Future of E-Commerce in India-2021

The Project report
On
“E-Commerce in India”
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the

Degree of
“ Bachelor of commerce”
Submitted by-
Name- Kriti Gupta
Enrollment No. - A9923520000289
Course - Bcom
Semester - VI
Project Guide - Mr.Karuna Shankar Rastogi
Examiner’s Certificate
This is to certify that the project report titled “E-Commerce in India” provided by
“Kriti Gupta” has been accepted and is of acceptable quality and format.
Project Guide - Mr. Karuna Shankar Rastogi

Certificate of Guide
This is to certify that “Kriti Gupta” worked under my supervision and guidance on
the project report entitled “E-Commerce in India” submitted in partial fulfillment
and requirement for the degree of “Bachelors of Commerce” to Amity University
Online, and that no part of this report has been submitted for the award of any
other degree, diploma, fellowship, or any similar titles or prizes, and the work has
not been published in a journal.
Certified By - Mr. Karuna Shankar Rastogi

Statement
I hereby announce that the project report titled “E-Commerce in India” which I
submitted to Amity University Online in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the degree of “Bachelors of Commerce” is my original work and not submitted for
the award of any other degree, diploma, fellowship, or prize of any kind.
Kriti Gupta
Bcom - VI Semester
Enrollment No. - A9923520000289
Acknowledgement
I would want to thank Mr. Karuna Shankar Rastogi from the bottom of my heart
for having total faith in me.
I am grateful to all my professors and the administration at Amity University

Online for presenting me this wonderful opportunity.
I would want to convey my heartfelt thanks to Mr. Karuna Shankar Rastogi for
providing me with a wonderful setting in which to work on my projects.
I’m also grateful to my friends and parents, who were always willing to lend a
hand and encourage me to finish this job.
ALL OF THEM HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE IN MY PROJECT WORK.
Kriti Gupta
Bcom - VI Semester
Enrollment No - A9923520000289
E-Commerce in India
INDEX
 Title Page
 Approval Page
 Certification Page
 Dedication
 Acknowledgement
 Abstract
 Introduction
 The Statement of the Problem

 Types of E-Commerce
 Techniques of E-Commerce
 Features of E-Commerce
 Some E-Commerce Companies
 The ten topmost E-Commerce sites in India 2020
 The Impact of COVID-19 on E-Commerce in India
 Top challenges for E-Commerce businesses amid and post- pandemic
 History of the E-Commerce – How did it all begin?
 Present of E-Commerce in India
 Future of E-commerce in India
 E-Commerce trends
 Advantages of the E-Commerce in India
 Disadvantages of the E-Commerce in India
 Challenges for E-Commerce in India
 Conclusion – The way ahead
 References
E-commerce in India
ABSTRACT
E-commerce stands for electronic commerce and performing business online and electronically.
The E-commerce has entirely transformed the conventional perception of business. E-commerce
deals with buying and selling of goods and services with the help of internet and computer
networks. Hence, this research has focused on understanding the growth & development of E-
commerce in India and what the current trends in E-commerce are. This research has adopted the
qualitative research approach and provides a review of existing literature in order to understand
the scope, growth and development of E-commerce in India with the current trends that derives
industry growth. Findings of this study further indicate that E-commerce will see rapid and
continuous growth in India. These works also find out, E-commerce delivers the several kinds of
opportunities to the Retailers, Producers, the People and Wholesalers.
INTRODUCTION
Electronic commerce or E-commerce comprises mainly of the marketing, allocating, Selling,
purchasing, and servicing of goods or services over electronic systems like the Internet and other
computer networks. Broadly electronic commerce means directing business by means of one of
several electronic methods, typically linking internet, computers or both. E-Commerce is not
only technology itself, it is related to doing business with the technology. E-commerce is
electronic business application and it involves corporate purchasing, value chain integration,
supply chain management, e-marketing, online transaction processing electronic fund transfer,
etc. Ecommerce makes new opportunities for earning profits through online activities. It helps to
generates simply cooperation between sharing information’s, different groups, business to
develop good customer relations, more personalization, better customer services, build new
products or services, etc. With the beginning of information technology the manner we do
business has totally changed. It exchanged from traditional commerce to electronic commerce,
paper cheque or money to electronic payment system and paper or postal invoice to electronic
invoice etc.
Everything you need to know about the E- Commerce. The term electronic commerce or e-
commerce refers to any sort of business transaction that involves the transfer of information
through the internet.
By definition it covers a variety of business activities which use internet as a platform for
either information exchange or monetary transaction or both at times.
E-commerce means using the Internet and the web for business transactions and/or
commercial transactions, which typically involve the exchange of value (e.g., money) across
organizational or individual boundaries in return for products and services.
Here we focus on digitally enabled commercial transactions among organizations and

individuals.
Electronic commerce, known as E-Commerce, occurs daily when sellers and buyers use the
internet to conduct business transactions. Technology makes it possible for anyone to buy or
sell practically anything online.
E Commerce is that the process of shopping for and selling goods or services with the main
motive to earn profit via the net, and therefore the transfer of cash and data to finish the sales.
It’s also called electronic commerce or internet commerce.
Today, questions on e-Commerce usually focus on which are the simplest and
reliable channels to execute business online. With the usage of software in commerce at
the core of every business today we can see a bright future.
The Statement of the Problem

E-commerce provides an easy way to sell products to a large customer base. However, there is a
lot of competition among multiple e-commerce sites. When users land on an e-commerce site,
they expect to find what they are looking for quickly and easily. Also, users are not sure about
the brands or the actual products they want to purchase. They have a very broad idea about what
they want to buy. Many customers nowadays search for their products on Google rather than
visiting specific e-commerce sites. They believe that Google will take them to the e-commerce
sites that have their product.
The purpose of any e-commerce website is to help customers narrow down their broad ideas and
enable them to finalize the products they want to purchase. For example, suppose a customer is
interested in purchasing a mobile. His or her search for a mobile should list mobile brands,
operating systems on mobiles, screen size of mobiles, and all other features as facets. As the
customer selects more and more features or options from the facets provided, the search narrows
down to a small list of mobiles that suit his or her choice. If the list is small enough and the
customer likes one of the mobiles listed, he or she will make the purchase.
The challenge is also that each category will have a different set of facets to be displayed. For
example, searching for books should display their format, as in paperpack or hardcover, author
name, book series, language, and other facets related to books. These facets were different for
mobiles that we discussed earlier. Similarly, each category will have different facets and it needs
to be designed properly so that customers can narrow down to their preferred products,
irrespective of the category they are looking into.
The takeaway from this is that categorization and feature listing of products should be taken care
of. Misrepresentation of features can lead to incorrect search results. Another takeaway is that we
need to provide multiple facets in the search results. For example, while displaying the list of all
mobiles, we need to provide facets for a brand. Once a brand is selected, another set of facets for
operating systems, network, and mobile phone features has to be provided. As more and more
facets are selected, we still need to show facets within the remaining products.
Another problem is that we do not know what product the customer is searching for. A site that displays a
huge list of products from different categories, such as electronics, mobiles, clothes, or books, needs to be
able to identify what the customer is searching for. A customer can be searching for samsung, which can
be in mobiles, tablets, electronics, or computers. The site should be able to identify whether the customer
has input the author name or the book name. Identifying the input would help in increasing the relevance
of the result set by increasing the precision of the search results. Most e-commerce sites provide search
suggestions that include the category to help customers target the right category during their search.
Objectives of the study

The objectives of the project work on E-Commerce industry are:
 To understand about the E-Commerce and its role in the economy.
 To understand the types of E-Commerce and its techniques.
 To understand the features of the E-Commerce.
 To understand the growth of some E-Commerce companies across the world.
 To understand the influence of the covid-19 pandemic on the E-commerce Industry with
respect to the consumers perspective.
 To understand the growth of the E-commerce industry in the India by knowing about its
history, present and the future.
 To understand about the various E-Commerce Trends.
 To understand the advantages and the disadvantages of the E-Commerce in India.
 To understand the challenges for the E-Commerce Industry in the India.
WHAT IS THE E-COMMERCE?
Electronic commerce or E-commerce comprises mainly of the marketing, allocating, Selling,

purchasing, and servicing of goods or services over electronic systems like the Internet and other
computer networks. Broadly electronic commerce means directing business by means of one of
several electronic methods, typically linking internet, computers or both. E-Commerce is not
only technology itself, it is related to doing business with the technology. E-commerce is
electronic business application and it involves corporate purchasing, value chain integration,
supply chain management, e-marketing, online transaction processing electronic fund transfer,
etc. Ecommerce makes new opportunities for earning profits through online activities. It helps to
generates simply cooperation between sharing information’s, different groups, business to
develop good customer relations, more personalization, better customer services, build new
products or services, etc. With the beginning of information technology the manner we do
business has totally changed. It exchanged from traditional commerce to electronic commerce,
paper cheque or money to electronic payment system and paper or postal invoice to electronic
invoice etc.
TYPES OF E-COMMERCE
Nowadays, the thought of surviving without Ecommerce seems immeasurable, complicated and
a cause of inconvenience to many. It wasn’t until only a few decades ago that the idea of
Ecommerce and the objective of ecommerce had even appeared. For many people, Ecommerce
represents something we are a part of in daily life, like paying our bills online to purchasing milk
online.
Based on the products, services, and organization of an ecommerce company, the business can
choose to operate in multiple different ways. Here are a few of the popular types of Ecommerce
or business models.
Business to Business (B2B)

Business to Business or B2B is referred to as one of the most common types of Ecommerce. The
objective of ecommerce business is to be able to sell goods directly to a user. However, this user
is not the consumer but rather it is another company. B2B type occurs when a transaction of
products or services takes place between two businesses.
B2B transactions often necessitates greater specifications, larger quantities, and longer lead
times. B2B ecommerce deals with relationships between and among businesses, for instance,
Amazon, Indiamart, Alibaba.
Business to Consumer (B2C)

The objective of ecommerce for Business to Consumer or B2C model companies is to directly
sell to the consumer of the product/service or the end-user. Rather than distributing goods to
intermediaries, a B2C organization performs transactions directly with the consumer that will
ultimately use the product.
The consumer can browse the company’s website and go through their product portfolio, their
images and the product reviews. Then they put forward their order and the company sends the
products or services directly to them. This is the most common business model and people are
more familiar with this concept of ecommerce. Popular examples of B2C platforms are Flipkart,
Amazon, Myntra, Netflix.
Consumer to Business (C2B)

The objective of ecommerce for consumer to business or C2B model of ecommerce isn’t all that
traditional. The concept here is that businesses are purchasing from consumers, although more
frequently those consumers are found to be operating a business of their own. The consumer
offers a product or some service to the Company.
Modern platforms have empowered consumers to interact more easily with companies and offer
their services or products, especially related to short-term gigs, contracts, or freelance
opportunities. For instance, consider listings on Upwork. A consumer may ask for bids or engage
with companies that require specific jobs done.
Consumer to Consumer (C2C)

Consumer to consumer ecommerce or C2C model is just commerce between individuals or
consumers. Ecommerce platforms such as online marketplaces help consumers interact with
other consumers who can enlist their own products and execute their own sales.
The objective of ecommerce for C2C platforms, enabled by technology, is to authorize

consumers to both buy and sell without the interference of companies. These platforms allow
people to directly sell their personal assets and goods to an interested party, for instance, eBay,
Olx, Quikr.
Business to Government (B2G)

Business to Government (B2G) ecommerce is referred to as any kind of trading between
companies and the public sector. Some organizations serve as government contractors offering
products or services to administrations or agencies. The objective of ecommerce for the B2G
model is to use the Internet for licensing procedure, public procurement, and other government-
related operations. For instance, businesses sell products and services to government agencies,
pay taxes, or file reports.
Consumer to Government (C2G)

