627 million into online retailing
marketplace Snapdeal and
To tap and $210 million in Ola cabs. (Mac, 2014). Similarly, New York firm Tiger Global
Management has funded companies such MakeMyTrip, Flipkart, Myntra and Quickr. The availablity of
funds has presented a favourable ecosystem and growth opportunities for big as well as small companies. It
has enabled local startups to survive in cut throat competition against foreign giants and has facilitated the
penetration of e-commerce to every facet Growth of E-commerce in India: An Analytical Review of
Literature of human life; such that the differntiation between e-commerce and traditional buisness is
getting blurred.(Aggarwal, 2014).
Through “Probles and Prospects of E-Commerce”, Raghunath & Panga (2013) present a
comprehensive analysis of various nuances of e-commerce while accentuating that, in present time every
business activity, be it advertising, ordering, payment etc, can be performed in the digital ecosystem. The
paper also enlists numerous points on the importance of e-commerce which are responsible for its
development as the new convention. It has enabled the creation and exploitation of new business and
services. E-commerce has not only augmented the performance of internal business management, but,
has also enabled better customer relationships by promoting a business model that is essentially based on
information sharing. The accessibility of internet connectivity and other online tools herald a new
revolution. SWOT analysis of e-commerce conducted by Awais & Samin (2012) highlights ubiquity,
low operating cost, improved customer interaction and time saving as the unique strengths of e-
commerce,but, at the same timeaccentuates upon the necessity for the firms to adapt themselves to the
changing environment and innovate constantly to come up with better offerings for customers. With an
increase in the number of players in the B2C segment, competition for the first position is set to intensify,
making it imperative for the firms to enhance service quality and to invest in logistics, so as to derive
benefits from increase in the disposable income of houseolds, rise in internet subscriptions and
infilteration of mobile commerce. (Das & Ara, 2015). In the face of rising competition, the survival of the
firms will depend upon how efficiently they are able to bridge the exsting gaps in e-commerce
transactions. The ubiquitous nature of internet has enabled e-commerce to defy geographical boundaries and
permeate different markets,so as to elicit demand from sub-urban and rural areas, after having succesfully
tapped its potential in metropolitan cities. In anticipation of increasing demand from Tier 2 and 3 cities,
many e-commerce firms are undertaking efforts to widen their reach by investing in better infrastructure. In
the light of growing number of websites, offering similar goods and services, greater significance is
being attributed to Internet Marketing, which shall play an unparalleled role in audience acquisition
for e-commerce websites, by displaying the advertisements on search engine result pages and other
portals. Internet Marketing shall not only propel e-commerce but will also emerge as an important support
tool to brick and mortar stores.(Gangeshwer, 2013). Apart from Internet Marketing, Deshmukh,
Deshmukh & Thampi (2013) recognise another important development: m-commerce, which they
identify as a subset of e-commerce. “Transformation from E-commerce to M-commerce in Indian
Context” reviews the current and potential status of e-commerce and m-commerce in the Indian market,
while projecting the latter as the potential future. The paper discerns ubiquity, personalization, flexibility
and immediacy as the singular advantages of m-commerce. The authors affirm the idea that smart phone
penetration and rise in inetrnet user base, mostly driven by youth, shall propel the growth of e-commerce.
Statistical data is used to emphasize that the infrastructure requisite for m-commerce development
already exists, however, it is yet to be properly deployed. With mobile penetration providing a boost to
digital downloads and enabling cheaper monetary transfers, the need of the hour is to enhance customer
confidence by providing them assurance of safety and privacy, which shall accelerate movement
towards a cashless economy. Despite innumerable prospects, the growth of e-commerce in India has not
been upto its full potential due to certain challenges that inhibit the growth of firms. The growth of digital
commerce in India is impeded by inadequate infrastructure, logistics failure, lack of tax uniformity and
declining margins. In the face of intense competition, firms have to pamper the customers with
huge discounts, everyday offers and liberal returns policy which proves detrimental to their profits. As
