Online Retail Sector could Reach USD 325 Billion in India by 2030

Deloitte’s Report It has been reported that the reach of online retail is projected to grow rapidly and will overtake offline retail by 2.5 times in the next decade. According to the report, “There are various reasons behind the growth in online retail. It includes the convenience of ordering and returns, as well as the logistics infrastructure available to more than 19,000 pin codes.” There are more than 22 crore online shopping customers in the country and they will play a big role in the growth of e-commerce. Private equity and venture capital firms have made considerable investments in this sector. It has been said in the report that in the last five years this investment has been about 23 billion dollars.

There have also been allegations against online retailers of cheating customers. Recently, the central government had said that it is not concerned about flash sales on these retail platforms but it is against the practices used to restrict choices for customers and unfair pricing.

Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal had said that customers shopping to take advantage of flash sales on e-commerce sites are often diverted to entities that are promoted by online retailers. This is fraudulent and against Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules. He said, “If someone wants to give a discount then why should I complain. If the customers are getting a good deal then we have no problem.” Goyal, who also holds the responsibility of Consumer Ministry, said that the problem is due to two reasons. Firstly, discriminatory pricing through dumping of goods and secondly, limiting the choices of customers. Citing the example of China, he had said that long-term dumping of goods at very low prices harms manufacturing in the country and customers are forced to buy goods at higher prices.