India’s E-commerce Market To Surpass US To Become The Second-Most Dominant Market Globally By 2034: Bharati Balakrishnan

Bharati Balakrishnan, the Country Head and Director of Shopify in India and Southeast Asia, stated in an interview that India’s e-commerce industry is predicted to surpass the U.S. to become the second-largest e-commerce industry globally.

In a recent interview with valid media sources, she stated that India’s online business is increasing on Shopify. It has generated a 78 percent increase in economic activities and supported nearly 200 million jobs last year. Indian merchants on the e-commerce platform have been selling commodities to 10 overseas markets and 70 million international shoppers.

The merchants associated with Shofify involve the prominent brands of India, including Lakme, Coloar, Blue Tokai, sugar cosmetics, BoAt lifestyle, and many other businesses. She added that Shopify has launched more than 600 new products over the past two years and increased their investments in the Research and Development department by more than 55 percent.

When she was further questioned about the present growth of the e-commerce industry, she mentioned that the Indian e-commerce industry has reached new heights despite the critical market situation in segments like penetration in the market, awareness among consumers, and mobile and data use. The business models have advanced with the introduction of business models, B2B2C, fast commerce, and D2C.

Presently, the e-commerce industry is demonstrating a positive trajectory, and by the present growth, it can be predicted that the Indian e-commerce market is set to surpass the US e-commerce market by 2034 to become the second-largest e-commerce market globally. Indian businesses have been expanding rapidly on Shopify, which has generated a 78 percent increase in economic activity.

Shopify’s Festive Season survey has shown that around 78 percent of the shoppers have utilized the platform to shop online prior to the pandemic. Almost all the users preferred to purchase from local Indian brands. The platform has even observed a change in the payments, with their research demonstrating that two-thirds of the users are inclined to UPI payments, which has demonstrated a rapid increase when only 49 percent of individuals opted for online payments.

Shopify to integrate brands to increase the customers in the e-commerce platform:

When Bharati Balakrishnan was asked about the new brands to launch through the platform, she replied that the focus of the company is to help new merchants start their business on Shofify and assist them in partnering with large-scale, high-volume retail businesses like brands, including GoColours and Duroflex. Millions of merchants have started moving to Shopify to take control of their sales and manage the volumes and complexity of the business. It involves home-grown brands like boAt lifestyle, sugar cosmetics, and many others.

Furthermore, retailers have started integrating AI into their businesses, including content creation, customer feedback, insights, and chatbots. The most significant utilization of AI is the use of chatbots in helping conversational commerce. The chatbot industry is predicted to achieve a valuation of 102 billion USD by the end of 202. It is because consumers are seeking more personalized experiences and services from the brands they prefer. Shopify has integrated with Whatsapp in India. It has helped the merchants to ease out the acquisition, conversion, support, and sales of their services.

Present data show that Shopify has an integral position in the e-commerce industry, powering millions of businesses in more than 175 countries, and is trusted by prominent brands globally, including Mattel, Netflix, and FIGS. More than 600 million shoppers have purchased from the application, and the merchants have accumulated sales worth 590 billion USD over the past years. The platform has an extensive platform with 4000 to 8000 applications, helping the merchants to create a seamless experience for the merchants and users.

The Indian e-commerce market has demonstrated rapid growth over the years, and it is expected that the trend to continue in the upcoming years. According to various analyses, it has been predicted that the Indian e-commerce industry will attain a 200 billion USD growth by 2026. The increased penetration of smartphones in the nation will influence it. As a result, the e-commerce sector will provide employment opportunities for around 9.5 million individuals by the end of 2025.

edited and proofread by nikita sharma