IAMAI: e-Commerce Set for Steady Growth in 2013

2013 promises to be an interesting year for the e-Commerce industry. While 2012 witnessed consolidation and increase in e-Commerce, the current year looks set for exponential growth. Going by the IAMAI Internet Watch Report, e-Tailing is witnessing steady growth. Panelists at a session of the 7th India Digital Summit organized by the Internet & Mobile Association of India aptly titled “e-Commerce 2.0 – Emerging Trend” discussed threadbare the opportunities that lie ahead in 2013. Chaired by Avnish Bajaj, Managing Director – Matrix Partners, the session saw participation from Alok Mittal, Managing Partner – Canaan Partners India, Sachin Bansal, Co-Founder & CEO – Flipkart, Sundeep Malhotra, CEO – Homeshop18, Murlikrishnan B. Country Manager – eBay, Mukesh Bansal, Founder – Myntra.com and Ankur Warikoo, CEO – Groupon India.

Discussing about new users, devices and new business models, Mukesh Bansal reiterated that acceptance for e-commerce has evolved in 2012 and will witness growth in tier 2-3 cities. However, Murlikrishnan B. had a word of caution. According to him, “while the year 2012 was a year of engagement and supply dynamics to evolve, 2013 will be a year of reality check.’

Sundeep Malhotra stressed on the fact that women are driving the e-commerce category and will continue to do so. The same trend can be seen the monthly tracker ‘Internet Economy Watch’ by IAMAI where a tremendous and steady growth has been seen in e-tailing of fashion accessories, branded apparel and footwear segment, a category dominated by women heavily. As per the latest data, the branded apparel and footwear segment has seen a y-o-y growth of 56% and 71% respectively.
However, according to Alok Mittal the new e-commerce companies have to evolve unique strategies in the competitive world. With the market size still being naïve, the need to integrate all mediums to reach consumers across platforms is required. As Sachin Bansal puts it, “Better online experience is what e-commerce companies should aim at.”