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Ecommerce Facts and Figures in India

Mobile commerce and online shopper behaviour in India

Read below more about ecommerce growth, Ecommerce sales and cross-border ecommerce in India

The ecommerce market in India holds significant potential, with the second largest population in the world, and only 2% of the population buying online. However, India’s ecommerce potential, especially cross-border, is limited by low urbanization, Internet penetration and income levels. Mobile, however, could be the key to unlock this market – smartphone penetration is growing at 150% year on year. 

Total Population
- 1.26 billion
- Second largest in the world, after China.
Age Breakdown
- Under 13% of the population of India are over 55.
Religion
- India is largely Hindu, at 80.5% of the population.
Urban Population
- 32%
Internet Penetration
- 243 million people
- 19% penetration
Mobile Penetration
- 899 million
- 71%
Tablet Penetration
- 9.3% 
Smartphone Penetration
- 10%
- The penetration rate is growing at 150% year on year. 
Online Shoppers
- 25 million
Ecommerce Sales
- USD 14.9 billion (including e-retail and ecommerce). 
- Average order value increased from USD 17 to USD 30 from 2012 to 2013.
Ecommerce Penetration
- 11,5% 
Ecommerce CAGR (2008 – 2013) 
- 21.7% 

Cross-border Ecommerce Opportunities
• The lion’s share of India’s cross-border ecommerce trade is export, as India is considered to be a tricky location for import. This is due to limited infrastructure and urbanization.
• Shopify, the Canada-based shopping cart, expects to double the number of stores operating on its platform in India from 5.000 to 10.000 in the next year, representing potential for Indian ecommerce.
• Indian merchants generated USD 1.8 billion in value in 2013 in cross-border export of ethnic wear, handicraft, leather fashion accessories and semi-precious jewelry.
• The US, UK, India, Russia and Israel are major export destinations for Indian merchants selling online, while China, Germany, Malaysia and Singapore are preferred import hubs. Indeed, 2.3% of China’s cross-border ecommerce export trade was to India.

Language as a Key Driver
• The national languages of India are Hindi (41%) and English (20%). 
• There are 350 million English speakers in India. 
• There are 422 million Hindi speakers in India. 
• Other languages include Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu and Gujarati. 
• The percentage of English speakers varies with age — the English speaking ratio is higher among the younger population. In most middle class families, parents may not be English speakers but the children are.