E-commerce 'euphoria' to last 18 months only: Biyani

He had criticised Flipkart and other e-commerce firms in India for under-cutting the market and selling products at below the cost price

The "euphoria" over the scorching pace of eCommerce market in India will last about 18 months as things begin to settle down and "reality" sets in, Future Group chief Kishore Biyani today said.

Biyani has recently partnered with global e-tailing giant Amazon to sell its merchandise exclusively online.

Known as a pioneer of Indian retail chains, Biyani had criticised Flipkart and other e-commerce firms in India for under-cutting the market and selling products at below the cost price, saying that it would hurt other retail channels.

"The euphoria should last for 6-18 months. Then it will be over. You can't live in the euphoria and reality will set in," Biyani said at the Technopak Leadership Forum, E-tailing 2014.

Estimated to be a $3 billion segment, the Indian eCommerce sector has been growing at a massive pace with players like Snapdeal and Flipkart raising well over $4 billion from a range of investors including angel and private equity firms.

Also, world's largest online retailer Amazon has committed investment of $2 billion in the country over the next few years.

Asked if the brick and mortar stores will be impacted severely by the growing preference for online shopping, Biyani said all formats will survive.

"They will all survive, but not in their original form," he said.

Citing the example of Future Group he said the company has a mix of online and offline presence that helps them reach to customers.

"People used to go to haats and exhibitions in the past. They have not gone away. These will change forms but they will be there in some form," he said.

A report by consulting firm Technopak pegs the $2.3 billion e-tailing market to reach $32 billion by 2020.

According to reports, of the $1.02 billion dollars of investment that came into all software companies in India in 2013, as much as $808 million was in e-commerce companies.