While the world continues to suffer from the pandemic for over a year now, we have seen trends and practices like never before. The new normal has not only changed the way we live and work but also how we shop, what we buy and the means of getting these requirements. 

Over the last two decades, with growing internet penetration, e-commerce has evolved multifold and brought about a significant change in consumer behaviour. 

The very essence of e-commerce is to reach people beyond the physical boundaries of a retail store without any geographical or time restrictions with added benefits like doorstep delivery, cancellation services, returns, order scheduling etc. Previously only considered as one of the options for shopping, Ecommerce became the primary source of purchase during the pandemic, hence solidifying its need. With social distancing rules, increased smartphone usage and fast broadband services, e-commerce has not just shot up in the urban but also the rural areas worldwide.

Countries around the world saw unprecedented growth in the e-commerce industry for various products and services, except the ones that were adversely affected due to COVID-19, like the travel industry. This structural change in shopping behaviour is here to stay post-pandemic, experts say. 

In the Indian context, it is predicted that the Indian e-commerce industry will grow 84% by 2024, as it benefits from the demand created by the pandemic’s impact. This growth is not just limited to traditional websites but apps and social media feeds where consumers expect a smooth shopping experience and checkout process for absolutely anything they buy. From changes in preferred categories to items that are newly considered essential, from more personalized and localized shopping experiences to the surge of digital payment apps, the rise in e-commerce has further pushed the growth of various other products and services. This rise has also promoted access to these platforms to small merchants who can now reach a wider audience. 

With these favourable consumer trends towards e-commerce, it is only predictable that e-commerce and related industries will now be the favourite of consumers as well as investors. Recently there have been a couple of major developments and investments in the e-commerce industry. Let’s have a look at them. 

Starting from the most recent, in April 2021, Flipkart expanded its hyperlocal services to 6 new cities in the country. 

In February 2021, Flipkart and Zomato partnered with authorities to bring small-scale businesses and vendors into the -commerce ecosystem.

 In January 2021, B2B e-commerce platform, Udaan raised a total of US$28mn in additional financing from new investors (Octahedron Capital & Moonstone Capital). Previously, this company raised US$585mn from Tencent, Altimeter, Footpath Ventures, Hillhouse, GGV Capital & Citi Ventures in October 2019.  

In November 2020, Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd., acquired a minority stake of Urban Ladder Home Decor Solutions Pvt. Ltd. for US$24.67mn. 

As the e-commerce market grows the investments and developments will continue to rise with opportunities posed in this industry. We will surely have new players in the market and the existing ones will compete to give the best services as the competition increases.