Internet to influence FMCG sales worth $35 bn in India by 2020

With a boom in online shopping, Internet is expected to influence USD 35 billion worth of sales in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) category in India by 2020, says a report.
According to the report by Google and Bain & Co, the Internet would thus influence one-third of the total sales in the FMCG sector in the next five years, it said.
The influence will be maximum for categories like male grooming, infant care products and beauty products, it added.
Google India Industry Director Vikas Agnihotri said: "It is clear that FMCG companies in India need to start thinking of digital as a more strategic medium and chart out a digital growth path for their products."

The findings also revealed high propensity amongst consumers to shop online for FMCG products -- 50 per cent users had bought a product online in the past 3 months.
"Most FMCG companies in India have underestimated the impact of Internet and are struggling to ascertain a clear digital roadmap for their products. Companies need to uncover the digital potential for different categories, and align their growth trajectory with the changing consumer behaviour," Bain & Co. Partner Nikhil Prasad Ojha said.
For male grooming products, 25-30 per cent purchases will happen online, 20-25 per cent for infant care products and around 8-10 per cent of all beauty products will be bought online by 2020, as per the projections.

These findings were derived by studying various factors including research conducted for Bain and Google by Millward Brown by selecting a sample of 1,600 Internet users from across 13 cities in India including metros and non-metros - across eight FMCG categories - Skin care, hair care, oral care, home care, infant care, male grooming, beverages and food.