E-commerce Challenges and Opportunities in Indian Perspective

E-commerce has been on the rise over the past few years of time in India. There has been an increasing number of instances where different e-commerce businesses are popping up. The rise of e-commerce is mainly due to the ease of availability of the internet.

In an addition to this, people prefer the online of a mode of shopping which saves a lot of time for them which makes sure that they do not have to take out time from their busy schedule and go shopping. Even the groceries are available online in the country which clearly proves how popular has e-commerce become in India. But the business owners always make sure to for an appropriate e-commerce website design so that the site is able to attract more customers.

Now, with this tremendous growth of the e-commerce sector in India has come up with a number of challenges for the business owners. The most basic to start off with is the e-commerce website development. The competition of e-commerce in the Indian market has been growing at a rapid pace which has certainly been a point of concern for the business owners. On the other hand, there are a number of opportunities as well that e-commerce offers.

So, here we have listed a few of the challenges as well as opportunities of e-commerce business in the Indian perspective both from the point of view of the customers as well as the business owners.

Challenges Faced by the Marketers or the Business Owners

The developing countries like India have to face a number of challenges for the purpose of utilizing the benefits of increasing incomes as well as the trade flows in e-commerce business. The reasons behind the fact are a wide range of legal, technical and international governance considerations need to be taken care of.

1.  Personalisation

It is certainly one of the most important challenges for the suppliers when it comes to e-commerce business in the country and its stiff competition with the retail stores. In a developing country like India, there are a lot of people who still prefer retail stores where they can physically check out the products before buying. The retail stores, on the other hand, provide a personal touch which is quite difficult to be replaced with online selling.

2. Challenges of Shipping

Even though you have a great e-commerce website design and a good number of customers, the challenges of shipping remains a concern. There are a lot of issues related to the lack of supply chain integration, delay in delivery along with a lack of proper courier services, especially in the rural areas. This results in the frustration of the customers and hence a major challenge.

3. Currency

Currency challenge is another major area of challenge that is faced by e-commerce businesses. Different countries have different export as well as import specifications. Thus, issues related to credit card limits and currency exchange rates play a negative role in eCommerce business thereby hindering the smoothness in the overall e-commerce shopping.

Nowadays, e-commerce site development is done in such a way that it is able to accept different payment options which makes it easier for the customers.

4. Challenges Faced by Consumers or Buyers

In India, there are a number of challenges faced by the customers as well in the eCommerce business which are as follows.

5. Refund

The refund issue is one of the major hindrances in the e-commerce businesses in India. If the product acquired does not match with the specification or the product is a faulty one or any other issue, there arises a situation of return but the refund in these cases takes a lot of time which pushes the customers in the backfoot.

6. Trust

Trust is another issue that affects the e-commerce businesses in India such as assurance of the quality product, guaranteed refund & return in case of faulty goods and trust in the privacy of the personal data.

Opportunities for the Marketers or the Business Owners

Apart from the challenges faced by the marketers in e-commerce business in India, there are some opportunities as well which needs to be capitalized at its best.

• First of all, it minimizes the inventory cost to a great extent as in the case of expensive retail showrooms.
• It can play a vital role in the improvement of customer service.
•  It provides a great scope for the globalization of the business by making the products and services available to customers worldwide.

Opportunities for the Consumers or Buyers

Some of the major opportunities that e-commerce brings to the customers are as follows.

• The buying options in eCommerce are quick, convenient and user-friendly which is necessarily the best part.
• It helps in the elimination of the travel cost for the customers.
• The e-commerce stores are available 24*7*365 which allows the customers to shop at their own convenient time.

So, at any point in time, you wish to engage in an e-commerce business, opt for a good e-commerce site development along with a great e-commerce website design and appropriately analyze the challenges & opportunities in the business for achieving successful results.