E-Commerce Applications in India: An Empirical Study: NCRD's Sterling Institute of Management and Studies

E-Commerce Applications in India: An Empirical Study
Chapter 1
Introduction
The past two years have seen a rise in the number of companies' embracing e-commerce
technologies and the Internet in India. Most e-commerce sites have been targeted towards
NRI's with gift delivery services, books, audio and videocassettes etc. Major Indian portal
sites have also shifted towards e-commerce instead of depending on advertising revenue. The
web communities built around these portal sites with content have been effectively targeted to
sell everything from event and movie tickets to groceries and computers. The leader in these
services being Rediff on the net (www.rediff.com) and India plaza which started a shopping
section after their highly successful content site generated WEB visitors. In spite of RBI
regulation, low Internet usage e-commerce sites have popped up everywhere hawking things
like groceries, bakery items, gifts, books, audio & videocassettes, computer etc. None of the
major players have been deterred by the low PC penetration, credit card usage in India have
also tried to close the success worldwide of online commerce. BPB publication went online
selling its complete range of computer books about 2 years ago, it might not have the success
of an Amazon.com of Barnes and Noble, but they definitely have promised the cause of ecommerce in India with at least 1 to 5 web sites like India bookshop coming online.
This is not to say that the e-commerce scenario has been bad in India, as highly successful ebusinesses like Baba Bazaar and India mart have proved themselves. Indian Banks too have
been very successful in adapting EC and EDI Technologies to provide customers with real
time account status, transfer of funds between current and checking accounts, stop payment
facilities etc. ICICI Bank, Global Trust Bank and UTI-Bank also have put e-banking over the
internet facilities in place for the upcoming e-commerce market speed post also plain to clone
the FedEx story with
online package status at any moment in time . The future does look very bright for ecommerce in India with even the stock exchanges coming online providing an online stock
portfolio and status with a fifteen minute delay in prices. The day cannot be far when with
NCRDs Sterling Institute Of Management and Studies.
RBI regulations we will able to see stock transfer and sale over the Net with specialized
services like Schwab and e-trade.
Though with security and encryption being proven, technology for the transfer of funds over
the Internet, the Indian Government still has problems with 'Digital signatures' and
verification processes over the Internet. This combined with RBI norms and regulations has
proved a major huddle for e-commerce even though VSNL India's monopolistic ISP does
want to jump on to the electronic transaction bandwagon with the advent of private ISP's and
Indias new and positive attitude towards IT and the prime ministers new 'IT policy "the
future is very positive in India for doing commerce.
1.1
Evolution of Commerce
Commerce has evolved over the centuries. Prior to the evolution of money it was the simple
barter process where things could be exchanged, say milk for grains. The evolution of
money brought with it, the concept of a marketplace. In a marketplace, Commerce is
function of 4 Ps Product, Price, Place and Promotions. All these four components play a
vital role in a transaction to take place. Different combinations of 4Ps determine different
forms of Commerce. Once the marketplace came into existence, a few pioneers realized that
people would be ready to pay extra if they could deliver products at the customers doorstep.
A slight modification on Price and Place led to the convenience of getting products at their
homes. This concept delighted the customers and thus, the concept of Street Vendors was
born.
When the Postal System came into being the sellers decided to cash in on the new
opportunity and started using mailers giving description of their products. It led to the
concept of Mail Order Cataloguing. From here, the evolution of the Tele shopping
networks was thus inevitable with the development of media vehicles.
The latest generation of commerce is one that can be done over the internet. Internet provides
a virtual platform where sellers and buyers can come in contact for sale and purchase of
goods and services. They can be thousands of miles apart, may belong to different parts of the
world, might speak different languages, E-Commerce emerged as the boundary-less trade
medium in the era of globalization.
Fig 1.1 Evolution of Commerce
Since, Internet has the ability to reach the customers home; the Distribution Channel has started
to assume new meaning to the B2C and C2C e-Marketer. The Physical delivery got converted to
electronic delivery; physical products were now electronic products, displayed on a website.
With options of paying online through debit and credit cards, even the transaction was purely
electronic.
Fig 1.2: The Dimensions of E-Commerce
Another important P for the e marketer, Promotion, assumed importance, especially because
there is no face to face interaction between the buyer and seller. The focus of online promotions
is the great deals, discounts, convenience offered by the Marketers.
1.2
The Status of E-Commerce in India and its Potential
E-commerce stands for electronic commerce and pertains to trading in goods and services
through the electronic medium, i.e. the Internet or phone. On the Internet, it pertains to a website,
which sells products or services directly from the site using a shopping cart or\ shopping basket
system and allows credit card payments.
1.3
E-Commerce in India today
Today E-commerce is a byword in Indian society and it has become an integral part of our daily
life. There are websites providing any number of goods and services. Then there are those, which
provide a specific product along with its allied services.
1.3.1
Multi-Product E-Commerce
Some Internet portals provide almost all categories of goods and services in a single site; hence,
they are targeting buyers of every possible product and service. The most popular examples are
www.indiaplaza.com, www.khoj.com, www.sify.com, www.rediff.com, www.indiatimes.com,
www.thebestofindia.com and so on.
These Indian E-commerce portals provide goods and services in a variety of categories. To
Name a few:
1.3.2
Apparel and Accessories for men and women

