The new world of digital commerce has unfolded

Reasons to shop online include cheap or discounted rates, variety of choice, focussed shopping and avoiding crowded malls or shopping areas

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Digital commerce and its evolution is a topic as vast as the world wide web, with people slowly, but steadily, realising the enormity of its reach. In the last five years, ecommerce has seen considerable growth and acceptance in India. From being sceptical of sharing credit card details to being obsessed with ecommerce offers, Indians have come a long way. General inhibitions such as security, try before you buy, easy returns, discounts and offers notwithstanding, ecommerce players have managed to make a mark in changing the purchasing patterns of the Indian consumer.

According to reports, the number of online shoppers, globally, will rise to 40 million in 2016 from the 20 million recorded in 2013. This indicates that the modern shopper is evolving and the old brick-and-mortar stores are being seen in a new light. Customers are getting their choice of goods at their door steps, with various options available to them such as: cash-on-delivery, credit or debit card payments, return policies, exchange policies and guarantee or warranty depending on the product. Other reasons to shop online include cheap or discounted rates, variety of choice, focussed shopping and avoiding crowded malls or shopping areas.

With so many avenues opening up within ecommerce, I’d like to highlight how digital commerce has gained acceptance in India and how it is believed to shape up over the next few years. Currently, over 40% of internet users globally have bought goods and services from several ecommerce websites, with products ranging from computers and tablets to clothing, accessories and entertainment devices. A report from Gartner suggests that India ranks on top and has the fastest growing ecommerce market. By the end of 2015, the ecommerce market in India is expected to reach $6 billion in revenues, a 70% increase from the previous year.

Initially, ecommerce was just about startups with low investments trying to set foot in the retail space. With new technologies coming into play, digital commerce is evolving rapidly. Online wallets, mobile wallets, one-way beacons, two-way beacons, QR codes, near field communication and Wi-Fi are a few of the technologies that play a major role in promoting digital commerce. Most of these technologies are being adapted by ecommerce companies extensively to ensure user-friendliness. Apart from the rapid use of these technologies, various social media platforms have become a medium for brands to promote ecommerce transactions. From being just advertising platforms, social media platforms are now adapting to accommodate buying and selling of items. Pinterest recently announced online shopping on its website. Users who could earlier ‘pin’ their favourite posters, clothes, accessories, paintings and much more, will now have the option to buy them. For some users, YouTube annotations are an interruption to video streaming, but with more and more annotations linking to ecommerce sites, people tend to get attracted to the links and visit websites to purchase products of their choice. The big daddy of social media, Facebook went a step ahead a while back when its fan pages became a platform to buy and sell, with terms like: ‘Want It? Own It’.

Because of the rise in number of people accessing the internet, there has been a substantial increase in brands showcasing their products on digital platforms. With rising competition and more and more credible and known brands acknowledging the ecommerce space, the credibility of digital media as a crucial platform for marketing has increased manifold. In fact, some brands are solely targeting ecommerce websites for selling products. A recent example of this is Motorola’s launch of Moto G and Moto G2 cellphones exclusively on Flipkart.com. It was made available to consumers at an economical price, with guarantee and warranty facilities and accessories. This was trusted very well by the audience and raised sales for the brand phenomenally.

Even the Government of India is recognising the importance of digital commerce and how it can boost the Indian economy. For instance, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently introduced a norm to allow contactless card transactions for amounts up to Rs 2,000 to encourage online purchases. Known as tap-and-go payments, this method will help reduce queues at merchant outlets due to faster checkouts.

With an increase in interest, not only among the customers, but also businesses, brands and government officials, the rise of digital commerce is expected to reach a new high in the next five years. Several shopping malls and stores are already shutting down and in the coming years, there is the possibility of ecommerce firms monopolising shopping in the country.

- By Zafar Rais, CEO, Mindshift Interactive

The thoughts and opinions shared here are of the author.