India's digital commerce market to grow 33% to $11.6B in 2013, e-tailing to lead growth: IAMAI

The digital commerce market in India is expected to grow by 33 per cent to Rs 62,967 crore ($11.6 billion) by the end of 2013 from Rs 47,349 crore (($8.7 billion) in 2012, according to a report released by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) based on findings of market research firm IMRB.

The overall growth, however, is expected to marginally dip from the 34-36 per cent annual growth clocked in the previous three years. This is due to a slower projected growth in the market in categories such as e-tailing, financial services and online classifieds even as the key business generator online travel is expected to maintain the 30 per cent growth it recorded in the previous year, the report said.

Overall, e-tailing will lead the growth with 55 per cent increase to cross Rs 10,000 crore this calendar year. This will be followed by classifieds, online travel, financial services and other services categories.

Of all the categories, online travel will continue to hold the largest chunk in the digital commerce pie with 71 per cent of the overall revenues against 73 per cent in 2012.

The bulk of the remaining business would be from e-tailing. In 2012, laptops/net-books/tablets contributed 24.5 per cent of the total pie in e-tailing followed by apparels and footwear which contributed 20.6 per cent, the report said. Mobile phones, cameras, mobile and camera accessories together contributed to another 33 per cent last year. In all the above mentioned categories form nearly four-fifth of the e-tailing pie.

The financial services market was valued at Rs 2,886 crore in 2012 and is expected to grow by 25 per cent to hit Rs 3,607 crore by the end of 2013. Applying for insurance or paying insurance premiums/renewals and payment of utility bills and mobile bills contribute almost half of the whole financial services pie.

The classifieds business, which is led by online job portals and matrimonial services, is expected to grow 30 per cent (against 40 per cent growth in 2012).

Other online services such as online entertainment ticketing and online food ordering may reach Rs 1,388 crore from Rs 1,110 crore in 2012.

Compared with 2009, 2012 saw a surge in the number of users who shopped online. Of 19.6 million who accessed internet for finding details related to a specific product or a service, nearly 73 per cent actually bought a product or a service in the end. The percentage of people who access internet only for looking information related to various products and services decreased from 45 per cent in 2009 to 27 per cent in 2012.