Unlike any other traditional ecommerce relationship, consumers can engage themselves with
government agencies, or administrations through Consumer to Government or C2G partnerships.
For instance, paying your tuition fees online to your university or making payment for property
tax assessments to your concerned municipality corporation. Alternatively, uploading your tax
return to the digital website serves as an ecommerce transaction concerning an exchange of
information.
Government to Business (G2B)

G2B ecommerce is referred to a business model wherein all the services and information are
offered by the Government to the Companies. This information is shared through an extensive
network of various government websites. The companies in turn use that information to apply for
various permission required for establishing a new business, and other specifications.
Government to Consumer (G2C)

The objective of ecommerce for Government to Consumer (G2C) business model is to perform
electronic activities between the government and its citizens or consumers, that include
registering vehicles, paying taxes, registration for birth, marriage or death certificates and
providing information and services.
Government to Government (G2G)

The objective of ecommerce for Government to Government (G2G) business model is to
electronically share data and/or information systems between government agencies,
organizations or departments. The objective of ecommerce in the G2G model is to support e-
government initiatives by improving communication, data access and data sharing.
Mobile Commerce ( M-Commerce)

Mobile Commerce (M-commerce) refers to the buying and selling of products and services
through handheld wireless devices such as tablets and smartphones. Experts contemplate the
objective of ecommerce for the mobile commerce model of ecommerce as the future of
eCommerce, as it empowers consumers to buy products or services online, but at any time and
from anywhere.
Techniques of e-Commerce
Everyone from independent freelancers to small businesses to the most important of
corporations can enjoy the power to sell their goods and services online at scale.
a) Retail: The sale of products to a consumer without an intermediary.
b) Drop Shipping: It is a new retail business technique where they don’t keep the
products which they want to sell. They purchase the item from a 3rd party and then it
will be delivered to the customer directly. Because of its unique technique, the vendor
doesn’t have to handle the merchandise directly.
Drop shipping is a great business model for aspirant entrepreneurs.
c) Digital products: Downloadable items like templates, courses, e-books, software,

or
media that has to be purchased to be used. Whether it’s the acquisition of software,
tools, cloud-based products, or digital assets, these represent an outsized percentage
of e-Commerce transactions.
d) Wholesale: Wholesale products are bought and sold in bulk. Wholesale

products
are usually sold to an agent or many retailers, who then sell the products to
consumers.
e) Services: These are skills like coaching, writing; influencer marketing, etc., that are
purchased and acquired online.
f) Subscription: Subscription is a well-liked D2C model, subscription services are the

recurring purchases of products or services on an everyday basis.
g) Crowdfunding: Crowdfunding allows the sellers to boost startup capital so as to

bring their products to the market. Once consumers have purchased the item,
it’s then created and shipped. Today it’s almost unimaginable that a corporation
wouldn’t be using digital space to drive sales and bottom lines.
Features of the Ecommerce
Ecommerce businesses are the need of the moment and almost all large and small companies are
taking the online route to enhance their sales and to effectively compete with similar businesses
online. To turn your online business into a successful one, it is mandatory to have an in-depth
understanding of how ecommerce business works, its features and characteristics and the
objective of ecommerce.
There are various features of an ecommerce business and you should be aware of all of them to
set up business online. Let us understand what these features are all about.
Technology-Enabled Ecommerce
Traditional commerce has been taking place since times immemorial but Ecommerce is the result
of the integration of digital technology with commercial transactions and business processes. The
technological foundations of E-commerce are the internet, World Wide Web (WWW) and
various other protocols.
Ubiquitous in Nature
The number of customers for a traditional business is restricted in the city where it is located,
whereas an ecommerce business can reach globally. Ecommerce can be defined as a virtual
marketplace that can be accessed online by customers through devices like mobile phones and
computers.
Thus, an Ecommerce marketplace motivates customers to buy products & services from any
corner of the world where internet connection is available and then can pay the payment online.
Due to the ubiquitous nature of the Ecommerce business, the working hours and geographical
boundaries of catering enhance.
Large Customer Reach

Objective of Ecommerce for Ecommerce businesses have reached customers located all around
the world. The Internet connects national boundaries. Ecommerce, without being limited by
national and cultural boundaries, provides an opportunity to businessmen to cater to the
customers seamlessly. This kind of marketplace has the capability to reach millions of worldwide
customers.
Technology Mediated
In Ecommerce businesses, buyers and sellers meet in cyber space rather than physical place.
Hence, Ecommerce does not involve face to face contact.
Universal Standard
Commercial trading of products takes place through websites in Ecommerce. An Ecommerce
website must be created based on the universally accepted methods and systems. Maintaining
global standards aids the users of an Ecommerce website to efficiently use the website. Thus,
universality of the website is one of the most essential features of an Ecommerce business.
Interactive Platform
Interactivity serves as another important feature of an Ecommerce business. It refers to the two-
way communication between the businesses and users of the Ecommerce website.
Customers feel comfortable to place their orders from websites where they can interact before,
after, and even during the purchase. Besides this, businesses can get aware about the problems
faced by the users on their Ecommerce platform and can rectify them so as to make up for the
losses and help in attaining the objective of ecommerce.
Rich in Content and Delivery of Information

Ecommerce also acts as the best channel for communication. These technologies make sure of
speedy information delivery at very low cost and considerably enhanced information density as
well. The richness of content and information depicts that the content and information can be
presented in the form of text, images, audio, and video on the website.
A customer feels comfortable if he can see the usage and features of the product he is willing to
purchase, through a video on the website. Learned and conscious customers always seek such
information before taking a purchase decision. Besides this, such lucrative content makes the
Ecommerce website attractive to the consumers.
Virtual Communities
Virtual Communities are referred to as online communities created by ways such as chat rooms
and specifically designed platforms like, where people having common interest can interact with
each other using the internet.
Personalization
The one characteristic of Ecommerce businesses which differentiates it from the physical
businesses is its ability to offer customized services to each customer. With the aid of the
technology and keeping track of past purchases history of a customer, companies can
recommend personalized products and offer to an individual.
The same platform will display different recommendations and offers for different individuals.
Customization or personalization of products ensures that items are tailor made as per the
preferences and requirements of customers.
Interdisciplinary in Nature
Implementation of Ecommerce requires a lot of knowledge of technological, managerial, social
and legal issues. Additional to this, understanding of marketing tools, financial aspects and most
importantly consumer behavior, is as crucial as designing interactive Ecommerce websites.
Ease of Checkout
Internet connectivity has enabled the Ecommerce platform to be easy for people to access at their
own time and from any location in the world. 80% of the time people just browse through
different websites either when they have no other work to do or just to check things out.
To convert these users into buyers, you require an easy to use Ecommerce platform and provide
ease of checkout. If it takes too much hassle and time to go through the final checkout, then the
customers might lose interest in the purchase and you will lose business. Hence, one of the
primary features of an Ecommerce business is different payment options such as payment
through Debit cards, Credit cards, Netbanking, PayPal, and cash on delivery, etc.
Reporting Tool
The reporting tool is not a mandatory characteristic for an Ecommerce business, but one can
certainly employ it to improve the user experience on the Ecommerce platform. The reporting
tool will make you aware of the problems faced by your users instantly, and you can analyze and
fix them quickly before it leads to any more problems for the other users of your Ecommerce
platform. Reporting tool helps in increasing the reliability of your users when they have the
knowledge that they will get help in case something goes wrong with their transaction.
Integrated Blog & Articles Section

Another method to attract today’s intelligent customers is by integrating blogs and articles in the
Ecommerce platform. Your business image will improve when they get to learn great things
from you. It also serves as an excellent method to upsurge the traffic on your Ecommerce
website.
It is not necessary for the blogs and articles to be relevant to the products that you market and
sell. It can convey knowledge about any other topic which is not directly related to the marketed
products.
All these above discussed features play an important role in helping achieve the objective of
ecommerce business.
Some E-Commerce Companies

Amazon India Limited:
 Amazon India Limited is an Indian Non-Government Company. It's a public company

and is classified as'company limited by shares'.
Company's authorized capital stands at Rs 250.0 lakhs and has 2.07% paid-up capital
which is Rs 5.18 lakhs.
Amazon India Limited is majorly in Business Services business and currently, company
operations are active.
 Company is registered in Delhi (Delhi) Registrar Office.

 Alibaba is specialized in the internet, technology, retail, and e-Commerce.
 The top-rated and largest e-Commerce Companies by its revenue that had changed the
face of the retail online shopping. The burning question for many retailers is a way to
beat the Amazon.
360 Buy:
  Amazon is an American multinational technology company. It is the largest

eCommerce retailer in the worldAmazon. In 2020 the company became the largest e-
Commerce company by its revenue. In 2019 amazon generated 280.5 billion USD
focuses mainly on e-Commerce, digital streaming, artificial intelligence, and cloud
computing.
  JD.com ranks number 2 also known as Jingdong founded in 1998 which is a
Chinese eCommerce company
 Jingdong - known as 360Buy until recently -- is China’s upstart e-commerce giant.
While the e-commerce market is still controlled by Alibaba-owned platforms like
Taobao and Tmall, Jingdong is its strongest competitor, and the company has been
moving fast since its “Jingdong” rebranding to offer better, faster services to its
customers. But can it beat the 800 pound gorilla that is Alibaba? Only time will tell.
 The head quartered in Beijing formerly called 360buy. It is China’s biggest online
retailer and leading the overall retailer, as well as the country’s leading Internet
Company by revenue.
Alibaba:
  Alibaba ranks number three which was launched in 1999 by Jack Ma. The Chinese
multinational technology
 There was a time in 2015 when Amazon and the Walmart combining couldn’t match the
profit of Alibaba.
 Alibaba is China’s — and by some measures, the world’s — biggest online commerce
company. Its three main sites — Taobao, Tmall and Alibaba.com — have hundreds of
millions of users, and host millions of merchants and businesses. Alibaba handles more
business than any other e-commerce company.
 Alibaba is the most popular destination for online shopping, in the world's fastest
growing e-commerce market. Transactions on its online sites totaled $248 billion last
year, more than those of eBay and Amazon.com combined.
 Alibaba became one of the most valuable tech companies in the world after raising $25
billion from its U.S. IPO. It is also one of the most valuable Chinese public companies,
ranking among some of the country’s state-owned enterprises.
 Because Alibaba runs marketplaces and has a huge customer base, the amount of
business that flows over its sites dwarfs that of other e-commerce companies.
  Suning.com is a non-government retailer in China founded in 1990. After JD.com

and Alibaba, Suning.com is
E-Bay:
 E-Bay Inc. is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose,

