E-tailing in India- Growth, Challenges and Opportunities

The Indian Online Retail segment is changing rapidly by the impact of technology. Smart phones and internet enabled customers to connect e-tailing in a huge manner. E-Tailing has become extremely popular over the last decade. Today is the Era of Globalization and the consumer is not bound within a particular place to access products available anywhere in the world. Now he can go beyond the boundaries of any market area where he lives, to access the things of his interest. The medium holds many virtues favorable for the retail industry including a higher customer penetration, increased visibility, and convenient operations. The current web-based models for e-tailing are part of an embryonic phase preceding an era of rapid transformation, challenge, and opportunity in Indian retail market. This paper is an attempt to evaluate and highlight the potential E-Retailing holds and the role it can play in context of emerging Indian consumers and economy. The author has also tried to explore the issues & challenges in the path of E-Retailing & the future perspective of E-Retailing in India. The formalization and growth of E-Retailing will play a pivotal role in bringing sustainability and economic viability to many facets of the economy. My inferences in this chapter support that E-Retailing needs to be viewed objectively and individually as it a strong driver of Sustainable Economic Development.