Content uploaded by Priyanka .T
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Priyanka .T on Nov 29, 2019
Content may be subject to copyright.
E-COMMERCE IN INDIA –CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
T.Priyanka, Ph.D (Research Scholar), Department of commerce, Alagappa University,
Karaikudi
Dr.B.Sudha, Associate Professor, Department of Banking Management, Alagappa University,
Karaikudi
ABSTRACT
E-Commerce is playing one of the vital roles in business options and facilitates to explore in the
future. E-commerce is concerning the paradigm shift in the business world for trading. Forecast
of E-commerce is showing extraordinary prospects in business growth of Indian economy. The
customer base of online shopping is augmented by using internet of things (IOT) and mobile
phone applications. Consequently the Indian e-commerce business has seen exciting growth in
since from few years. It taking into consideration India’s demographic payment systems and
increasing internet accessibility, the E-commerce business is growing up to greater heights.
However, India’s overall retail opportunity is substantial; the online business is plagued with
some critical challenges. Hence, in attending current study has been carried out to depict the
present condition and the future prospective of e-commerce business in India. It facilitates to
analyze the present trends, explore the challenges and opportunities of e-commerce business in
India.
Keywords: E- commerce, Trading Indian economy, customer’s online shopping internet of
things
INTRODUCTION
E-commerce stands for electronic commerce. It means dealing in goods& services through the
electronic media & internet. The rapid growth of e- commerce in India is being driven by greater
customer choice & improved convenience with the help of internet the vendor or merchant who
sells products or services directly to the customer from the portal using a shopping basket system
or digital cart & allows payment through debit card, credit card or electronic fund transfer
payments. In the present scenario e-commerce market & its space is increasing in demand as
well as an impressive display or range of a particular type of services. E-commerce is already
appearing in all areas of business, customer services, new product development & design. E-
commerce is business is growing in India because of wide range of product with minimum price
wide range of suppliers & customers internet. in this modern era every business unit want to join
online business because increasing ratio of internet users in India. E-commerce in India is still in
growing stage but it offers considerable opportunity.
DEFINITION
The buying & selling of products & services by business & customers through on electronic
medium, without using any paper documents. E-commerce is widely considered the buying &
selling of products over the internet, but any transaction that is completed solely through
electronic measures can be considered e- commerce. E-commerce is subdivided into three
categories: business to business or B 2 C (Amazon) & Consumer to consumer C 2 C (e Bay).
TYPES OF E-COMMERCE
There are 4 types of E-commerce
Business-To-Business E-Commerce: B2B E-commerce is simply defined as e-commerce
between companies. This is the type of e-commerce that deals with relationship between and
among businesses. About 80% of e-commerce is of this type, and most experts predict that B2B
e-commerce will continue to grow faster.
Consumer-To-Business E-Commerce: C2B commerce, or commerce between companies and
consumers, involves customers gathering information; purchasing physical goods or information
goods and for information goods, receiving products over an electronic network. It is second
largest and the earliest form of e-commerce
Consumer-To-Consumer E-Commerce: Consumer to Consumer electronic commerce involves
the electronically facilitated transactions between some third party. It perhaps has the greatest
potential for developing the new markets C2C websites form a perfect platform for buyers’ and
sellers who wish to bay and sell products of similar interest.
Business-To-Government E-commerce: Business to government E-commerce or B2G is
generally defined as commerce between companies and the public sector. It consists of a
marketing products and services to various government levels.
Advantages of E-Commerce To Consumers:
The distinct advantages e-commerce can offer to the consumers include but are not confined to
the following only:
• Consumers have a much wider choice available on the cyber market
• They bear lower costs for products due to increased online competition among sellers
• Because of wide-scale information dissemination, consumers can compare products,
features, prices, and even look up reviews before they select what they want.
• They enjoy wider access to assistance and to advice from exports and peers.
• They enjoy saving in shopping time and money.
• Consumers also avail of fast services and delivery of products and services.
Advantages of E-Commerce To Suppliers:
The major advantages that e-commerce can bring to the companies suppliers are;
The minimizes inventory cost: E-commerce venture need not maintain huge inventories or
expensive retail showrooms. Their marketing and sales force is a fraction of that of traditional
mortar –based businesses. Ecommerce can minimize inventory costs by adopting just-in-time
(JIT) system enhancing the firm’s ability to forecast demand more accurately.