California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through
its website.
 E-Bay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a notable success story of
the dot-com bubble. eBay is a multibillion-dollar business with operations in about 32
countries, as of 2019.
 The company manages the eBay website, an online auction and shopping website in
which people and businesses buy and sell a wide variety of goods and
services worldwide.
 The website is free to use for buyers, but sellers are charged fees for listing items after a
limited number of free listings, and an additional or separate fee when those items are
sold.
 The E-Bay founded back in the 1995 was one of the first and most notable e-
Commerce platforms generating 10.8 billion USD and has a current market cap of 35.75
billion USD in 2020.
Paytm:
 Paytm (acronym for "pay through mobile") is an Indian multinational financial

technology company, that specializes in digital payments and financial services, based
in Noida.
 The company offers mobile payment services to consumers and enables merchants to
receive payments through its QR code, point of sale and online payment
gateway offerings.
 Paytm offers financial services such as microloans and buy now, pay later to its
consumers and merchants.[5] Apart from bill payments and money transfer, the company
also provides ticketing services, retail brokerage products and online games.
  Wayfair is an American eCommerce Company that sells furniture and home goods
ranks 7th in the largest
o The E-Commerce companies in the world by revenue 9.13 billion USD last year
with a current market cap of 19.11 billion USD.
o  Zalando in 2019 generated 7.26 billion USD and has a current market cap
of 15.72 billion USD. It is a
o The European e-Commerce company based in Germany deals with fashion and lifestyle
products to customers in European markets.
o The top e-Commerce platform in China with a market cap of 83.13 billion USD
and generates over 38.06 billion USD.
o  Rakuten ranking 5th on the list of top eCommerce companies in the world by
revenue. It is a Japanese online
o The retailing and electronic commerce company is based in Tokyo with revenue of
11.6 billion USD and an estimated market cap of USD 12.46 billion in 2020.
o  eBay, is an American multinational eCommerce corporation based in California is

ranking 6th on the list of
o The top e-Commerce companies in the world by revenue which facilitates C2C and B2C
sales through its website.
The International Research Journal of Modernization in Engineering Technology and Science

holds the ranking 9th on this list. In South Korea, Coupang is the largest online retailer providing
the best qualitative and fast services to its customers across the country. It also claims that 99.6
% of its orders are delivered within 24 hours which makes Coupang the best e-Commerce
service provider in South Korea’s largest e-Commerce companies in the world. Flipkart in
2019, generated revenues of 6.1 billion USD. It mainly focuses on providing consumer
electronics, books, home essentials & groceries, fashion, and lifestyle products.
  Coupang is a South Korean eCommerce Company founded in 2010

generated 6.23 billion USD last year
  Flipkart, an Indian eCommerce company based in Karnataka, India. Rounding
out on the list of the top 10
The Ten Topmost E-Commerce sites in India
2020
o Amazon India: Amazon has become the uncontested global leader of e-Commerce –
Projected monthly traffic: 200 Million visits.
o Flipkart: Flipkart is the country wide leader of e-Commerce in India. Projected

monthly traffic: 157.5 Million visits.
o India Mart: India Mart is an Indian company that deals in B2B bazaar. Projected
monthly traffic: 52.2 Million visits.
o Myntra: Myntra is a dedicated online lifestyle, home, fashion, and retailer in India.
Projected monthly traffic: 14.2 Million visits.
o Snapdeal: Snapdeal is an expanded online shopping platform. Projected monthly

traffic: 12.9 Million visits.
o Firstcry: Firstcry is a dedicated eCommerce platform for kids’ clothes, baby care
products, and toys. Projected monthly traffic: 12.5 Million visits.
o 1mg: 1mg is an online healthcare and pharmacy info website. Projected monthly
traffic: 9.05 Million visits.
o BookMyShow: BookMyShow is the foremost retailer and shows ticketing portal in

India. Projected monthly traffic: 7.2 Million visits.
o Nykaa: Nykaa is a beauty retailer selling clothes, cosmetics, and wellness
merchandise to Indian customers. Projected monthly traffic: 5.35 Million visits.
o 2GUD: 2GUD is an eCommerce shop deals with mobile phones and electronics
refurbished goods. Projected monthly traffic: 4.65 Million visits.
o Coupang
o Zalando
o Wayfair
o eBay
o Rakuten
o Suning.com
o Alibaba
o JD.com
o Amazon
The Impact of COVID-19 on E-commerce in

India
The overall spread of the Coronavirus pandemic has disturbed how individuals purchase items
and administrations and how they see online business. The normalized lockdown rules across
India and the developing dithering among shoppers to head outside and search for fundamental
merchandise have shifted the country towards online business. Buyers have changed from shops,
general stores, and shopping centers to online entrances for the acquisition of items, going from
essential products to marked merchandise.
Since the standard of social separating has been started for practically the aggregate of 2020, the
extent of online buys and online organizations is relied upon to flood. Numerous individuals are
accepting the idea of online retail and the flood in FTUs (First Time Clients) on internet business
destinations is apparent.
Coronavirus has been especially not quite the same as what we have at any point seen. As the
world was constrained into complete closure, it's protected to say that internet business was the
redeeming quality, helping a great many individuals remain at home and obtain what they
needed at their doorstep.
“Customers want to avoid stepping out unless it’s very critical. We are helping customers who
are stuck in that situation, and we are able to play a small part in helping (cater) to their
needs,” – Gopal Pillai, Vice President for Seller Services at Amazon India.
As indicated by IBEF, the market openings for online business in India are relied upon to contact
$200 billion by 2026 from $30 billion of every 2017. The report likewise expresses that the
Indian web based business industry is relied upon to surpass its US partner to turn into the
second-biggest market for internet business on the planet by 2034.
Constraints and Challenges of e-Commerce in Pandemic:

As the Pandemic hit the world, the choice of buyers suppressed in lockdowns and limited
the movements of goods and services which ignited the assigning factors of shopping through e-
commerce platforms. The COVID-19 Pandemic has been marching on for close to a year and a
half now, it's high time that we look at how it has impacted our livelihood. COVID-19 has
paralyzed businesses, commerce, and the industries around the globe along with our daily lives
dealing with the severe impacts of the Pandemic. Usage of the online technology at the
workplace, educational institutions, and business organization is the only choice for many
and even for basic household necessities. By operating on an omnichannel system or
implementing a standalone system could actually benefit them to meet the demand of the
customers on e-Commerce platforms. We have been seeing the customer's attributions in the
21st century slowly shifting purchasing behaviors, even there are people who rely more and
more on e-Commerce for their daily essentials but due to government rules, pandemic
and lockdown, we can see that e-Commerce has marked a significant growth over the
years. However, with the Pandemic here to remain for the foreseeable future, e-Commerce
demand will still grow and demand will reach all-time highs by 2022. This section elaborates
on the present e-Commerce system challenges through its innovations in software
architecture, development, compatibility of technologies, security that illuminated during the
pandemic, and the way organizations can mitigate them.
Top Challenges for e-Commerce Businesses amid

& Post-Pandemic
1. Managing the Supply Chains
o The global scale market for Supply Chain Management has been completely
disrupted due to the central and state government imposing lockdowns as a means
of controlling the pandemic.
o The Pandemic has had significant impacts at the core of the Global value chains
(GVC's) hub regions, including the US, Europe, and China.
o Industrial Production in china witnessed a fall of 25%-30% in the 9 months of the
Pandemic.
o China is not the only country being affected, if you analyze the production activity
across GVC's countries, all have marked declines in goods production.
o What might be done?
We must look for other supply chain options. Research and find other suppliers
from developing countries to continue the e-Commerce operations.
o Below is a list of top products and goods imported from China and now we need to
find an alternative country that can supply the products to the business:
o 41%
e-ISSN: 2582-5208
o International Research Journal of Modernization in Engineering Technology and
Science
o • India, Brazil, and Colombia can render their service to the entire world
with Optical, medical and surgical instruments.
o • India, Colombia, and Chile can take care of Automotive Spare Parts.
o • Canada and Brazil can serve the needs and wants in the Apparel & Clothing
Accessories
o • Can depend on Mexico for furniture & Parts.
o • Brazil and Japan can be trusted for Electrical Machinery or Equipment.
2. Consumer Demand & Stock Fluctuations
o Due to the government's unpredictable decisions and lockdowns both by central and
state government raised a panic situation which makes them go from store to store in
order to purchase goods in excessive quantities.
o The government order of ‘stay-at-home’ mandate has increased the consumers to
order more essentials than they would be consumed. The irregular purchase patterns
have led to unpredictable demand creating shortages in the supply across the world.
o What might be done?
o Dropshipping Business Model

o Yes, effectively using a Dropshipping method for eCommerce store typically and
especially in times of crisis can do wonders to grow the bottom line. Implementing it
will enable to be free from maintaining and managing inventory allowing focusing
only on growing online sales.
3. Peak in Website Traffic
o During the lockdown phase, e-Commerce stores that sold daily necessities products
witnessed never-before-seen website traffic. Many physical and the traditional
stores that didn’t effectively manage their online porter, website, or web
applications have suffered tremendously. Their e-store didn’t do well in handling the
customer needs and wants which led to a surge in traffic and they couldn’t
provide smooth customer services to customers.
o Even a lack of digital marketing process across the country has affected the qualified
traffic.
History Of the E-Commerce – How did it all