Health and beauty products
Books and magazines
Computers and peripherals
Vehicles
Collectibles
Software
Consumer electronics
Household appliances
Jewellery
Audio/Video entertainment goods
Gift articles
Real estate and services
Business opportunities
Employment
Travel tickets
Matrimony
Petsand more.
Single-Product E-Commerce
Some Indian portals/websites deal in a specialized field, for example:
Automobiles:
Examples are: http://www.indiacar.com/ and http://www.automartindia.com/ .
On these sites we can buy and sell four-wheelers and two-wheelers, new as well as used vehicles,
online. Some of the services they provide are:
Car research and reviews

Online evaluation
Technical specifications
Vehicle Insurance
Vehicle Finance
Dealer Locator
Regional Transport Office regulations
Expert speak and more
Stocks and shares and e-commerce:

In India today, we can even deal in stocks and shares through e-commerce. Some of the sites are:
http://www.equitymaster.com, http://www.5paisa.com. Some of the services offered to registered
members are:
Online buying/dealing of stocks and shares

Market analysis and research
Company information
Comparison of companies
Research on Equity and Mutual Funds
Tracking Market Trends
Hotline for advice on Risk Management
24-Hour helpdesk.and more.
Real estate and E-commerce:

Portals like http://www.indiaproperties.com/ facilitate online dealing in real estate. They offer
either outright purchase or lease of a property through their portal. They provide information on
new properties as well as properties for resale. One can deal directly with developers or builders
or through consultants and brokers.
Allied services:
Housing Finance
Insurance companies
Architects & Interior Designers
NRI services
Property Management Consultants
Security & Maintenance Services
Vaastu or Feng Shui Consultantsand more.
Travel & Tourism and E-commerce:

India has a rich history with cultural heritage and e-commerce is instrumental, to a large extent,
in selling India as a product, encouraging Indians as well as foreigners to see its multifaceted
culture and beauty. A major Government of India portal, http://www.tourisminindia.com/ , has a
vast variety of information for a potential tourist.
The tourist destination sites are categorized according to themes like:
Adventure - trekking, mountain climbing etc

Eco-Themes pertains to jungles, flora and fauna
Beaches of India
Architectural attractions
Forts and Palaces
Buddhist attractions
Hill resorts
Desert treks
Pilgrimage sites
Allied services offered are:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Passport & visa

Travel & accommodation information
Weather information
Festival & fair dates
Shopping
Tour Operators
Information on Cuisine & Restaurants
Car rental servicesand more.
There are also sites that highlight the tourist destinations of a specific region in India, like
http://www.incredibleindia.org/, which covers North East India.
Gifts and E-commerce:

In the bygone days, one had to plan what to gift a loved one, trudge across to your favourite
shop, and browse for hours before purchasing a gift. Today there are specific Indian websites
making the act of gifting quick and easy to suit ones lifestyle. One such site is
http://www.indiangiftsportal.com/.
The gifts are categorized as:
1. Collectibles like paintings and sculptures
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Luxury items like leather goods, perfumes, jewellery boxes, etc

