Social commerce the way to tap growing online buyers from smaller towns

Indian e-commerce was worth $83 bn in 2022, will likely grow to $185 bn in 2026, propelled by deeper internet penetration and digital payments

During last year's festive season sales, homegrown marketplace Meesho toppled e-commerce giant Amazon to become the second-largest player in order share, behind Flipkart. This came on the back of a huge tier-2 and beyond market that has largely remained untapped until recently.

According to a report by consulting firm Redseer, 64 per cent of festive season shoppers, or about 125 million customers, came from tier-2 and 3 cities. As many as 60 per cent of the orders Meesho received during this period were from tier-4 cities and beyond.

And it was not Meesho alone. About 45 per cent of Flipkart's