Indian e-commerce “to cross $100bn mark in five years”
A new study from the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has estimated that the Indian e-commerce market, currently worth about $25bn, could grow to $80bn by 2020 and cross the $100bn mark in five years. And in order to meet this demand growth, the country’s delivery infrastructure will have to expand. According to ASSOCHAM: “The online companies are expected to invest close to $6-8 billion in logistics, infrastructure and warehousing in the next few years.”
ASSOCHAM’s Secretary General, D S Rawat, commented: “Innovations are very important in this sector, as the demand is always for more reach and faster shipping at lower costs. The companies will need to invest in automation, while utilising existing resources well.”
The study suggested that there will have to be more investment in the air cargo sector.
According to ASSOCHAM’s statement on the study: “Presently, there is a very low level of air cargo penetration characterised by only a few airports equipped to handle large volumes of express delivery parcels. As the e-commerce gathers momentum and moves to the tier-II and tier-III cities, there will be increasing demand of expanding air cargo connectivity to smaller towns. The industry would invest in about $8 billion by 2025.”