begin?
Over 40 years ago the history of ecommerce began, when early technology like Electronic Data
Interchange (EDI) and teleshopping was introduced in the 1970s that opened the way for the
modern-day ecommerce store as we see it today.
The history of ecommerce is interlinked closely with the history of the internet. In 1991, when
the internet was opened to the public, online shopping became possible. In the United
States, Amazon became one of the first ecommerce sites to start selling products online and
thousands of businesses have followed since. The safety, convenience, and enjoyable user
experience of ecommerce have rapidly improved ever since the inception of online shopping.
Let’s retrace the history of ecommerce from the time it first came into existence till date. This
will also help us analyze the objective of ecommerce.
The first American online service provider, CompuServe or CompuServe Information Service,
was founded in 1969. Michael Aldrich, English inventor and entrepreneur, in 1979 invented
teleshopping or online shopping to enable online transaction processing between businesses and
consumers, or from business to business. It didn’t become viable economically until the
origination of the Internet. His idea later came to be known as Ecommerce.
In the 1980s, Boston Computer Exchange (BCE), the world’s first ecommerce company,
dominated electronic trading in used computers. Even before the Internet became extensively
available to the general public, the BCE was in full operation in the US. In 1992, Charles M.
Stack founded the American online bookstore, the Books Stacks Unlimited and followed by the
launch of Books.com website in 1994, attracting half a million visitors every month eventually.
The year 1994 also saw the launching of Netscape Navigator, a flagship product of the Netscape
Communications Corp, as a web browser. It helped make the web graphical rather than a text-
only experience. Referred to as one of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the
world, Amazon, an American multinational technology company was launched in 1995.
In 1998, PayPal was launched as an ecommerce payment system and the year 1999 saw the
launch of the Chinese multinational technology company focusing on ecommerce, Alibaba.
Google introduced Google Adwords in 2000 as an online advertising tool. In 2004, the Canadian
ecommerce multinational company Shopify Inc. launched its proprietary ecommerce platform
for online stores.
In 2005, Etsy, an American global online marketplace was introduced and Amazon also
introduced its prime membership. Google introduced Google Wallet in 2011 as a digital payment
method and in the same year Facebook rolled out Sponsored Stories as a source of early
advertising.
2014 saw the introduction of Apple Pay as a mobile payment method. In 2016, Facebook
launched Marketplace for its users to buy and sell products and in 2017, shoppable Instagram
was introduced. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic, the contagious disease caused by a virus,
drove the growth of the ecommerce sector even more.
E-commerce originated in a standard for the exchange of business documents, such as orders or
invoices, between suppliers and their business customers. Those origins date to the 1948–
49 Berlin blockade and airlift with a system of ordering goods primarily via telex. Various
industries elaborated upon that system in the ensuing decades before the first general standard
was published in 1975. The resulting computer-to-computer electronic data interchange (EDI)
standard is flexible enough to handle most simple electronic business transactions.
With the wide adoption of the Internet and the introduction of the World Wide Web in 1991 and
of the first browser for accessing it in 1993, most e-commerce shifted to the Internet. More
recently, with the global spread of smartphones and the accessibility of
fast broadband connections to the Internet, much e-commerce moved to mobile devices, which
also included tablets, laptops, and wearable products such as watches.
E-commerce has deeply affected everyday life and how business and governments operate.
Commerce is conducted in electronic marketplaces (or marketspaces) and in the supply chains
working on the Internet-Web. Consumer-oriented marketplaces include large e-malls (such
as Amazon), consumer-to-consumer auction platforms (eBay, for example), multichannel
retailers (such as L.L. Bean), and many millions of e-retailers. Massive business-to-business
marketplaces have been created by Alibaba and other companies. The so-called sharing economy
enables more efficient use of resources, as Airbnb does with online rentals of private residences.
Almost instantaneous access to services is made available by on-demand platforms offering, for
example, transportation (e.g., Uber), computation and storage resources furnished by cloud
service providers, and medical and legal advice. Mass customization of goods sold online, such
as garments and vehicles, became common. Electronic currencies (or cryptocurrencies) such
as Bitcoin entered into play as the means of settlement. Semipermanent supply chains enable a
hub company (such as Dell) to surround itself with suppliers that perform most production tasks
and deliver other goods and services to the central firm.
Social network sites, such as Facebook, undergird a great variety of individual relationships and
are the site of so-called social commerce, driven by the opinions and reviews shared by the
participants as the electronic word-of-mouth. Online communities bind together participants who
wish to share their knowledge, forge lasting relationships, or present themselves on a broad
forum. Those communities became a potent source of cocreation of value by individuals who
together and over long stretches of time, for example, produce open-source software or
continually replenish an online encyclopaedia.
The Web is also an interactive medium of human communication that supplements, and often
replaces, traditional media. The hypermedia nature of the Web, with the interlinking of
multimedia content available on globally distributed sites, enables creation of new types of
media products, often offered free of charge. Those new media include blogs, video aggregators
(such as YouTube), social media (built with wiki technology, for example), and customized
electronic newspapers. As with all media, this aspect of the Web leads to its use in marketing.
Web advertising ranges from the display ads on Web sites to keyword ads shown to information
seekers using search engines, such as Google. Mobile advertising is expanding apace because of
the extensive use of smartphones. Deep knowledge of individuals is available to marketers
because of the electronic collection of multifaceted profiles as people navigate the Web. In
particular, location-based promotion of goods and services may be enabled in mobile commerce.
The ability to derive revenue from ads drives various business models (for example, search
engines) and produces incremental revenue for other businesses, as their customers access their
Web sites or use mobile apps and can be exposed to the advertising messages.
Among innovations that have contributed to the growth of e-commerce are electronic directories
and search engines for finding information on the Web; software agents, or bots, that act
autonomously to locate goods and services; systems that recommend products to users based on
their profile; and digital authentication services that vouch for identities over the Internet. Those
intermediary services facilitate the sale of goods (actually delivering the goods in the case of
information), the provision of services such as banking, ticket reservations, and stock
market transactions, and the delivery of remote education and entertainment.
Businesses often deploy private Internet-type networks (intranets) for sharing information
and collaborating within the company, usually insulated from the surrounding general Internet by
computer-security systems known as firewalls. Collaborating businesses also frequently rely
on extranets that allow encrypted communication over the Internet.
Security is a central concern in e-commerce. It includes authentication of the parties,
authorization to access the given resources, confidentiality of the communication, and
the assurance of message integrity. Many of those goals are accomplished with public
key infrastructure, a system of specialized organizations and computerized means for providing
electronic certificates that authenticate firms and, if desired, individuals; provide the encryption
and decryption keys for communication; and furnish the protocols (algorithms) for secure
communication. However, absolute security is not an attainable goal. Many spectacular
data breaches are testimony to this, as well as to the neglect of this vital aspect of e-commerce.
Security underlies another important aspect of e-commerce, that of privacy. The massive
assembly and use of individual profiles that reflect activity over many years and in many
personal pursuits raises concerns. Such concerns are so far only partially addressed via
legislation, self-regulation, and public pressure that can find instantaneous social amplification
on the Internet.
Several important phenomena are associated with e-commerce. The role of geographic distance
in forming business relationships is reduced. Barriers to entry into many types of businesses are
lower, as it is relatively inexpensive to start a retail Web site or a community of producers. Some
traditional business intermediaries are being replaced by their electronic equivalents or are being
made entirely dispensable. (For instance, as airlines have published fare information and enabled
ticketing directly over the Internet, storefront travel agencies have declined.) Prices of goods are
generally lower on the Web—a reflection not merely of the lower costs of doing electronic
business but also of the ease of comparison shopping in cyberspace. Consumers benefit greatly
from the availability of products that are bought only rarely and would not be stocked by
physical stores (the so-called longtail effect). Ever-new business models emerge and are pivoted
(modified) as the marketplace reaction can be gauged rapidly. Since the incremental cost of
producing a unit of content good (such as a software product) is close to zero, freemium business
models are often employed in the content domain: the basic product is free, the premium
versions are charged for. A new form of corporate cooperation known as a virtual company—
which is actually a network of firms whose information systems are integrated over the Internet,
each firm performing some of the processes needed to manufacture a product or deliver a service
—has flourished. Broad publics are drawn in to contribute their labour, ideas, or funds
in crowdsourcing initiatives.
Present of the E-commerce in India
By the time you finish reading this project work, a few people would have already placed their
order online. A couple of clicks and they are all set to receive their items in a day or two. Online
shopping saves people from leaving the comfort of their space, visit different stores and
searching for their desired products. People from all fronts of life have shifted online because of
the convenience it offers. Over the past few years, e-commerce has grown significantly and
transformed into a billion-dollar industry.
India is the second largest online market around the world with over 560 million users. It is
expected that India will have over 600 million internet users by 2021. According to a report
published by financial services expert, Morgan Stanley, the e-commerce industry is expected to
increase by 1200%, from $15 million in 2016 to a whooping $200 billion by 2026.
Where India Stands Presently?
Presently, the e-commerce market is majorly dominated by Amazon, Flipkart and E-bay. The
rise of the e-commerce era is clearly indicated by the rise from 4% of the total population in
2007 to 50% in 2020. This rise is directly proportional to the emergence of e-commerce in India.
The market is gradually maturing and expanding its footprint to different regions in the country.
Since India is developing at a rapid pace, the development cannot be estimated without
considering the role of e-commerce. As the number of new businesses and brands are coming up
every day, and given the rate of development, the physical retailers may want to start an online
venture in order to sustain in their respective competitive market.
Growth of Amazon and Flipkart
Since Amazon entered India, it has invested a massive amount of $4 billion for expanding its
portfolio, building warehouses, enhancing logistics and more. In 2017, it was demonstrated that
Amazon app is the most downloaded shopping application in India, and its loyalty program,
Amazon Prime, was adopted much faster in India than any other country. Amazon is also
focusing on the Hindi version of its site in order to target areas where English is not greatly used.
They are rigorously working hard on improving customer service by tapping on several aspects
altogether.
India’s domestic e-commerce giant, Flipkart, has also turned as a strong competitor against
Amazon. Although it struggled to maintain smooth logistics and warehouses initially, but it
gradually secured a prominent place in the market. Flipkart was the first e-commerce company to
offer Cash on Delivery facility to the users who were hesitant paying online. It recently got
acquired by Walmart for $16 billion, which raised its valuation to $21 billion.
How the Dynamics of E-Commerce are Changing:

#1 Digital India Initiatives – India has already started with initiatives like ‘Digital India’
that focuses on increasing internet connectivity in the remote locations. It looks like their efforts
have started paying off. By offering smartphones and data packs at throwaway prices, the
number of internet users has grown rapidly, and so the number of e-commerce users. This proves
that the Digital India campaign is heading in the right direction.
#2 Secure Payment Options – UPI, e-wallets, instant transfers, one-tap payments and so
on are some of the latest trends in e-commerce transaction. Entering card details or internet
banking id passwords are the things of the past. A number of payment apps have collaborated
with banks in order to provide safe and secure ways to make transactions online.
#3 Enhanced Logistics – Indian logistics have improved significantly over the last few
years. The courier companies are coming up with smarter and faster ways to deliver goods at the
least possible time. Integrating real time GPS tracker now allows customers to keep a track of
their parcel, and can know when to expect their items.
#4 Hassle-free Return and Exchange – One of the major concerns for online shoppers
was what if the size doesn’t fit right. East returns and exchanges have enabled e-commerce
businesses to offer better services to their clients. People now can shop with confidence that if
anything goes wrong with their order, they will either get an exchange or a full refund at no extra
cost.
As of now, India has a top web client base of around 475 million as of July 2019, about 45% of
the populace. In 2016, the biggest internet business organizations in India were Flipkart,
Amazon, Myntra, Paytm, and Snapdeal. In 2019, Amazon beat Flipkart and was recorded as the
greatest online business in India regarding income.
Today we are live in the period of online business and it creates from customary trade. The web
based business is perhaps the greatest things that have taken the business by a tempest. It is
making a whole new economy, which has an enormous potential and is generally changing way
organizations are finished. Here we attempt to investigate the new patterns in online business.
Future of the E-Commerce in India
The Internet business area in India is filling quickly in India. The web clients' base in India may
in any case be simple 400 million, which is significantly less when contrasted with created
countries of the world, yet it is extending step by step. The accelerating growth of e-commerce in
India is due to internet penetration and easily available smart phones. Furthermore the favorable
demographics and government effort of digitalization is also pushing the growth of e-commerce
sector in India. Retail sector is one of the largest growing sectors in India at present, which is
expected to grow in future with an increasing rate. Table 1.2 and Graph 1.2 show the growth of
ecommerce sales from 2015 to 2021.
Table No. 1.1

Years E-Commerce Sales in Billion US Dollars (2015-
2021)
2015 12.19
2016 16.08
2017* 20.01
2018* 24.94
2019* 31.19
2020* 38.09
2021* 45.17
Source: (Statista, 2017)
Graph No. 1.1

Table 1.1 and Graph 1.1 highlights the growth of e-commerce sales from 2015-2021. It is clear
from the table and the graph that the e-commerce sale is showing an increasing trend. It was
12.19 Billion Dollars in 2015 which rose to 16.08 in 2016. It is expected to grow with an
increasing pace in the coming years also. It is expected to reach at 45.17 Billion Dollars in 2021,
which is almost 4 times the sale of 2015.
How Does the Future of E-Commerce Looks Like?
India is the on the road towards digital development. However, with growing e-commerce
market, the losses have become a norm. Every day an e-commerce site comes up and they have
to invest heavily in order to advertise and sustain in the market. The Indian government is doing
the best to boost e-commerce market, yet many people haven’t come online. Here are a couple
of things that we may observe in the next few years.
#1 Innovation – They key to e-commerce success is innovation. Innovation helps companies
improve their services and expand their reach. For instance, users have always disliked ads that
seem irrelevant to them. But, the things need to be changed. Ads should be made engaging and
worth watching. Sellers can use new ad formats to deliver smooth experiences.
#2 Exceptional Customer Experience – Customer is the heart of any business. Once you
master the technique of delivering excellent customer service, you have already won half the
battle. Small and medium business should learn from big players like Flipkart and Amazon on
how to keep the customers at the forefront.
#3 Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality – Artificial Intelligence has

revolutionized live chat support. The chatbots have become even smarter and they are designed
to resolve customer queries faster. This will help in improving brand image and generate more
revenue. Augmented Reality has also taken e-commerce industry by storm. It has successfully
bridged the gap between physical and digital worlds by solving customer problems and quickly
taking them through the sales funnel.
#4 Logistics – Logistics is the backbone of the e-commerce industry. Hence, the need of a
powerful delivery and tracking system has become unavoidable. The sellers and shoppers both
want to cut down the shipping cost. The courier company you choose to work with deeply
impacts your business. Hence, be cautious while choosing your delivery partner and analyze
them based on their shipping time, delivery costs, return pickups, etc.
How can we Prepare for the Future?

