India will be the second-fastest-growing economy in Asia-Pacific based on ecommerce sales this year behind the Philippines. Steady double-digit growth will continue through 2025.
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It will hold onto fourth place in Asia-Pacific in terms of retail ecommerce sales this year, behind China ($2,784.74 billion), Japan ($168.70 billion), and South Korea ($142.92 billion). Ecommerce growth in India stems in part from increased adoption in smaller cities, which account for a growing share of ecommerce sales.
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But ecommerce is still a small fraction of total retail sales in India. This year, it will amount to just 7.8% of the total $1.072 trillion. This share is much lower than in China (46.3%), South Korea (32.2%), or Indonesia (20.2 %). India will reach a milestone in 2025, however, when we expect ecommerce will surpass 10% of total retail sales in India.
Mcommerce is a massive growth driver
More than 80% of retail ecommerce dollars will be spent via a mobile device this year in India, rising to almost 84% in 2025. Within the entire Asia-Pacific region, only China has a higher mcommerce share. Overall, retail mcommerce sales in India will reach $68.09 billion this year, making it the fourth-largest market in Asia-Pacific behind China, Japan, and South Korea.
India’s robust mcommerce share reflects the importance of using mobile devices to access the internet in a country where a majority of the population lives in rural areas that often lack the infrastructure for reliable broadband. eMarketer estimates more than 95% of internet users in India will use mobile internet at least once per month this year.
More digital buyers are fueling demand
There will be 312.7 million digital buyers in India this year, up 47 million from 2020. Between 2022 and 2025, the country is expected to add close to 65 million more digital buyers.
More than one-tenth (12.2%) of the world’s digital buyers will live in India this year. For comparison, the US will be home to 8.4%.