Indian e-commerce sales could grow by up to 60%, hit $84 bn in CY21: study

EasyEcom report predicts 32-68% spike in festive season demand; electronics the top category in this space, with 34% share of GMV in CY2020, likely to hold fort going forward

Omnichannel inventory management and e-commerce solution provider EasyEcom has released a predictive analysis report on the state of e-commerce in India for the Calendar year 2021. The study has been prepared after analysing the data around online sales during 2019 and 2020, according to a press release issued by the organisation.

As per the findings of the report, total e-commerce sales for the Calendar year 2021 are estimated to clock $67-84 billion, up significantly from $52.57 billion attained in 2020, and $40.44 billion in 2019.

The study further states that e-commerce sales during the festive season have been consistently rising during the past few years and that the trend is expected to continue in the current calendar. EasyEcom says in the report the growth has been persistent in the face of several months of lockdown and that it expects to see e-commerce retail sales clock $11-14 billion during this festive season alone, up by anything between 32-68 per cent over last year's figure.

With a global pandemic looming at large, e-commerce saw a staggering 66 per cent retail hike during the festive season last year. In 2019, the total online festive sales accounted for $5 billion, and rose to $8.3 billion in 2020, owing to limited offline services during the first series of nationwide lockdown.

In recent years, electronics has emerged as the leading category in this space, with a 34 per cent share of gross merchandise value (GMV) in total e-commerce sales for the year 2020. It was followed by fashion and apparel (26 per cent), food and groceries (24 per cent), furniture and appliances (5 per cent), with an increasing user base from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. The report says that in 2021, electronics will remain the top category followed by other major lifestyle segments.

“We believe that e-commerce retail will continue to rise for the festive season of 2021, owing to swiftly changing customer preferences and digital adoption by masses in the aftermath of a global pandemic. The numbers predict that revenue for digital commerce will continue to register a colossal YoY growth till 2026 and beyond. The festive season this year will contribute significantly towards this revenue growth enabling D2C brands to make up for any losses they might have incurred during the pandemic,“ said Swati Jindal, Co-Founder at EasyEcom.