E Commerce : How Did It All Started In India ?
Did You Know?
First E-Commerce transaction happened In 1994, when Dan Kohn, who created a website called NetMarket, sold a Sting CD to a friend. Kohn’s friend paid $12.48 plus shipping, and he used data encryption software to send his credit card number securely. It seems the first secure online transaction
Me being a part of both at the giving and receiving ends , can surely say that a little has been known and lot is still pending to be discovered . E-commerce on seeing what a giant it has become now, is hard to imagine that it was only 1995 when e-commerce started in India. I myself did the first purchase in the year 2015 with my fingers crossed after a lot of brain storming sessions with my Indian parents, on how its not fake and their money wont get stuck or robbed off , and needless to say I, finally took the cake without getting injured . As it was our first purchase for obvious reasons we went for COD because my family still wanted to have that physical confirmation which they got in the usual way of shopping from the local market but you know what , it was not the product (which we eventually returned because of poor quality )that made me and my household its regular customer but the refund policy that caught hold of us and our committed relationship its still going SOLID as a ROCK through every thick and thin.
Just out of curiosity I wanted to know as to how it all started….the first purchase that was made….the first online transaction everything and this is what I thought of sharing, but let’s first understand, what E-commerce actually is ? E Commerce is a form of business done online or over the internet. In other words, when you buy or sell goods or services online or via an electronic medium, it is referred to as electronic commerce, popularly known as ECommerce. It encompasses a wide variety of data, systems and tools for online buyers and sellers, including mobile shopping and online payment encryption.
The history of ecommerce started over 40 years ago, when the introduction of early technology like Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and teleshopping in the 1970s paved the way for the modern-day ecommerce store as we know it today. It is closely intertwined with the history of the internet. Online shopping became possible when the internet was opened to the public in 1991. Amazon was one of the first ecommerce sites in the US to start selling products online and thousands of businesses have followed since. The convenience, safety, and enjoyable user experience of ecommerce have improved exponentially since the inception of online shopping. Now bringing back our focus to Indian E-Commerce evolution, below timeline will help you understand better .
Evolution of Online Shopping Table
Table Resource : https://www.raijmr.com/ijrmp/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/IJRMP_2015_vol04_issue_03_05.pdf
Evolution of ecommerce in India by Ernst & young report 2013
The India e-commerce market size which was estimated to be $75 billion in 2022 , has the potential to expand up to $111 billion by 2024 and $200 billion by 2026, with a CAGR of 20–22 percent.
Now there are various factors that are contributing to this rapid growth in India, like :
1 Penetration of 3G internet in the remotest of area, the advent of JIO playing a major role.
2.Government Support : The Indian government has launched a number of new initiatives since 2014, including Start-up India, Skill India, Digital India, and the Innovation Fund. The timely and effective implementation of these projects is predicted to support the growth of e-commerce in the nation even more .
3.Safe and Secure Payment Options: Earlier due to lack of trust and uncertainty the transactions were more based on COD but now due to various payment gateways pre-integrated like Razorpay, CC Avenue, PayU, Instamojo, PayTM, Cashfree, etc enables to accept payment through Debit/Credit card, Net Banking, Wallets, UPIs.
4.Covid 19 Pandemic: Despite the Covid-19 crisis and economic downturn, the e-commerce industry in India saw an upward trend post lockdown, registering a 17 per cent increase in order volume as of June 2020, when compared to the prelockdown period.
5.Improving the delivery experience : Now e-commerce giants are always on their toes to attract and increase their customer base as fast as possible, since the options are more and competition is stiff the only way this can happen is by providing a world class delivery experience so that the customer satisfaction is high and chances of them coming back becomes inevitable .
6.Growing Living standards : The visible growth of Indian middle class’s life style and purchasing power is getting noticed by the industry and thus the online retail is no longer limited to the big towns and cities. The unreachable pockets and 2nd and 3rd tier towns are now being targeted as the largest untapped potential audience by e-commerce companies.
7.Busy Lifestyles and lack of time for offline shopping: The time efficiency and hassle-free experience offered by e-commerce are particularly appealing to this urban, busy demographic. As a result, the ongoing growth in disposable income is enabling more frequent and diversified purchases, driving demand in the e-commerce sector.
8.Joining Hands with Third party provider : Third Party Logistics providers (“3PL”) are utilized by many ecommerce businesses to oversee and manage their supply chain management in the remotest of areas . 3PLs specialize in optimizing the supply chain, allowing online stores to focus on marketing and other business operations.
We can surely say that by 2025, the Indian e-commerce market is projected to continue expanding and reach a value of about $188 billion and reach $350 billion by 2030. Now with the dawn of AI and its tools it will be interesting to see where this industry goes , we have started to watch out for certain trends like Q-commerce, also known as quick commerce, Voice-enabled online shopping, Integrating shoppable videos, Prioritizing sustainability and many more giving the futuristic idea of what's going to happen . I am excited to witness the evolution it will go through and surely be a part of it.
