KIT: E-commerce in the apparel segment

Strategic tools for the practising manager

E-commerce in India was estimated at Rs 32,000 crore in 2010 and is expected to grow at 40 per cent annually.

Online retailing has a 7 per cent share in the country’s ecommerce and is expected to grow to 13 per cent by 2015.

The key drivers fuelling this growth are: Evolution of tech savvy consumers who own mobiles, smart phones and tablets; increasing ‘time poverty’; availability of safe and secure payment gateways; and advancement in technology making the online shopping experience interactive.

Retailers have been developing models to engage consumers in online shopping. Pantaloon and Shoppers Stop are successfully targeting a part of their sales from their websites. Shopping websites like FashionAndYou and Myntra too are attracting good business.

Given the rising urban population and changing lifestyles, online retail is going to pick up in a big way. Apparel e-tailing makes for an interesting and definitive prospect for Indian apparel brands and could be the next big thing to happen in the Indian retail space.