Household curios and carpets, etc
Toys & games
Chocolates
Flowers
Wood-craft & metal-craft
Idols for worshipand more.
Also the items can be searched by different regions of India, as every region has a special style in
making handicrafts.
Hobbies and E-Commerce:
The most popular hobbies from time immemorial are reading, music and films. On the Indian
website http://www.firstandsecond.com/ one can buy more than 300,000 titles of books,
cassettes, VCDs and DVDs.
The books cover a wide range of topics like Business, Art, Cookery, Engineering, Childrens
Stories, Health, Medicine, Biographies, Horror, Home & Garden, etc.
As for music and videos, they are available in English as well as in Indian languages to cater to
the varied tastes and the topics range from devotional songs, old-time favourites and retro\ and
jazz to the latest pop, rap, etc.
Matrimony and E-commerce:
It is said that marriages are made in heaven, but in the world of E-commerce they are made on
marriage portals like http://www.jeevansathi.com/ (meaning life-partner.com in Hindi) and
http://www.shaadi.com/ (meaning marriage.com in Hindi).
One can search for a suitable match on their websites by region of residence (India or abroad),
religion or caste. Once registered with them, they have email facility and chat rooms too, so that
the couple gets to know more about each other before making the biggest decision of their lives.
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Allied services for registered members:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Astrological services
Information on Customs and Rituals
Legal issues
Health & Beauty
Fashion & Style
Wedding Planners
Honeymoon Destinationsand more.
Employment and e-commerce:

Two major portals like www.monsterindia.com and www.naukri.com (meaning job.com in
Hindi) are instrumental in providing job seekers with suitable employment at the click of a
mouse. They have directories categorized under the headings Employers and Job Seekers. The
service for job seekers is free and for Employers they charge a nominal fee. Jobs are available
online in fields ranging from secretarial to software development, and from real estate to
education. The opportunities offered are unlimited.
1.4
Facilitators of E-Commerce in India
1.4.1
Information directories
Portals like http://www.trade-india.com/ and http://trade.indiamart.com/ maintain directories

giving trade details on almost any topic, whether it is from apparel to toys, from gems to heavy
machinery, or from food to employment. The products and services are listed with appropriate
sub-headings to make it easy for a serious information-seeker to find what he wants. Some other
similar sites are http://www.indiagrid.com/, http://indiainfo.com/, and http://in.indiatimes.com/.
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Allied services provided by them: Message boards, chat rooms, forums, etc.
1.4.2
Banks:
Netbanking / phone banking:

This is an online banking facility available for savings account holders as well as current account
holders. Some of the special Netbanking services are:
Demat accounts for sale/purchase of stocks and shares

Foreign Exchange services
Direct/Instant payment of bills on the account-holders behalf
Financial Planning & advice
Electronics Funds Transfer
Loans to account-holders
NRI servicesand more.
Credit/Debit Cards:
Banks facilitate E-commerce by providing the most vital trade instrument, namely the Credit or
Debit Card, without which E-commerce would be impossible. Some of the major Indian players
in
this
field
are:
http://www.hdfcbank.com/,
http://www.icicibank.com/
and
http://www.statebankofindia.com/.
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1.5
Potential of E-Commerce in India
Microsoft Research India was inaugurated in January 2005 in Bangalore, as the sixth MSR
laboratory in the world. The arrival of a giant like Microsoft itself speaks of Indias potential as a
world-player in the field of Information Technology and e-commerce; and others will soon
follow. Indian researchers and technicians can further the fast emerging world of E- commerce in
India and take it to greater heights.
What does the future hold for e-commerce? Many would say it is difficult to predict. The forces
that determine the web's winners and losers are just taking shape and technological advances
could add even more uncertainty. On the downside, some experts predict that it will be
increasingly difficult for smaller companies to establish their presence. Public companies and
traditional brand name retailers have deep pockets and a name recognition that will make it
difficult for smaller sites and mom-and-pop shops to attract customers, thereby forcing them to
compete with the big boys. On the Net, it's one big neighborhood. On the upside, nearly all
experts believe that overall e-commerce will increase exponentially in coming years. Business to
Business transactions will represent the largest revenue. Online retailing will also enjoy a drastic
growth. Areas expected to grow include financial services, travel, entertainment and groceries.
And for those considering opening a virtual storefront, forthcoming technology and standards
agreements will make it easier to create a site, to protect it against payment fraud, and to share
information with suppliers and business partners.
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Chapter 2
Literature Review
Electronic commerce or e-commerce consists primarily of the distributing, buying, selling,
marketing, and servicing of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and
other computer networks. The information technology industry might see it as an electronic
business application aimed at commercial transactions. It can involve electronic funds transfer,
supply chain management, e-marketing, online marketing, online transaction processing,
electronic data interchange (EDI), automated inventory management systems, and automated
data collection systems. It typically uses electronic communications technology such as the
Internet, extranets, e-mail, e-books, databases, and mobile phones.
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Fig 2.1: Meaning of E-Commerce
2.1
Functions of Electronic Commerce
The four functions of e-commerce are:

1.
2.
3.
4.
Communication
Process management
Service management
Transaction capabilities
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Fig 2.2: Functions of Electronic Commerce
2.2
Distinct Categories of E-Commerce
Four distinct categories of electronic commerce can be identified as follows: Business-tobusiness (B2B): Business-to-Business refers to the full spectrum of e- commerce that can occur
between two organizations. Among other activities, B2B e- commerce includes purchasing and
procurement, supplier management, inventory management, channel management, sales
activities, payment management, and service and support. While we may be familiar with a few
B2B pioneers- e.g., Chemdex (www.chemdex.com), Fast parts (www.fastparts.com), and Free
Markets (www.freemarkets.com) - some other exciting new consortia are emerging.
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Business-to-Consumer (B2C): Business-to-Consumer e-commerce refers to exchanges between

businesses and consumers, e.g., Amazon.com, Yahoo.com and Schwab.com. Similar transactions
that occur in business-to business e-commerce also take place in the business-to consumer
context. For instance, as with smaller business-to-business, transactions that relate to the back
office of the customer (i.e., inventory management at the home) are often not tracked
electronically. However, all customer-facing, or front office activities are typically tracked. These
include sales activities, consumer search, frequently asked questions and service and support.
Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C): Consumer-to-Consumer exchanges involve transactions between
and among consumers. These exchanges may or may not include third-[arty involvement as in
the case of the auction-exchange eBay. Other activities include: classified ads (e.g.,
www.numberoneclassifieds.com), games (www.heat.net), jobs (www.monster.com), Web-based
communication
(www.icq.com),
and
personal
services
(e.g.,
Yahoo!
Personals,
webpersonals.com).
17
Fig 2.3: Categories of E-Commerce