against the firms following inventory model, e-marketplaces are more adversely affected by subsidies as
they have to offer incentives to the seller for listing their products on the website in addition to the
humungous discounts and wide range of offers to the customers. The increasing fulfillment costs (includes
every cost incurred from the point an order is placed till the time its delivered to the customer.), lack of
last mile connectivity in many sub-urban and rural areas and the rising reverse logistics also hinder the
the growth of e-commerce firms by resulting in huge loss.(Rina, 2016).
 DATA ANALYSIS AND DATA INTERPRETATION
DATA ANALYSIS
Data analysis is a process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming, and modelling data with the goal of
discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-making. Data analysis has
multiple facets and approaches, encompassing diverse techniques under a variety of names, and is used in
different business, science, and social science domains. In today's business world, data analysis plays a role
in making decisions more scientific and helping businesses operate more effectively.
I had created 17 to 18 questions to collect responses from people related to my project topic “E-commerce in
Emerging market” with the help of Google forms and Whats app to share links.
Started my questions with “Email Id” to know whoever had responded to my help me in collecting
responses and then continued with next question.
“Gender” by which actually me and the reader of my project will get to know who a male or a female had
responded or the percentage of male or female had responded continued with next question.
“Age Group” to know what age group do the respondents belong. I had asked to fill the options which were
provided by me the particular age group of people from 18 to 60.
Then continued with “Qualification” to know the qualification of the respondent and the options / choices
provided to choose were “Below SSC”, “SSC”, ”HSC”, ”Graduation” and “Post Graduation”.
Moved forward with an idea to know the “Occupation” of the respondent then again thee options provided
were an “Employee”, “Professional”, “Student”, “Housewife” and Others.
And then questioned them their Annual Income with a guessing asked them to choose options from
“Unemployed”, less than 1Lakh”, “Between 1Lakh to 2.5Lakh”, “Between 2.5Lakh to 3.5Lakh” and
3.5Lakh or more.
Then moved on with many more questions related to my topic “E-commerce in Emerging Markets” to know
the choices/views that how much knowledge do they have of e-commerce i.e. internet commerce or internet
transactions in emerging markets.
My 1st question and more questions were as under:-
Do you know the significance of ecommerce in emerging markets and choices were “Yes”, “No” and “Don’t
know”.
Then continued with more questions which are as follows
Are you aware of emerging markets with choices Yes, No, Maybe..
What according to you is the future of ecommerce in India with choices Excellent, Very Good, Neutral, Bad,
Very bad.
From how many years are you using ecommerce with choices less than 1 year, less than 5 year, more than 5
year and don’t know.
For what purpose do you use ecommerce and the choices provided were personal use, business use and both.
From the various types of ecommerce what according to you has the largest market shares and the options
were B2B Commerce, B2C Commerce, B2G Commerce and others.
According to you how is ecommerce helpful to the commerce in emerging markets and the options to
choose were Encourage price transparency, Fastens transactions, Broadens consumer choice and others.
Do you think application of ecommerce has increased marketing in India and the options were Yes, No and
Maybe.
Do you agree that ecommerce as commercial mean with multiple choices and the options were
Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly agree.
Do you agree that ecommerce can provide an alternative marketing channel by Eliminating the middleman
with choices Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly agree.
Which is the prominent domain in which ecommerce is used in India with some actual options Banking,
Real Estate, Stocks and shares, Matrimony and Others.
What are the challenges to the implementation of ecommerce in India with options Security concern, Lack
of Trust, slow penetration of interest and others.
And ended up my questionnaire with last question
Do you think that the government is doing enough to promote awareness of ecommerce in emerging market
with options Yes, No and Maybe.
Then ended my form with “Thank you”.
 DATA INTERPRETATION
Data interpretation refers to the process of using diverse analytical methods to review data and arrive at
relevant conclusions. The interpretation of data helps researchers to categorize, manipulate, and summarize
the information in order to answer critical questions.

