Issue Details

THE RISE OF E-COMMERCE IN INDIA: EVOLUTION, CHALLENGES, AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

ABSTRACT

The online retail industry in India is rapidly expanding. Despite its rapid expansion, India’s online marketplace lags far behind that of many other industrialised and developing countries because so few Indians have access to the internet. AT Kearney, a multinational management consulting company, found that just 39 million Indians made purchases through the internet in 2015. This is a negligible number compared to the country’s total population of 1.2 billion. The growth of the internet and mobile phone use, however, has created an environment that is conducive to the expansion of e-commerce in India. The nation is just on the edge of a major technological shift. With the advent of 4G services and a subsequent decrease in data plan rates and data card/USB dongle pricing, a reliable internet connection is now more affordable than ever. Low-cost smartphone access and the rollout of high-speed internet and broadband to previously inaccessible areas will increase the number of people using the internet, closing the gap between would-be and real online shoppers. The country’s young population is a demographic boon for online shopping. Keeping up with the ever-changing landscape and fierce competition in the e-commerce industry is no easy feat for any company. If businesses want to keep their customers happy, they need to provide them with a service that is both informative and easy to use. The purpose of this research is to examine the development of e-commerce in India and to identify the elements responsible for its continued growth and expansion, as well as the obstacles standing in its way.

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