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Mobile retail e-commerce sales in India were estimated to be valued at nearly ** billion U.S. dollars by 2020. This was a significant growth since 2015, yet not surprising considering the penetration rates of smartphones and mobile internet in the country.  

India emerging digitally

  With the drastic growth in the number of mobile internet users since the inception of Digital India and the rise of Reliance’s Jio, Indians were able to catch up to other major economies in participating in in-store mobile checkouts with retailers’ applications. Additionally, the rise of mobile wallets and the potential to buy practically anything online increases the convenience of achieving that via a mobile phone. Naturally, the largest share of mobile consumers buying online come from younger generations, millennials specifically .

Competition among retailers and their mobile apps

  Flipkart, one of India’s leading online sellers, is in close competition with Amazon. As early as March 2015, the company blocked access to their website via mobile devices, requiring app downloads instead. This was implemented in the following months with Myntra, a fashion retailer and standalone subsidiary of the former.

In India, mobile and online retail purchasing was highest during the weeks leading up to Deepavali – the Indian festival of lights. Online shopping has become increasingly popular with each year during this period, when the ecommerce ecosystem undergoes a sort of sales bonanza. Data revealed a surge in retail app and web usage three weeks preceding the festival, likely from the convenience of scrolling through products at the palm of your hand, rather than using a desktop or PC, saving time and still ensuring the same quality of purchase.