INTERPRETATING MY DATA

1. GENDER

PARTICULARS PERCENTAGE %

MALE 31.1%

FEMALE 68.8%

2. AGE GROUP YOU BELONG TO

AGES BETWEEN PRCENTAGE%
18-28 78.3%
29-39 16%
40-50 6.7%
51-60 15%

3. WHAT IS YOUR EDUCATION QUALIFICATION

QUALIFICATION PERCENTAGE%
BELOW SSC 2.8%
SSC 8.5%
HSC 12.3%
GRADUATION 66%
POST GRADUATION 10.4%
4. YOUR OCCUPATION

OCCUPATION PERCENTAGE%
EMPLOYEE 22.6%
PROFESSIONAL 4%
STUDENT 52.8%
HOUSEWIFE 11.3%
OTHERS 9.3%

5. WHAT IS YOUR ANNUAL INCOME

ANNUAL INCOME PERCENTAGE%

UNEMPLOYED 58.5%
LESS THAN 1LAKH 14.2%
BETWEEN 1LAKH TO 2.5LAKH 13.2%
BETWEEN 2.5LAKH TO 3.5LAKH 5.6%
3.5LAKH OR MORE 7.5%

6. DO YOU KNOW WHAT ARE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ECOMMERCE IN EMERGING MARKETS

RESPONSES PERCENTAGE%
YES 67.9%
NO 20.8%
DON’T KNOW 11.3%

7. ARE YOU AWARE OF EMERGING MARKETS

RESPONSES PERCENTAGE%
YES 59.4%
NO 22.6%
MAY BE 17.9%
8. WHAT ACCORDING TO YOU IS THE FUTURE OF ECOMMERCE IN INDIA

RESPONSE PERCENTAGE%
EXCELLENT 21.7%
VERY GOOD 40.6%
GOOD 20.8%
NEUTRAL 14.2%
BAD 2.7%

9. FROM HOW MANY YEARS ARE YOU USING ECOMMERCE

NO OF YEARS PERCENTAGE%
LESS THAN 1 YEAR 47.2%
MORE THAN 5 YEAR 7.5%
LESS THAN 5 YEAR 21.7%
DON’T KNOW 23.6%
10. FOR WHAT PURPOSE DO YOU USE ECOMMERCE

USES PERCENTAGE%
PERSONAL USE 55.7%
BUSINESS USE 16.1%
BOTH OF ABOVE 39.6%

11. FROM THE VARIOUS TYPES OF ECOMMERCE ,WHAT ACCORDING TO YOU HAS THE
LARGEST MARKET SHARE

COMMERCE TYPES PERCENTAGE%

B2B COMMERCE 24.5%
B2C COMMERCE 34.9%
B2G COMMERCE 3.8%
OTHERS 36.8%
12. ACCORDING TO YOU HOW IS ECOMMERCE HELPFUL TO THE COMMERCE IN EMERGING
MARKETS

RESPONSES PERCENTAGE%
ENCOURAGE PRICE TRANSPERENCY 24.5%
FASTERNS TRANSACTIONS 39.6%
BROADENS CONSUMERS CHOICE 17%
DON’T KNOW 18.9%

13. DO YOU THINK APPLICATION OF ECOMMERCE HAS INCREASED MARKETING IN INDIA

RESPONSE PERCENTAGE%
YES 73.6%
NO 3.8%
MAY BE 22.6%
14. DO YOU AGREE THAT ECOMMERCE AS COMMERCIAL MEAN
OPINIONS PERCENTAGE%
STRONGLY AGREE 7.5%
DISAGREE 2.9%
NEUTRAL 45.3%
AGREE 35.8%
STRONGLY AGREE 8.5%

15. DO YOU AGREE THAT ECOMMERCE CAN PROVIDE AN ALTERNATIVE MARKETING

CHANNEL BY ELIMINATING THE MIDDLEMAN

OPINIONS PERCENTAGE%
STRONGLY DISAGREE 7.5%
DISAGREE 13.2%
NEUTRAL 34%
AGREE 35.8%
STRONGLY AGREE 9.4%

16. WHICH IS THE PROMINENT DOMAIN IN WHICH ECOMMERCE IS USED IN INDIA

DOMAINS PERCENTAGE%
BANKING 40.6%
REAL ESTATE 12.3%
STOCK AND SHARES 31.1%
MATRIMONY 1.8%
OTHERS 14.2%

17. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ECOMMERCE IN INDIA

CHALLENGES PERCENTAGE%
SECURITY CONCERN 41.5%
LACK OF TRUST 31.1%
SLOW PENTRATION OF INTEREST 8.5
OTHERS 18.9%

18. DO YOU THINK THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS DOING ENOUGH TO PROMOTE AWARENESS
OF ECOMMERCE IN EMERGING MARKETS
RESPONSES PERCENTAGE%
YES 45.3%
NO 16%
MAY BE 38.7%

These are the interpretation of the data collected by me from 106 persons related to my project .

CONCLUSION
 FINDINGS

• 100 percentage of the students uses the internet.

• More than half of the student says that Flipkart is the most preferred ecommerce website.
• More than half of the students most commonly use the e-commerce website for getting information before
physical store.
• More than half of the students says that they are aware about Decathlon as ecommerce website.
• Less than half of the students says that they know about the Decathlon through word of mouth.
• Majority of the students are satisfied using e-commerce website often.
• Less than half of the students are concerned about the fake products on online purchase.
• More than half of the students says that they use e-commerce website only once in a month.
• Less than half of the students says that KIPSTA is the more preferred brand.
• Majority of the students says that they typically purchase shoes through online purchase.
• Less than half of the students says that they are moderately comfortable while using online purchase.
• Less than half of the students says that privacy concerned once in a while preventing them buying products
through online.
• Less than half of the students prefer cash on delivery while buying the products through online.
• Less than half of the students acknowledge about saving the time while purchasing products through online.
E-commerce has significant impact on emerging market. E-commerce has been hailed by many as an
opportunity for developing countries to gain a stronger foothold in the multilateral trading system...
Additionally, e-commerce allows for higher profit margins as the cost of running a business is markedly
less.
• More than half of the students says that description about the product on online is accurate.
• Less than half of the students says that customer service is the best feature about Decathlon.
• Half of the students neutrally satisfied with the Decathlon’s reasonable return and exchange policy.
• More than half of the students gives good rating about Decathlon`s website