Consumer-to-Business (C2B): Consumers can band together to form and present themselves as a
buyer group to businesses in a consumer-to-business relationship. These groups may be
economically motivated as with the demand aggregator, Mercata.com, or socially oriented as
with cause-related advocacy at voxcap.com.
2.3
Significance of E-Commerce
The electronic market place participants are not limited only to digital product companies e.g.
publishing, software and information industries. The digital age and the digital revolution affect
all by virtue of their process innovations: Web-TV and digital television are going to affect TV
news and entertainment programmers. Changes in telecommunication will affect the way the
information is received, product announcements, orders etc.
Phones, Fax machines, Copiers, PCs and Printers have become essential ingredients in doing
business, so are E-mail, websites and integrated digital communication
Todays office business machines are not integrated (e.g. Faxed orders have to be typed in on
computers), the much talked about convergence will drive all these equipment into one digital
platform, whether it be a computer connected to the Internet and intranet, a new kind of device
capable of interacting with other devices, because that device will prove to be more efficient and
productive.
2.4
Study on E-Commerce Industry in India
To understand the situation in India, NASSCOM conducted a survey on India's potential for e
Commerce industry with the following points of reference:
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(a) Understand and evaluate the present state of E-commerce industry and market in India.
(b) Anticipate future potential of E-commerce industry and market in India.
(c) Identify present and potential global trends that are expected to define new paradigms of Ecommerce scenario.
(d) Analyze current internet access and penetration in India and evaluate potential threats.
(e) Suggest suitable strategies to enable Indian IT companies to address and capture a significant
share of E-commerce market.
(f) Increased proliferation of Internet.
(g) Achieving a leadership position in E-commerce technologies and infrastructure market.
(h) Developing state-of-the-art E-commerce enabling and access infrastructure in India. Going
by even the preliminary findings, it can be easily summarized that E-Business can indeed emerge
as a major opportunity for India. This acquires twin connotations of E- commerce and EBusiness transactions from local businesses and the huge opportunity for software exports to
other countries by quickly joining the E-Business opportunities. This survey is the first of its
kind which has taken into consideration India's twin assets software industry and rapidly
restructuring industry sector.
The scope of the study also included finding a level of awareness among corporate executives
about E-commerce and its benefits; perceived importance of E-commerce as being integral to
their corporate strategy framework; prospective volume of transactions expected to be carried out
through E-commerce; opportunity for exports of E-commerce solutions and services. Penetration
analysis of online services based on the NASSCOM (1999) study indicated that penetration rates
of internet and E-commerce transactions in India are expected as follows:
For Business-to-Business transactions, Indian industries are expected to reach online penetration
of 2% by 2003 and 8% by 2008. This would be about one tenth of E-commerce penetration in
Japanese industries during similar periods. It further expects that India's active internet
population would spend close to 1.4% of its total regular household spending through internet
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purchases by 2003. Revenue streams would increasingly be aligned with emerging global model.
Most of the revenue would come from commercial transactions and a small amount would come
from advertisement revenues. It is expected that by 2003 Internet Business-to-Consumer
transaction would constitute 80 percent of the revenue. The advertisement revenues would
amount to about 5% of total advertisement money spent. It is predicted that 3-4 percent of Ecommerce could be the result of a growing group of affluent Indians living overseas who are
likely to make some form of purchase from Indian based Web sites either for their own personal
consumption or as gifts for their kin in India.
Some of the preliminary findings on E-commerce and E-Business software exports potential are
as follows: In the year 1999-2000, Internet and E-commerce related software and services
exports from India brought US $ 340 million out of an estimated US $ 3.9 billion software and
services exports. Supply Chain Management optimization is one of the strongest drivers of
global E-commerce solutions market, as it spurs Business-to-Business transactions. More than
68% of Indian software houses have informed of strong expertise in Supply Chain and
Distribution Management solutions. Almost 32% of IT company respondents have identified web
based consumer businesses as a major opportunity area, with expected paybacks beginning in 3-4
years. Some of the promising areas of E-commerce services are: legacy application integration;
Internet application integration; EDI, Migration to web based models; new IT frameworks,
integration with business strategy and strategic IT consulting (OECD,1999).
With corporate planning to revive IT spending after Y2K problem, E-commerce solutions have
emerged as a major technological and business opportunity for Indian software houses. However,
there is a concern over present state of affairs with regard to facilitating and supporting Ecommerce in India because of the poor infrastructure. However, the software industry in India as
well as user industries are putting together their resources for adopting E- Business strategies.
In spite of passing of the I.T. bill, the framework and infrastructure in India still is not conducive
enough for proliferation of E-Business. More than 88% corporate executives expressed keen
awareness of increasing adoption of E-commerce and its potential benefits.
More than 41% of corporate executive said that E-commerce transactions are integral to their
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corporate plans. Among the executives responding, nearly 85% were industries which did not
have direct or frequent contact with end-consumers, but they can see that in the future they may
have to.
About 18% of corporations already have some form of E-commerce infrastructure in place.
These have been facilitated through upgrade of existing IT systems or fresh installations
configured for E-commerce transactions. The most commonly found business practice is to
establish extranets or EDI (Business-to-Business) infrastructure for initial or learning period.
This is subsequently upgraded to internet based access mechanisms for customers. More than
