Key Points

In its industry insights report, the firm said that India has rapidly emerged as a global retail powerhouse, becoming the third-largest retail market in 2024.

In FY2025, the country's e-commerce sector recorded a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of USD 14 billion, marking a 12 per cent year-on-year growth. Despite this, e-commerce contributes only 7 to 9 per cent of total retail sales, indicating substantial room for expansion.

According to the report, the beauty segment is the fastest-growing online category, fuelled by influencer marketing, rising digital use, and demand for personalised and convenient products.

A 57.5 per cent rise in per capita net income over the last decade has supported increased discretionary spending. Since 2020, Tier-3 and smaller cities have contributed 60 per cent of new online shoppers and 45 per cent of total orders. Government initiatives like the National Logistics Policy and Digital India are improving supply chain efficiency and digital access, enabling deeper penetration.

Increased female workforce participation, rising from 23 per cent in 2018 to 42 per cent in 2024, has led to more dual-income households and higher demand for lifestyle and premium products.

As digital infrastructure improves and aspirations converge across rural and urban regions, consumption patterns are undergoing a structural transformation, the report added.

"The Indian Government is considering a policy shift to ease foreign investment rules, potentially allowing global-commerce giants like Amazon to directly procure goods from Indian sellers for export. Currently, such companies can only operate as intermediaries, without direct access to either domestic or international retail transactions. The proposed changes would introduce a third-party export facilitation model, enabling a dedicated export entity linked to e-commerce platforms to handle compliance and regulatory processes," the report added.

The proposal, if implemented, will allow global e-commerce giants like Amazon to directly procure goods from Indian sellers for export, introducing a third-party export facilitation model, which will boost the sector, the report further added.

It stated that the move is seen as a step towards making India a global e-commerce export hub, aimed at boosting Indian exports and enabling India to emerge as a global e-commerce export hub.

- ANI