SUGGESTIONS

• Company needs to spend a lot on advertising and promotion to create an better reputation among the
public.
• Provide better customer service.
• Need to include varieties of similar items.
• Better if they provide filtered information.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study we have taken cluster sampling method in a selected college, sports students by random
selected students. Decathlon success is a direct result of its detailed pricing and marketing strategies, but
Omnia gave the company the tools to ensure that strategy became a success. After completing this research,
we come to know that Decathlon website is the most preferred website by the sports students. Decathlon has
successfully placed itself into the prospects mind making it as worlds emerging markets with huge sports
products. KIPSTA is the most preferred brand in Decathlon website. Customers gives good rating about the
Decathlon’s service. It provides services through online as well as offline retail shop.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Managerial economics, Author: A.VINOD, First publication in 2009.
• Business research method, Author: Dr.K.VENUGOPALAN, First publication in 2011

WIBLIOGRAPHY

1. www.thebalance.com
2. www.investopidia.com
3. www.corporatefinanceinstitude.com
4. www.yourdictionary.com
5. www.bookauthority.com
6. https://www.academia.edu
7. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in
8. http://emergingmarkets.com
 APPENDIX
1. GENDER *
o MALE
o FEMALE

2. AGE GROUP YOU BELONG TO ? *

o 18 -28
o 29- 39
o 40- 50
o 51- 60

3. WHAT IS YOUR EDUCATION QUALIFICATION ? *

o BELOW SSC
o SSC
o HSC
o GRADUTION
o POST GRADUATION
4. YOUR OCCUPATION *
o EMPLOYEE
o PROFESSIONAL
o STUDENT
o HOUSEWIFE
o OTHERS

5. WHAT IS YOUR ANNUAL INCOME *

o UNEMPLOYED
o LESS THAN 1 LAKH
o BETWEEN I LAKH TO 2.5 LAKH
o BETWEEN 2.5 LAKH TO 3.5 LAKH
o 3.5 LAKHS OR MORE
6. DO YOU KNOW WHAT ARE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF E-COMMERCE IN EMERGING MARKET ?
*
o YES
o NO
o DONT KNOW

7. ARE YOU AWARE OF EMERGING MARKETS ? *

o YES
o NO
o MAY BE
8. WHAT ACCORDING TO YOU IS THE FUTURE OF E-COMMERCE IN INDIA ? *
o EXCELLENT
o VERY GOOD
o GOOD
 o NEUTRAL
o BAD

9. FROM HOW MANY YEARS ARE YOU USING E-COMMERCE ? *

o LESS THAN 1 YEAR
o MORE THAN 5 YEARS
o LESS THAN 5 YEARS
o DONT KNOW
10. FOR WHAT PURPOSE DO YOU USE E-COMMERCE ? *
o PERSONAL USE
o BUSINESS USE
o BOTH OF ABOVE

11. FROM THE VARIOUS TYPES OF E-COMMERCE ,WHAT ACCORDING TO YOU HAS THE
LARGEST MARKET SHARE ? *
o B2B COMMERCE
o B2C COMMERCE
o B2G COMMERCE
o OTHERS

12. ACCORDING TO YOU HOW IS E-COMMERCE HELPFUL TO THE COMMERCE IN EMERGING

MARKETS ? *
o ENCOURAGE PRICE TRANSPERENCY
o FASTERNS TRANSACTIONS
o BRODENS CONSUMERS CHOICE
o DONT KNOW

13. DO YOU THINK APPLICATION OF E-COMMERCE HAS INCREASED MARKETING IN INDIA?

*
o YES
o No
o Maybe
14. DO YOU AGREE THAT E-COMMERCE AS COMMERCIAL MEANS ? *
o STRONGLY DISAGREE
o DISAGREE
o NEUTRAL
o AGREE
o STRONGLY AGREE

15. DO YOU AGREE THAT E-COMMERCE CAN PROVIDE AN ALTERNATIVE MARKETING

CHANNEL BY ELIMINATING THE MIDDLE MAN ? *
o STRONGLY DISAGREE
o DISAGREE
o NEUTRAL
o AGREE
 o STRONGLY AGREE

16. WHICH IS THE PROMINENT DOMAIN IN WHICH E-COMMERCE IS USED IN INDIA ? *

o BANKING
o REAL ESTATE
o STOCK AND SHARES
o MATRIMONY
o OTHERS
17. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF E-COMMERCE IN INDIA ? *
SECURITY CONCERN
o LACK OF TRUST
o SLOW PENTRATION OF INTEREST
o OTHERS

18. DO YOU THINK THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS DOING ENOUGH TO PROMOTE AWARENESS
OF E-COMMERCE IN EMERGING MARKETS ? *
o Yes
o No
o Maybe