The e-commerce market has already evolved, but many more changes are yet to come. With the
rise of e-commerce platforms like Magento and Shopify, paired with personalization tools and
extensions, sellers are encouraged to take their business online. Creating a storefront is now
easier with intuitive app development frameworks available in the market today. Let’s
understand what the future holds for e-commerce and how you can prepare your online business
for the future.
#1 Leverage Social Media – Social media platforms have emerged as the easiest way to
reach a wider audience across the globe. They are no longer just for socializing, but online
shoppers are turning from native apps to social media shopping. That is because people now
spend more time on social media than any other apps. Social media giants like Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter and YouTube have already started providing sellers with plenty of social
selling tools that are aimed towards reducing time and efforts.
#2 Embrace Voice Search – Smart voice search assistants have open doors to many more
selling opportunities for online sellers. More and more people are using voice search to find the
products they are looking for. Smart voice devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home are
making it convenient for the users to shop without looking at the screen. The major difference
that distinguishes regular searches from voice searches is the use of keywords. Rather than
keywords, people use queries, such as “which is the nearest restaurant” when using voice search.
SEO for e-commerce will still play a crucial role.
#3 Take Your Business on Mobile Devices – Keeping an eye on the latest trends and
staying ahead of the competition is the key to successful e-commerce business. Shoppers today
make purchases on the go. Offering a convenient way to shoppers to browse, buy and pay for the
products through their mobile phones can be a game changer. Since time and place are no longer
an obstacle, leverage this opportunity to deliver seamless and speedy user experience, and boost
e-commerce sales.
#4 Personalize Ads – Users have been offered marketing ads by online storefronts for years.
However, in the present era, e-commerce owners should put forth more efforts on offering
significantly personalized ads that match customer interest and preferences. The ads should be
such that users feel comfortable clicking on them and imparting their personal information.
#5 Marketing Automation – Online users often browse around for a while and leave the site
without making a purchase. Such visitors can be converted into customers with the help of
customized and automated marketing strategies. Remarketing, automated lead generating, email
marketing and targeting abandoned cart users can help you bring more conversions.
The Bottom Line
E-commerce market in India is slowly and gradually evolving. There are still many horizontals
and verticals to be explored. With use of social media, AI-based chat bots, augmented reality,
voice-based assistants, etc. we expect to see e-commerce industry grow and evolve based on the
best interest of the shoppers. This will bump up the Indian economy and boosts employment
rates in the future.
E-COMMERCE TRENDS
Ecommerce Trends That Are Powering Online Retail Forward
The ecommerce industry is always changing and this year has been no different. More than ever,
merchants are creating and/or improving their ecommerce businesses to meet customers where
they are. While it may seem like everything in ecommerce is evolving, we narrowed it down to
the biggest trends that will affect businesses in the coming months and years.
14 Ecommerce Trends Leading the Way
We spoke with leaders in the industry about the changes this year and they had a lot to share. So,
let's explore the biggest ecommerce trends and see where things are headed.
1. AR enhances the reality of online shopping.

2. There will be a growing volume of voice search.
3. AI helps shops learn about shoppers.
4. On-site personalization uses those insights to create individualized experiences.
5. Big data plays a big part in creating personalized experiences.
6. Chatbots improve the shopping experience.
7. Mobile shopping is still on the move.
8. More ways to pay.
9. Headless and API-driven ecommerce allow continued innovation.
10. Customers respond to video.
11. Subscriptions keep customers coming back.
12. Sustainability is becoming more important.
13. Businesses should optimize digital strategy for conversion.
14. B2B is growing...and changing.
1. Augmented reality enhances the reality of online shopping.

Augmented reality (AR) has been a complete game changer for ecommerce. With this type of
technology, shoppers can truly see the item they're shopping for, which helps them make a
buying decision. AR really changes the shopping experience in specific industries, such as
fashion and home decor because the customer can get a better feel for the item without seeing it
in-person.
In 2019, Gartner predicted that 100 million consumers will shop using AR by 2020, so it will be
interesting to see how that shakes out next year.
Michael Prusich, Director of Business Development at 1Digital Agency, agrees with this
prediction:
“Polls have shown some really powerful numbers in regards to AR too: 35% of people say that
they would be shopping online more if they could virtually try on a product before buying it, and
22% would be less likely to visit a brick-and-mortar store if AR was available via their
favorite ecommerce store. AR grants a person with the ability to not just see a 3D model of a
product but lets a user see how it looks if they were actually wearing it. Some products and
industries lend themself better to traditional shopping methods, but AR is going to shake things
up sooner than later.”
Tessa Wuertz, Director of Marketing & Partnerships, efelle.com, also sees the potential for even
smaller to midmarket businesses joining the trend:
“We are expecting a lot more businesses to utilize AR for their products and businesses — so
much so that it will become more standard in ecommerce and social media platforms. We’re
seeing it put to use with larger companies, but I think we’re soon going to start seeing it become
mainstream for businesses of all sizes.”

Not only do more people own smart speakers, but they also rely on voice assistants to complete
daily tasks. Loop Ventures forecasts that 75% of U.S. households will own a smart speaker by
2025.
As more homes adopt smart speakers, more consumers will utilize voice search to shop online,
order food and organize their lives. The rise of voice search creates an opportunity for
ecommerce businesses in terms of keywords and content.
David Zimmerman, Director of eCommerce Solutions, Kensium, included “more involvement of

voice-enabled solutions in the commerce space with Amazon Alexa and Google Home” high on
his list of 2020 trends to keep an eye on.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning make it possible for the customer to have
automated, personalized shopping experiences. AI is continuously collecting data on how a
customer shops, when they buy purchases and what they're looking for in a product or a service.
It's a piece of technology that really can't be replicated in-store.
Ron Smith, Editor in Chief, The Digital Outdoor, emphasizes how the complexity of AI and the
ability to make it more human is also increasingly important:
“People want to know that brands care about them, and AI will be programmed accordingly. We
have currently seen the opposite behavior on social media, where AIs learn from humans’ more
negative remarks, but it’s highly likely that consumers will crave the impact. If bots can learn
how to form sentences to convey an emotion, companies can soon teach them to offer comfort
and products based on customers’ moods.”
4. On-site personalization uses those insights to create individualized

experiences.
Buyers of all sorts — including B2C and B2B — are looking for personalized, custom shopping
experiences online. The data collected from AI is what makes it possible for a buyer to
get personalized product recommendations and detailed customer service.
Implementing personalized experiences on-site or in marketing efforts has been shown to have a
strong effect on revenue, with one study finding it had a 25% revenue lift for retailers scaling
advanced personalization capabilities.
For further context, this accounted for 19% of participating companies while retailers that were
"building basic personalization capabilities" achieved "a revenue lift of 10% or more; the
retailers in this tier account for 40% of the participating companies.
Kaleigh Moore, freelance writer and ecommerce specialist, sees AI-powered personalization
becoming increasingly relevant in 2020:
“As brands harness and leverage more data, they’ll be able to create incredibly relevant
experiences for shoppers that feel tailor-made.”
5. Big data plays a role in creating personalized experiences.

Today, many consumers are more aware that ecommerce sites are collecting personal data,
which puts them at risk. Because of this, experts have mixed feelings about the benefits of big
data and how it affects the personalized shopping experience.
Luis Catter, Conversion Rate Optimization Expert at Kensium Solutions, has his own predictions
for how personalization will continue to evolve alongside data concerns:
“As the tech giants continue to expand and bring more services in-house, personalization will
eventually make its way to the internet of things. In addition to seeing suggestions on search
engines or shopping platforms, we’ll also see them on our thermostats and our doorbell cameras.
However, with some of the legislation being enacted, we’ll be able to opt out of it. This will
create an interesting dichotomy — people who have ultra-personalized experiences and those
who do not. This will have interesting impacts on how we as marketers are able to reach new
users.”
6. Chatbots improve shopping experiences.

Chatbots interact with online shoppers much like an in-store sales associate would do. Today's
shopper wants to be able to find and buy a product in just a few clicks, and if they can't, they get
frustrated. This is where a chatbot can step in and save the sale.
Experts predict that 80% of businesses will be using chatbots in 2020.
Shane Barker, Founder and CEO of ecommerce thought leadership

blog shanebarker.com/blog posits:
“Chatbots are all the rage today for customer support. However, I think they’ll drastically change
the way people shop online. They’ll become one of the most important marketing tools. In the
retail space, self-checkout kiosks will probably become the norm and in-store marketing will
increase.”
Duran Inci, CEO of Optimum7, sees chatbots becoming increasingly personalized to improve the
customer experience:
“The same way chatbots are becoming more intuitive, so do I think that personal shopping
assistant bots online will become more prevalent, using previous data to help anticipate new
products that you’ll like. Similar to Amazon’s suggestions for similar products.”

Mobile shopping allows customers to make purchases from anywhere, which is vital in today's
world. However, if your ecommerce site isn't responsive on mobile or through web apps, you'll
be missing out on big opportunities. Shoppers who are mobile users want the added convenience,
plus the ability to pay digitally.
In 2019, Statista estimated that by the end of 2021, 73% of ecommerce sales will take place on a
mobile device.
Corey Dubeau, VP of Marketing at Northern Commerce, is one of many who see “improved
quality and more mobile payment integrations” to be a harbinger of change in 2020.

Customers have individual needs when it comes to payment methods, but they might cancel a
potential sale if they can't pay how they want on an ecommerce website. Offering a wide variety
of ways to pay is a good way to increase conversion rates on mobile devices. Plus, if customers
can save their payment information on your site, they'll be able to checkout even faster the next
time they make a purchase.
Joe Chilson, Head Writer and Account Manager, 1Digital Agency sees centralization of
payments also making strides in 2020:
“Think about how easy it would be to buy a product on any website if, at checkout, you could
simply give them an ID unique to you. This unique ID would be for a centralized wallet service
that would securely store all your payment info, shipping and billing addresses, preferences, etc.
Companies like Apple and PayPal have taken shots at this in the past, but I think it could become
more normalized.”

Headless commerce is a solution that allows an online store’s ecommerce platform to be
completely decoupled from the frontend presentation layer.
More ecommerce businesses are adopting headless because of its flexibility on the backend, plus
the added SEO, content marketing and digital experience capabilities.
LARQ Ecommerce Architect Antonio Kaleb explains: “With headless, we get more control over
our content and customer journey through checkout. We had a multi-region need that was solved
for with the headless BigCommerce solution, allowing us to combine all of our stores into one
single domain, for which we have developed additional features.”

Video proved to be a great way to engage customers in 2019, and it's not going away anytime
soon. Creating videos for your website is a great way to instantly grab and engage a customer
and inform them about your product or service.
Ron Smith, Editor in Chief, The Digital Outdoor considers how video can be used to help
educate customers:
“I see the use of podcasting and short video content to augment the opportunity for buyers to
learn about how an ecommerce brand’s products and services provide the solution to the
opportunity, challenge or problem a buyer is looking to answer. With these two forms of content
development comes the technology to micro track a viewer’s engagement…”
Shane Barker further emphasizes the importance:
“The importance of videos can’t be understated. Videos can help you explain and showcase your
products better than images ever can. You should consider adding videos of your products in
your ecommerce store.”
There are subscriptions of all sorts these days and their convenience is attractive for consumers.
For companies, subscription services create a way to plan for inventory and sales that are already
locked in.
David Zimmerman, Director of eCommerce Solutions, Kensium still predicts that “more
companies will offer subscription services or monthly payment options for larger purchases” in
the coming year.

