Technology Landscape in India E-Commerce Market

The e-commerce market in India was valued at INR 6,210.96 Bn in 2021. It is anticipated to reach a value of INR 26,459.18 Bn by the end of 2027, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of ~26.71% during the 2022 - 2027 period. To stay afloat in the competitive market, e-commerce companies are incorporating advanced technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), voice recognition, fintech, robotics, virtual reality, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in their online platforms.

Market insights:

E-commerce companies are using virtual and augmented reality (VR & AR) to create virtual showrooms/stores which can provide real-life experiences to customers. These showrooms feature detailed product previews and imitate in-store experiences, which further increase customers’ satisfaction and reduce product return rates.

Payment choices including credit and debit cards, net-banking and e-wallets cater to ~30% of online sales when compared to the cash on delivery (CoD) payment option in India. With support from the government’s Digital India initiative, cashless payment solution using Fintech is expected to enhance the e-commerce market in India. Consequently, e-commerce companies are incorporating Fintech-based payment platforms like Apple Pay, Google Pay and Amazon Pay to improve the security and efficiency of online payment methods.

Artificial intelligence allows e-commerce businesses to identify patterns and trends, which help retailers understand customers’ requirements better. Using AI and ML, e-commerce companies are offering marketing strategies, personalized suggestions, voice-based chatbot assistance and visual searches. Amazon uses machine learning technology to improve address quality, which facilitates timely delivery of packages to its customers.

Flipkart established Flipkart Labs in 2022 to create and develop technology-based solutions that would reinvent e-commerce and improve the customer shopping experience. During the same year Flipkart launched a metaverse offering for consumers to discover and shop for new products more interactively as it experiments with web3 offerings to boost its customer experience.

Indian e-commerce companies are heavily investing in IoT devices such as sensors and RFID tags, among other devices, to achieve real-time visibility in their warehouses. Apart from instantaneous tracking and monitoring of warehouses, these IoT devices also eliminate chances of human errors while handling goods.