India’s middle-income consumers may drive nearly half of ecommerce growth by 2030: report

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

ecommerce market by 2030, according to a report on Wednesday by strategy consulting firm Redseer. The report describes households earning between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh annually as ‘mass’ consumers and those earning above Rs 10 lakh as ‘affluent’. The mass section, the report said, would contribute to almost $135 billion (45%) in gross merchandise value (GMV) for ecommerce by 2030.

The segment is also projected to account for $1.3 trillion in the overall Indian retail market, it added. The report projects the number of households transacting on ecommerce platforms to grow from 60-70 million in 2022 to 120-130 million by 2030. Mass consumers are expected to account for more than 80% of that growth.

ET reported in December last year that ecommerce in India recorded a staggering 37% year-on-year growth, owing to the segment’s penetration into tier-2 and tier-3 cities.Big players leading the charge According to the Redseer report, within the mass consumer market of $15-$20 billion in 2022, 60-70% of the sales was led by large horizontal players. These may include the likes of Amazon and Flipkart, companies that sell largely everything without focusing on a specific category. Around 30-40% of the sales was led by smaller vertical players that focussed on a specific product or category.

Meesho, for example, is a vertical player in ecommerce with a focus on expanding regional and local selection, while also keeping the pricing affordable. Another example of a vertical etailer is Purplle, which is largely into the beauty and personal care (BPC) category.Power with Gen Z and Millennials The report found that almost 75% of mass consumers were Gen Z and millennial shoppers. While Gen Z — the younger generation — preferred