Consumers and businesses alike are becoming more aware of the environment. Because of this,
consumers are being more conscious about where they shop and the impact it has on the
environment and related effects.
One survey found that 50% of respondents wanted more sustainability in the fashion industry,
and 75% wanted to see less packaging.
Many businesses are finding ways to be more eco-friendly by going paperless when possible,
using biodegradable packaging, and using recyclable supplies.

Getting potential customers to your site is one task but getting them to convert is another. In
2020, businesses are looking to improve their conversion rates by optimizing their product pages.
Multi-channel selling is also another way to get conversions, whether through Facebook
advertising or shopping ads on Google.
Scott Ginsberg, Head of Content, Metric Digital adds:
“More and more brands are competing for the same eyes. Facebook’s algorithm rewards video
and motion-based creative that are more likely to hook your audience quickly. And customers
are also more demanding, impatient and curious than ever before. Make sure you understand the
ins and outs of Performance Ad Creative that doesn’t only look cool, but also drives conversions.
Using those channels intelligently is the best way to make sure your brand will be uniquely
positioned to stand out in the continually changing digital marketing landscape.”

If you were ever worried that B2B would go out of style, fear not. Global retail ecommerce sales
for B2B are expected to reach $1.1 trillion in 2021, according to data from Statista.
Forrester predicts that by 2020 almost half of all adults will be Millennials, which also means an
increase in Millennial B2B buyers. Both of these audiences want to be able to easily research
their needs and related products without conversing with salespeople.
B2B ecommerce brands are working to meet these needs. Connie Wong, Marketing
Manager, Silk Software, talks about this transition:
“The days of orders needing to be placed through fax order forms or phone calls only are
shrinking. More and more businesses are beginning to see the value in servicing their customers
online. By automating these tasks through their ecommerce site, teams are moving away from
spending the bulk of their time on processing order entries from email spreadsheets or hard copy
forms. Instead, they are shifting their focus towards what matters most: engaging with customers,
providing them with an excellent customer experience, and establishing ongoing client
relationships.”
The Number of a few E-Commerce trends for 2021 that we need to look out for.
1. Online Sales Growth is Unstoppable

2. Online Marketplace
3. Mobile Shopping is growing
4. Rise of Voice Commerce
5. Increase in Mobile Payments
6. Environmental Topics Influence Buyers
7. Environmental Topics Influence Buyers
8. Research the Basics of Ecommerce Business
9. Hyperlocal Marketplace
10. Live Streaming Shopping
11. Group Purchase
12. Contactless Delivery
13. AR Based Shopping-PWA Scan & Go
14. Social Commerce
Truth be told, Web based Business in 2021 is greater, and furthermore the world has combined
business thoughts of online business stores insurgency and with over 1.92 billion individuals
purchasing things on the web, a web based business store has a ton of possible purchasers. This
makes it a beneficial undertaking for those wishing to track down a decent type of revenue.
Rise of M-Commerce: Mobile commerce, also known as wireless E-commerce, is every
financial activity including ownership by consuming goods and services, which are finished by a
mobile device, are wireless commerce.
Ecommerce with AI: If you want to create a personalized experience and driving conversions
remains the number one goal for all E-commerce businesses. AI is permitted to enhance and
customization all specialized information and information about the client. You can enhance
stock administration just as Computerize client support.
The present online store must be accessible 24 hours per day and on different channels perform.
Robotizing client care can save Web based business organizations time, money, and human
asset. Also, without staff from responding to monotonous inquiries permits them to zero in on
additional difficult solicitations. Computer based intelligence driven individual aides or talk bots
can undoubtedly worry about the concern of noting all inquiries.
Hyperlocal Marketplace: It connects the consumers with the local retailers that belong to the
same geographic area we can also under the term in layman terminology, i.e. Hyperlocal On-
demand delivery service.
As of late, we as a whole have been observers of a pandemic circumstance, Coronavirus.
Because of crisis lockdown in various pieces of the world, there were people who were stuck in
their places without house-help. In such circumstances, Hyperlocal Administrations acquired
speed and served a large number of clients all throughout the planet. Through Hyperlocal
administrations their requirements could be cooked during quick necessities.
For example, individuals who could prepare food could arrange food online through food
conveyance applications, like Zomato. Individuals who ran out of goods could arrange it through
the application from the close by stores and it was helpfully dropped at their doorsteps.
Study reveal, the value of Hyperlocal Marketplace services market size was $1,324.2 billion in
2019 and as estimations reveal to reach $3,634.3 billion by the year 2027, and from 2021 to 2027
it could register CAGR of 17.9%.
AR Based Shopping: PWA Scan & Go: One of the finest innovations facilitating the goods of
Magento PWA Studio is the PWA Scan & Go feature. It facilitates the customers’ to buy and pay
for the items simply through a scan process. The product’s barcode is to be scanned using the
Progressive Web App that is built on the top of the Magento Store.
Gathering Buy (Group Purchase): Utilizing this component, a gathering of clients can make
a buy together. The principle motivation behind this component is that one can endorse items and
administrations to their companions, family, known, associates, and so forth Not just this, they
can acquire and profit diverse alluring limits as they prescribe the items to other people and
purchase items in appealing limits.
Social Business: Social Trade or Social Online business include as the name proposes uses the
web-based media stages to make the custom in-application shopping experience for clients. In
layman language, it acquaints online business usefulness with web-based media stages. It is clear
you would suggest and share your image's items and administrations via web-based media. Also,
your image gets more openness, as web-based media is about content dissemination.
E-commerce Trends Leading the Way: The biggest ecommerce trends and see where
things are headed.
1. AR enhances the reality of online shopping.
4. On-site personalization uses those insights to create individualized experiences.
5. Big data plays a big part in creating personalized experiences.
6. Chatbots improve the shopping experience.
1. Augmented reality enhances the reality of online shopping:
Augmented reality (AR) has been a complete game changer for ecommerce. With this
type of technology, shoppers can truly see the item they're shopping for, which helps
them make a buying decision. AR really changes the shopping experience in specific
industries, such as fashion and home decor because the customer can get a better feel for
the item without seeing it in-person. In 2019, Gartner predicted that 100 million
consumers will shop using AR by 2020, so it will be interesting to see how that shakes
out next year.
2. There will be a growing volume of voice search:
In addition to the fact that more people own shrewd speakers, however they likewise
depend on voice partners to finish every day errands. Circle Adventures figures that 75%
of U.S. families will claim a savvy speaker by 2025. As more homes receive savvy
speakers, more shoppers will use voice search to shop on the web, request food and
arrange their lives. The ascent of voice search sets out a freedom for web based business
organizations as far as watchwords and substance.
3. AI helps shops learn about shoppers:
Man-made brainpower (man-made intelligence) and AI make it workable for the client to
have mechanized, customized shopping encounters. Simulated intelligence is persistently
gathering information on how a client shops, when they purchase buys and what they're
searching for in an item or help. It's a piece of innovation that truly can't be repeated
available.
4. On-site personalization uses those insights to create individualized
experiences:
Purchasers of various types including B2C and B2B - are searching for customized,
custom shopping encounters on the web. The information gathered from simulated
intelligence is the thing that makes it workable for a purchaser to get customized item
proposals and definite client care. Carrying out customized encounters nearby or in
showcasing endeavors has been appeared to strongly affect income, with one
investigation discovering it had a 25% income lift for retailers scaling progressed
personalization capacities.
5. Big data plays a role in creating personalized experiences:
Today, numerous customers are more mindful that online business locales are gathering
individual information, which puts them in danger. Along these lines, specialists have
blended sentiments about the advantages of enormous information and what it means for
the customized shopping experience.
6. Chatbots improve shopping experiences:
Chatbots interface with online customers similar as an in-store deals partner would do.
Today's customer needs to have the option to discover and purchase an item in only a
couple clicks, and on the off chance that they can’t, they get disappointed. This is the
place where a chatbot can step in and save the deal.
7. Mobile shopping is still on the move:
Versatile shopping permits clients to make buys from anyplace, which is crucial in
today's reality. In 2019, Statista assessed that before the finish of 2021, 73% of online
business deals will happen on a cell phone.
8. More ways to pay:
Offering a wide assortment of approaches to pay is a decent method to expand change

rates on cell phones. Also, if clients can save their installment data on your site, they'll
have the option to checkout considerably quicker the following time they make a buy.
9. Headless and API-driven ecommerce allow continued innovation:
Headless business is an answer that permits an online store's web based business stage to
be totally decoupled from the frontend show layer. More web based business
organizations are embracing headless on account of its adaptability on the backend, in
addition to the additional Website optimization, content advertising and computerized
experience capacities.
10.Customers respond to video:
Video end up being an incredible method to connect with clients in 2019, and it's not
disappearing at any point in the near future. Making recordings for your site is an
incredible method to in a split second snatch and connect with a client and advise them
about your item or administration.
11.Subscriptions keep customers coming back:
There are memberships of different kinds nowadays and their accommodation is

appealing for buyers. For organizations, membership administrations make an approach
to get ready for stock and deals that are now secured.
12.Sustainability is becoming more important:
Shoppers and organizations the same are getting more mindful of the climate. Along
these lines, shoppers are by and large more cognizant about where they shop and the
effect it has on the climate and related impacts. One overview tracked down that half of
respondents needed greater manageability in the design business, and 75% needed to see
less bundling. Numerous organizations are discovering approaches to be more eco-
accommodating by going paperless whenever the situation allows, utilizing
biodegradable bundling, and utilizing recyclable supplies.
13.Businesses should optimize digital strategy for conversion:
Getting possible clients to your site is one errand however getting them to change over is
another. In 2020, organizations are hoping to improve their transformation rates by
enhancing their item pages. Multi-channel selling is additionally another approach to get
changes, regardless of whether through Facebook publicizing or shopping advertisements
on Google.
14.B2B is growing...and changing:
On the off chance that you were at any point stressed that B2B would become
unfashionable, dread not. Worldwide retail online business deals for B2B are relied upon
to reach $1.1 trillion out of 2021, as indicated by information from Statista.
ADVANTAGES OF THE E-COMMERCE

IN INDIA
We have said it before and we will say it again: e-Commerce is not just a trend, but a necessity.
But yes, it might not be for everyone. Some argue it depends on your business model and others
argue that it depends on the technology available to you.
Say what you will, there are advantages and disadvantages to e-Commerce that every small
business owner needs to know. After all, it caters to over 2.1 billion people.
As per Statista, there are over 20 million active e-Commerce sites globally, and it is estimated
that 95% of all purchases will be through e-Commerce platforms by 2040. that 95% of all
purchases will be through e-Commerce platforms by 2040.
So should you opt for an e-Commerce platform for your business?
Let’s find out, starting with the advantages of e-Commerce.
The Advantages of e-Commerce in India are as follows:
1. No geographical barriers
2. Safe and secure
3. Stand out from the competition
4. E-Commerce is more affordable
5. Marketing is easier
6. Find customers before they find you
7. Trackable metrics and goals
8. Better customer experience
9. Increases Sales And Revenue
10. Reduces Costs
11. Eliminates Geographic Barriers
12. Improves Customer Services
13. Increases Efficiency
1. No geographical barriers
Ever since businesses took a hit during the pandemic, online platforms came to the rescue with
one BIG advantage – access to customers beyond borders. With an online store or website, your
customers can now shop from the comfort of their homes. Thanks to worldwide shipping
services that offer minimum fees, customers can place orders via your online store.
With the power of social media and SEO, you can reach more people who are interested in the
products you sell.
2. Safe and secure
If you see the news, you can tell it’s a huge risk to set up a brick-and-mortar store right now. The
cost of investment is huge and there is no guarantee when you will need to pull down the shutters
again. It’s proven that setting up an online store is not difficult.
With an online store, you reduce risks and save money on maintenance. Choose an e-Commerce
website that has a secure payment gateway and is encrypted to prevent hacking or spyware.
Start with social media :
According to a recent study, online stores with a social media presence have an average of 32%
more sales than those that don’t. If you are new to the online space, it is a good idea to start
gathering clout on social media.
Find out what social platform you could start on (we recommend Instagram) and set up your
profile. This detailed guide will help you get started with selling on social media.
3. Stand out from competition
Business owners with an online store have claimed that they can easily stand out from their
larger competitors.
If you have an online store, you can showcase your unique brand and establish your business as
an authority. Even if you have huge competitors, taking your business online gives you
bigger chance to stand out. Here’s how:
 You can create an eCommerce website with a beautiful theme that matches your brand
image
 Give customers a unique experience so that they come back for more
 Get your business ranked on Google before your competitors using the power of SEO
4. E-Commerce is more affordable
Yes, you heard it right. Although e-Commerce involves technology, it’s surprisingly affordable
at this day and age.
You can even get an e-Commerce website for free, if you know where to look! More on that
later.
The average physical store costs thousands, if not lakhs, to set up. You need to hire storefront
employees, pay for plumbing, electricity, maintenance, and more.
However, with an e-Commerce website, you get to keep a team working remotely and manage
the business without added expenses. You only pay the basic set-up/subscription fee and you can
upload an unlimited number of products to your store.
5. Marketing is easier
Simply put, e-Commerce offers you the power of enhanced digital marketing. From SEO to paid
ads, a huge advantage to setting up an e-Commerce platform is the varied options that marketing
has in store for you.
And what’s the result?
More customers —> more sales—> business growth!
6. Find customers before they find you