It can improve customer’s services: It has been found that providing both customer and after-
sale services for up to 10 per cent of the operating costs. by putting these services on-line under
e-commerce, these costs get reduced, on the one hand, and simultaneously the quality of services
also gets improved, on the other.
It reduces distribution costs as well: The electronic Data Interchange (EDI) based on
Organization for Economic Co-operation and development (OECD) study has revealed that the
time needed to process an order declined abruptly by a minimum of 50 per cent to a maximum of
96 per cent. It is really amazing.
It helps market products more quickly: by taking the entire product design process online,
drawing partners and customers into the process and removing the traditional communication
barriers, companies can bring products and services to market far more.
CHELLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES
Backed by increased online user base & mobile phone penetration, Indian e-commerce has seen
impressive growth in the last few years. Considering India’s demographic dividend & rising
interest, accessibility, the sector is slated to scale greater heights. Although, India’s overall retail
opportunity is substantial, the sector is best with some serious challenges.
E-Commerce-trends and opportunities
E-commerce has come a big long way since its inception and is only getting bigger. As
technology continues to grow rapidly, e-commerce retailers are adopting newer techniques to
facilitate the sellers and buyers to sell and buy online more efficiently, thanks to ever dropping
rates of internet surfing – both for web and mobile interfaces- which is completely to the soaring
population of internet users. It has hence become the key force behind driving the trend for
commerce. The rise of social networks and mass adoption of mobile devices is acting as a
catalyst to accelerate this drive further, shaping the e-commerce trends in the Indian market.
• E-commerce is one of the most exciting spaces for today’s global online community, and
India’s young startup economy is along for the ride. In the less than three months of
2011, Indian venture capitalists have already invested over $50 million in seven e-
commerce companies, a 400 percent increase over the same period just last year, which
reflects the potential of e-commerce industry in India for the upcoming years.
• E-commerce in India has a long, road ahead, and e-commerce infrastructure and best
practices are in their infancy. India’s 7 to 9 percent internet penetration lags far behind
the 30 to 40 percent china and Brazil enjoy, and while India’s estimated 100 million
internet users still comprise the third largest online production, the total Indian e-
commerce market was approximately 3 percent of the U.S market last 7 year.
A recent report by internet and mobile association of India reveals that’s e-commerce market is
growing at an average rate 70 percent annually, and has grown over 500 percent in the past three
years alone.
Challenges in the E-commerce sector:
There are some barriers responsible for slow growth of e-commerce in India. Some barrier in
using e-commerce including security problems, lack of skills, etc, for the growth of E-business in
India it needs a focus and should to make country on the lines of e-business.
In India, cash on delivery is the preferred payment mode: In India, most of the people prefer
to pay cash on delivery due to the lower credit card diffusion and low trust in online transactions.
Not like electronic payments, manual cash collection is quite perilous, expensive and laborious.
Infrastructural problems: Internet is the backbone of e-commerce. Internet penetration in India
is still very low (38.4%) compared to other countries. The quality of connectivity is poor in
several regions. But both these are real threats for the growth e-commerce market in India.
Incorrect postal address: When the customer places an online order, he will get a call from the
company, asking about his exact location. The given address is not enough because there is
always a little standardization while writing post address. It is also one of the biggest challenges
that faced by e-commerce in India.
Privacy and security concerns: In case of start up and small business, business owners fail to
take the initial steps to secure and protect their online business through the installation of
authentic protection services like antivirus and firewall product, which indeed a crucial step for
successful business players. Usage of unauthorized softwares will not protect the customer.
Shopping Challenges: Issues related to lack of supply chain integration, higher delivery charges
for products. Delay in delivery and lack of proper courier services in some areas also make.
Conclusion
E-Commerce is changing the way of buying & selling of product & services in India. E-
commerce is future of shopping. Due to E-commerce the gap has been reduced between
manufacturer & consumer. According to the Indian population their vast scope for e-commerce
because currently in India only a limited number of people using internet for selling & buying
goods and services so remaining percentages we can consider that we having scope in Indian
market. There is a weak cyber security law in India that is why Indian people are facing
challenges toward e-commerce. The future of e-commerce in India would be bright in the
upcoming years if all essential factors would be implemented, by establishing cyber & have their
benefits as per people wish. The role of government is to provide a legal framework for e-
commerce so that while domestic & intellectual trade are allowed to expand their horizons,
prevention of fraud, consumer protection, etc. E-commerce and the ratio of that is getting
increase day by day.
References;
Indiatoday.intoday.in
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-commerce_in_india.