When it comes to marketing for eCommerce, you find your customers before they find you. In a
brick-and-mortar store, you rely heavily on customers passing by your brand sign outside the
shop. But with eCommerce, it is like showcasing your online store to the world.
Retargeting your customers
E-Commerce advantage 101 – you learn from your customers. You will learn how valuable your
existing customers are, and you will always step out of your zone to communicate with them.
CUSTOMER RETARGETING
Retargeting literally means targeting over 98% of those customers who visited your eCommerce
website, looked around, and left without converting to come back and convert into becoming a
sale. Retargeting strategies are only targeted at users who have previously visited your website
but have not converted.
Cold emails
Do not know who your customers are? Send a random 100 people your online store url and see
who responds. Cold emails involve reaching out via email to someone who is not aware of your
brand or business.
When you send a cold email, you are inviting someone to check out your brand and digital
products so they can become a customer. Email marketing happens to be one of the biggest
advantages of e-Commerce businesses!
7. Track metrics and goals
Earlier, a crowded offline store proved that your sales are doing good. But imagine your online
store getting 3x the crowd and you keeping track of it with tools!
For example, you can get daily online visitors to figure from Google analytics or inbuilt store
backend software. You can collect leads online with different tools and campaigns. Remember
this, it is not only those who purchase from your eCommerce website that accounts for as
customers.
We all know what window shopping is. In an offline store, someone can walk in, browse through
the products, and leave. You will not know who it was and what led them to not buy at all. But
with an online store, you have Abandoned cart!
Imagine being able to reach out to a customer with their email and nudging them to complete
their purchase. Only an eCommerce platform can allow you to do that.
8. Better customer experience
Do you know how it feels when you are browsing in an offline store and customers cannot find
what they are looking for?
Fortunately, e-Commerce websites have filters, categories, and search bars to help customers
find what they are looking for. They can compare prices, product features, and make a decision
without having to hassle a retail worker. Customers can also place a ’notification alert’ whenever
an item is out of stock.
9.Increases Sales and Revenue

E-commerce always helps to increase sales and revenue as it widens the market by reaching out
to new customers. It also allows businesses to offer discounts and incentives that are not possible
in a physical store. There are also many opportunities for cross-selling and up-selling.
10.Reduces Costs
E-commerce also helps reduce business costs as it eliminates the need for a physical store and
sales staff. It also reduces inventory costs and transportation costs. There are also many
opportunities for cost-saving through online auctions and supply chains.
11.Eliminates Geographic Barriers

E-commerce also eliminates geographic barriers, as customers can buy goods and services from
anywhere in the world. This allows businesses to sell to new markets and expand their customer
base. It may also help to reduce the cost of doing business.
12.Improves Customer services

This is because e-commerce allows businesses to offer 24/11 customer service, which is not
possible in a physical store. It also allows customers to compare prices and products from
different retailers easily. Sometimes there are also additional services, such as customer reviews
and ratings, that are not available in a physical store.
13.Increases Efficiency
Efficiency is increased as orders can be placed and processed quickly and easily through an e-
commerce website. This eliminates the need for paperwork and reduces the chances of human
error. It also allows businesses to track inventory levels and sales trends in real-time.
Over 80% of India’s online shopping takes place from a mobile device. Millennials have
stated that they prefer shopping on their phones using e-Commerce apps for a better
experience.
Disadvantages of the E-Commerce in India

Though e-commerce offers many advantages to customers, business, society and nation, there
are still some areas of concern that need to be addressed. The following are some of the
limitations or disadvantages of e-commerce.
1. Security
2.Lack of privacy
3. Tax issue
4. Fear
5. Product suitability
6. Cultural obstacles
7. High Labour cost
8. Legal issues
9.Technical limitations
10. Huge technological cost

11. Lack of personal touch
12.Lack of trust in quality
13.Collecting payments
14.Lack of social interaction
15. Security risks
16.Difficulties with returns
1. Security
The biggest drawback of e-commerce is the issue of security. People fear to provide personal and
financial information, even though several improvements have been made in relation to data
encryption. Certain websites do not have capabilities to conduct authentic transactions. Fear of
providing credit card information and risk of identity limit the growth of e-commerce.
2. Lack of privacy
Many websites do not have high encryption for secure online transaction or to protect online
identity. Some websites illegally collect statistics on consumers without their permission. Lack
of privacy discourages people to use internet for conducting commercial transactions,
3. Tax issue
Sales tax is another bigger issue when the buyer and seller are situated in different locations.
Computation of sales tax poses problems when the buyer and seller are in different states.
Another factor is that physical stores will lose business if web purchases are free from tax.
4. Fear
People fear to operate in a paperless and faceless electronic world. Some of the business
organizations do not have physical existence, People do not know with whom they are
conducting commercial transactions. This aspect makes people to opt physical stores for
purchases.
5. Product suitability
People have to rely on electronic images to purchase products. Sometimes, when the products are
delivered, the product may not match with electronic images. Finally, it may not suit the needs of
the buyers. The lack of ‘touch and feel’ prevent people from online shopping.
6. Cultural obstacles
E-commerce attracts customers from all over the world. Habits and culture of the people differ
from nation to nation. They also pose linguistic problems. Thus, differences in culture create
obstacles to both the business and the consumers.
7. High Labour cost

Highly talented and technically qualified workforce are required to develop and manage the
websites of the organization. Since internet provides a lot of job opportunities, business
organizations have to incur a lot of expenses to retain a talented pool of employees.
8. Legal issues
The cyber laws that govern the e-commerce transactions are not very clear and vary from
country to country. These legal issues prevent people from entering into electronic contracts.
9. Technical limitations
Some protocol is not standardized around the world. Certain software used by vendor to show
electronic images may not be a common one. It may not be possible to browse through a
particular page due to lack of standardized software. Insufficient telecommunication bandwidth
may also pose technical problems.
10. Huge technological cost

It is difficult to merge electronic business with traditional business. Technological infrastructure
may be expensive and huge cost has to be incurred to keep pace with ever changing technology.
It is necessary to allocate more funds for technological advancement to remain competitive in the
electronic world.
11. Lack of personal touch
Even now, a huge portion of India’s population enjoys going to an offline store and talking to
staff while shopping. They used to consider shopping as an experience and make a whole day of
it. While e-Commerce allows for a simple and easy browsing experience, it also does not allow
customers to have complete assurance on the brand/product. They do not get a chance to speak
with a brand representative while shopping.
However, with the help of AI, online shopping is on its way to becoming the fun interactive
experience Indians would crave on the weekends with family. Social e-Commerce, Government
marketplace trading, augmented virtual shopping, are some of the few big changes eCommerce
will see in time.
12. Lack of trust in the quality
A lot of customers, especially those in India, prefer checking a product physically before buying
it. Despite businesses adding all the information on the website, customers take a long time to
build trust in a brand they are buying from. If the product is expensive, fragile, or far away from
the shipping area, customers get nervous about buying online. This issue does not tend to happen
in an offline store, where everything from choosing a product to shipping it can happen in a
matter of hours.
Fortunately, another one of the advantages of E-Commerce include meeting customer needs, and
one of the top priorities is quality. E-Commerce encourages impulse buy, with different offers
and discounts you would not find on an offline store.
13. Collecting payments
Collecting payments online can seem easy with the UPI we have today. However, customers
have a variety of payment preferences. such as credit cards, debit cards, e-wallets, and bank
transfers. Ecommerce businesses need to offer multiple payment methods to accommodate their
customer’s preferences.
14. Lack of Social Interaction

One disadvantage is that there is a lack of social interaction, as people cannot see or touch the
product before they buy it. This may lead to dissatisfaction with the purchase if the product is not
what was expected.
15.Security Risks
Another disadvantage is that there are security risks, as sensitive financial information can be
stolen by hackers. This can result in loss of money and identity theft. There may also be risks
involved with buying and selling products online, as there is no guarantee of product quality or
authenticity.
16.Difficulties with Returns

Another disadvantage is that it can be difficult to return products that have been bought online.
This is because businesses often require the product to be returned in its original packaging,
which may not be possible if the product has been used. There may also be shipping costs
involved in returning the product.
Returns and refunds
Returns and refunds are a common issue in e-Commerce, and handling them can be time-
consuming and costly for businesses. In fact, the current e-Commerce returns in India is at a rate
of 25-40%. Here a few ways to curb the loss of returns:
 Have a clear return policy

 Provide excellent customer service
 Consider the cost of returns and refunds when setting your pricing and profit margins
1. Online payment solutions with over 100+ payment modes

2. Unlimited product uploads
3. 20+ themes to choose from
4. Free in-built marketing tools
5. Shipping with mojoXpress
6. Faster payout options
Weighing your options: Deciding if a trend makes sense for Your

Business
Not every trend is worth jumping on, but which one deserves your time and effort? While some
will provide a huge value-add, others might be out of touch with your particular audience or
might be too costly to implement for your business to maintain a reasonable ROI.
Knowing what trends will be a good fit for you will often come down to knowing your own
customers, vertical, and competitors backwards and forwards. There's several things you can do
to evaluate industry trends and make the right move for your B2B.
1. Keep track of industry influencers and publications.
Follow blogs and related news in the industry so you can stay on top of what's happening. Start
by finding influencers and publications related to your industry specifically, and then branch out
into other markets to get the whole picture.
2. Absorb up-to-date industry research and trends reports.
Every industry changes at some point or another, and staying up to date via reports and data can
show you where things are headed. The numbers in these reports often come from original
research you can trust, instead of just following the popular word-on-the-street. Plus, when
you're regularly aware of what's happening in your industry, you'll grow a sense of what trends
are worth the effort and what ones can wait.
3. Make the most of digital tools and analytics to assess your customers' behaviour.
Use customer data to evaluate if a trend is right for you. What do the numbers show? Many
trends might work for other businesses, but you know your customers best. Consider utilizing
more than one data gathering tool so you can see customer trends from different sources. Use
these numbers to see the overall trends in your business. Would adopting a new trend interrupt
your customer behavior?
4. Get feedback from your customers.
Don't be afraid to ask current customers what they need. Getting feedback from current
customers can give you insight into trends, and you can create more specific plans for the future.
You never know, a customer might even suggest an idea you hadn't thought of yet.
5. Observe your competitors.
Take a look at your competitors. Did they jump on a specific trend? If so, how did it work for
them? Of course, you don't have to do everything your competition is doing, but being aware is
another way to measure a trend.
Challenges for the E-Commerce in India
The growth of ecommerce volumes in India is attracting the attention of players around the
globe.
globe. India, the second most populous country in the world, is home to 1.2 billion people.
globe. India, the second most populous country in the world, is home to 1.2 billion people.
To put that number into perspective, consider this: the combined populations of Germany, UK,
France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, and Greece equal one-fourth the population of India alone!
Despite lower per-capita purchasing power, this still makes India one of the most attractive
emerging markets for ecommerce. But India is far from being a bed of roses. Here are the top 8
challenges that ecommerce businesses face in India.
1.Indian customers return much of the merchandise they purchase

online.
Ecommerce in India has many first time buyers. This means that they have not yet made up their
mind about what to expect from ecommerce websites. As a result, buyers sometimes fall prey to
hard sell. But by the time the product is delivered, they demonstrate remorse and return the
goods. Though consumer remorse is a global problem, it is all the more prevalent in a country
like India, where much of the growth comes from new buyers.
Returns are expensive for ecommerce players, as reverse logistics presents unique challenges.
This becomes all the more complex in cross-border ecommerce.
2. Cash on delivery is the preferred payment mode.
Low credit card penetration and low trust in online transactions has led to cash on delivery being
the preferred payment option in India. Unlike electronic payments, manual cash collection is
laborious, risky, and expensive.
3. Payment gateways have a high failure rate.

As if the preference for cash on delivery was not bad enough, Indian payment gateways have an
unusually high failure rate by global standards. Ecommerce companies using Indian payment
gateways are losing out on business, as several customers do not reattempt payment after a
transaction fails.
4. Internet penetration is low.

Internet penetration in India is still a small fraction of what you would find in several western
countries. On top of that, the quality of connectivity is poor in several regions. But both these
problems are fast disappearing. The day is not far when connectivity issues would not feature in
a list of challenges to ecommerce in India.
5. Feature phones still rule the roost.

Though the total number of mobile phone users in India is very high, a significant majority still
use feature phones, not smartphones. So, for all practical purposes this consumer group is unable
to make ecommerce purchases on the move. Though we are still a couple of years away from the
scales tipping in favor of smartphones, the rapid downward spiral in the price of entry-level
smartphones is an encouraging sign. I expect that the next few quarters will witness
announcements of new smartphones in India at the $30-40 price point. That should spur growth
in smartphone ownership.
6. Postal addresses are not standardized.

If you place an online order in India, you will quite likely get a call from the logistics company
to ask you about your exact location. Clearly your address is not enough. This is because there is
little standardization in the way postal addresses are written. Last mile issues add to ecommerce
logistics problems.
7. Logistics is a problem in thousands of Indian town.

The logistics challenge in India is not just about the lack of standardization in postal addresses.
Given the large size of the country, there are thousands of towns that are not easily accessible.
Metropolitan cities and other major urban centers have a fairly robust logistics infrastructure. But
since the real charm of the Indian market lies in its large population, absence of seamless access
to a significant proportion of prospective customers is a dampener. The problem with logistics is
compounded by the fact that cash on delivery is the preferred payment option in India.
International logistics providers, private Indian companies, and the government-owned postal
services are making a valiant effort to solve the logistics problem. If someone could convert the
sheer size of the problem into an opportunity, we might soon hear of a great success story
coming out of the Indian logistics industry.
8. Overfunded competitors are driving up cost of customer acquisition.

The vibrancy in the Indian startup ecosystem over the past couple of years has channeled a lot of
investment into the ecommerce sector. The long-term prospects for ecommerce companies are so
exciting that some investors are willing to spend irrationally high amounts of money to acquire
market share today. Naturally the Indian consumer is spoiled for choice. However, this trend has
reversed as investors are getting worried about slipping further down a slippery slope, and I
expect more rational behavior in 2014.
While this article focuses on ecommerce challenges in India, an intrinsically one-sided topic, it is
important to note that ecommerce giants are increasingly attracted to India. Cross-border
ecommerce to India is growing, and many large international players are also making a
significant investment in setting up shop in India.
CONCLUSION
Ecommerce is an industry that’s ever-changing and ever-growing. Trends are shifting constantly
in an attempt to shape the way people purchase products in every corner of the globe.
Ecommerce giants like Alibaba, Amazon, Flipkart and eBay have changed the way the retail
industry works, compelling major traditional retailers to alternate the way they do business.
I will again come back to the point where I started. The role of COVID-19 pandemic in the
upsurge of Ecommerce businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic has unsettled daily life and
alternated the way we shop. It’s not like people did not shop online before the pandemic but
more people are purchasing their goods online after the pandemic. Ecommerce saw a 30% surge
in 2020, and the impact of this shift to online purchasing will likely be long-lasting. This makes
the future of ecommerce exciting. A lot of big things are expected to change in the ecommerce market
over the coming years.
Okay, so there's a lot of new things happening in ecommerce. Technology and people are always
evolving, and since ecommerce brings it all together, we are always going to be looking toward
the future. One thing is for sure, is that it's never too late to jump right in, learn something new,
and evaluate if it's right for your business. For now, consumers are in the driver's seats and
ecommerce businesses will be customizing the journey ahead for them.
There are great deals of new things occurring in ecommerce. Innovation and individuals are
continually developing, and since ecommerce unites everything, we are continually going to be
looking toward what's to come. E-Commerce has made the shopping easy. The E-Commerce
Industry in India is growing rapidly despites many challenge. E-commerce industry is one of the
largest growing industries in India at present. The sale of ecommerce industry is expected to
grow by almost 4 times by 2021 than the sales of 2015. This unprecedented growth in E-
Commerce is due to increase in smart phones and internet users, 3G/4G internet services,
awareness in public, government initiative of digitalization, advanced shipping and payment
options, entry of foreign e-business players etc. Government should take steps to provide a
proper legal framework so that hurdles in the growth of e-commerce are reduced to minimum.
REFERENCES
1. Neha Wadhawan., R K Arya., (2020) “Understanding E-Commerce: A Study With

Reference to Competitive Economy” Journal of Critical Reviews, ISSN- 2394-5125, Vol.
7, Issue 8, Pp. 805-809.
2. Mahipal, D., (2018). “E-commerce Growth in India: A study of Segments Contribution”.
Academy of Marketing Studies Journal. 2(2).
3. Kumar, N., (2018). “E-Commerce in India: An Analysis of Present Status, Challenges
and Opportunities”. International Journal of Management Studies. (5), 2(3), 90-95.
4. Seth, A., Wadhawan, N., (2016). “Technology Revolutionizing Retail Practices in Digital
Era”. International Journal of Recent Research Aspects, 60-62.
5. Mitra, A., (2013). “E-Commerce in India- A Review”. International Journal of
Marketing, Financial Services & Management Research. 2 (2), 126-132.
6. Shahjee, R., (2016). “The Impact of Electronic Commerce on Business Organization”.
Scholarly Research Journal for Interdisciplinary Studies. 4 (27), 3130-3140.
7. Shettar, M., (2016). “Emerging Trends of E-Commerce in India: An Empirical Study”.
International Journal of Business and Management Invention. 5 (9), 25-31.
8. Goele, S., Chanana, N., (2012). “Future of e-Commerce in India”. International Journal
of Computing & Business Research Proceedings of ‘I-Society 2012’ at GKU, Talwandi
Sabo Bathinda, Punjab.
9. https://m.economictimes.com/tech/technology/apple-ceo-cook-execs-on-tentative-list-of-
witnesses-in-epic-games-case/articleshow/81604758.cms
10. https://webkul.com/blog/future-of-ecommerce-in-2021/
11. https://razorpay.com/learn/impact-covid-19-e-commerce-india/
12. https://www.bigcommerce.com/articles/ecommerce/ecommerce-trends/#conclusion
13. Limitations or Disadvantages of Electronic Commerce (accountlearning.com)
14. https://unacademy.com/content/bank-exam/study-material/general-awareness/
advantages-and-disadvantages-of-e-commerce/
15. https://www.bigcommerce.com/articles/ecommerce/ecommerce-trends/
16. https://www.pitneybowes.com/us/blog/8-challenges-ecommerce-india.html
17. https://www.britannica.com/technology/e-commerce
18. https://wizzy.ai/blog/present-future-of-ecommerce-industry-in-india/

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The Project report

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the

Project Guide - Mr. Karuna Shankar Rastogi

Certified By - Mr. Karuna Shankar Rastogi

I am grateful to all my professors and the administration at Amity University

ALL OF THEM HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE IN MY PROJECT WORK.

Here we focus on digitally enabled commercial transactions among organizations and

The Statement of the Problem

Objectives of the study

 To understand about the E-Commerce and its role in the economy.

 To understand the types of E-Commerce and its techniques.

 To understand the features of the E-Commerce.

 To understand the growth of some E-Commerce companies across the world.

 To understand about the various E-Commerce Trends.

 To understand the advantages and the disadvantages of the E-Commerce in India.

 To understand the challenges for the E-Commerce Industry in the India.

WHAT IS THE E-COMMERCE?

Electronic commerce or E-commerce comprises mainly of the marketing, allocating, Selling,

Business to Business (B2B)

Business to Consumer (B2C)

Consumer to Business (C2B)

Consumer to Consumer (C2C)

The objective of ecommerce for C2C platforms, enabled by technology, is to authorize

Business to Government (B2G)

Consumer to Government (C2G)

Government to Business (G2B)

Government to Consumer (G2C)

Government to Government (G2G)

Mobile Commerce ( M-Commerce)

a) Retail: The sale of products to a consumer without an intermediary.

c) Digital products: Downloadable items like templates, courses, e-books, software,

d) Wholesale: Wholesale products are bought and sold in bulk. Wholesale

f) Subscription: Subscription is a well-liked D2C model, subscription services are the

g) Crowdfunding: Crowdfunding allows the sellers to boost startup capital so as to

Large Customer Reach

Rich in Content and Delivery of Information

Integrated Blog & Articles Section

Some E-Commerce Companies

 Amazon India Limited is an Indian Non-Government Company. It's a public company

 Company is registered in Delhi (Delhi) Registrar Office.

  Amazon is an American multinational technology company. It is the largest

  Suning.com is a non-government retailer in China founded in 1990. After JD.com

 E-Bay Inc. is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose,

 Paytm (acronym for "pay through mobile") is an Indian multinational financial

o  eBay, is an American multinational eCommerce corporation based in California is

The International Research Journal of Modernization in Engineering Technology and Science

  Coupang is a South Korean eCommerce Company founded in 2010

o Flipkart: Flipkart is the country wide leader of e-Commerce in India. Projected

o Snapdeal: Snapdeal is an expanded online shopping platform. Projected monthly

o BookMyShow: BookMyShow is the foremost retailer and shows ticketing portal in

The Impact of COVID-19 on E-commerce in

Constraints and Challenges of e-Commerce in Pandemic:

Top Challenges for e-Commerce Businesses amid

2. Consumer Demand & Stock Fluctuations

o Dropshipping Business Model

3. Peak in Website Traffic

History Of the E-Commerce – How did it all

Present of the E-commerce in India

Where India Stands Presently?

Growth of Amazon and Flipkart

How the Dynamics of E-Commerce are Changing:

Future of the E-Commerce in India

Table No. 1.1