90% of the executives cited perceived efficiency in Supply Chain Management as motive for
Business-to-Business E-commerce, and enhanced Customer Services (Customer Relationship
Management) for Business-to-Consumer transactions. The other reported benefits included
moving towards Justin-Time management. Almost 78% of respondents concurred that for them
technology is not a major concern, nor is the required budgetary resources. However, the high
cost of effecting such transactions and inadequate services with regards to telecommunication in
India along with bandwidth were cited as major impediments. About 48% of respondents said
that given the right framework and cost-effective infrastructure, they would like to move towards
adopting E-commerce at the earliest. Some of the key industries that have high potential for early
adoption of E-commerce are: Financial (Stock Exchanges and Banks), Automobiles, Retail,
Travel, IT and Manufacturing. However, in India presently there are only two hubs of EDI based
transactions which are in Pune and Gurgaon.
2.5
E-Business Initiatives
There is a clear need of government action and international agreements on E-commerce issues.
It is generally recognized that there is a need for simple, transparent and predictable legal
environment for E-commerce on a national and international level and that Governments should
avoid undue restrictions on E-commerce in order to avoid competitive distortion. To develop
such global framework for E-commerce, a large number of international and regional bodies
have been working notably amongst them being OECD, WTO, WIPO, NCITRAL and ITU. A
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comprehensive document reporting on international and regional Bodies and their activities and
initiatives in E-commerce was prepared (Jan. 1999) by OECD Secretariat for OECD Ministerial
Conference, which was held in Ottawa in 1998. "A Borderless World: Releasing the Potential of
Global Electronic Commerce" (OECD, 1999) indicated the potential for global business for
many countries. Second half of 1999 saw commitments of some of the big companies to move
their multi-billion dollar purchasing operations on to the Internet. With many Fortune 500
Companies moving their supply-chain transactions involving purchase and sales of goods and
services on to the Internet has created a real necessity among those who do not have E-commerce
presence to move in quickly or be left behind. Now major multinationals such as Intel, IBM,
Cisco, 3Com, Dell and many others have had E-commerce models for 3-5 years. E-commerce
between business and consumers (B2C) which means direct purchase of products on the Internet,
for example, books, automobiles, music, entertainment, software, PCs and many other products
has also picked-up significantly. E-commerce is one area where market forecasts made in 199697 turned out to be much less than actual performance. Projections have been revised
subsequently by most of the consultancy firms. Forrester (IEEE, 1999) forecasts that worldwide
Internet Commerce will reach between $ 1.4 and $ 3.2 trillion in 2003, up from a range of $ 55
billion to $ 80 billion in 1998. This growth will happens as the world's largest economies of India
and China would completely come online by 2004.
2.6
Opportunities for India
At macro level, if one looks at the opportunities for India, outsourcing software and IT services
from USA and other advanced countries have emerged as one of the means to reduce the cost of
E-commerce today. In this regard, India has emerged as a preferred destination. Therefore, Indian
Software Export Industry could target for a significant share of global e- Business/E-commerce
market in the years to come. In the emerging global digital economy, it would be necessary for
Indian firms to follow the same online B2B practices as done by others in the world to be a
stakeholder. E-commerce would give opportunity to small and medium Indian enterprises to
project their capability globally and thus participate more proactively in such ventures. Many
traditional sectors such as handicrafts, textiles, art, and herbal medicines which have failed in the
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past to tap the global markets due to lack of marketing resources, should find an ideal medium in
internet. Indian cultural heritage, monuments, temples, and classical music could be made known
widely to the world at a very low cost of marketing and could be further leveraged in enhancing
global tourism of which India gets only 2 percent. E-Commerce is one IT tool that could do
wonders to the Indian economy in many fields.
In NASSCOM study, India has the potential to create E-business worth $1.5 billion by 2004 and
around $10 billion by 2008. E-commerce is a fast moving area internationally in terms of
opportunities and the technologies. It is predominantly led by industry and user sector with
government playing a catalytic role. Government by providing proactive policies and
environment and facilitating support and critical inputs for growth can do wonders for Ecommerce in and beyond India. In the last one year, significant progress has been made in the
country in this regard. New Telecom Policy 1999, new ISP policy and certain specific policies
have emerged out of acceptance of Part I of the Report of National Task Force on IT and
Software Development. They need to be implemented aggressively and without delay. The drive
to set-up world class information infrastructure at most competitive price has to be accelerated.
The following noticeable progress have been made in India as of July 2001:
1) Since announcement of Internet Policy in November 98, 315 licenses have been issued to
ISPs by DoT. With the availability of a large number of ISPs, it is expected that market
forces will govern the pricing and prices will come down further.
2) National Internet backbone is being established which would provide connectivity to
Government as well as private ISPs. TRAI has fixed the upper limit for Internet tariff,
ISPs are revising tariffs periodically at a very economic, competitive and attractive prices
to mobilize the customers.
3) VSNL, STPI and others are providing international bandwidth from multiple locations.
STPI with the single window facilities including high speed datacom services at 17
locations countrywide has multiple sites and are enabling more than 1200 companies to
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set up Internet operations.

4) NTP-99 has given significant importance to online E-commerce. It is expected that
information for E-commerce and B-commerce will be passed seamlessly. The
requirement to develop adequate bandwidth of the order of 10Gb on national routes and
even terabits on certain congested important national routes will be immediately
addressed to so that growth of IT as well as E-Commerce will not be hampered.
2.7
Development of Suitable Legal Framework for E-commerce
Information Technology Bill (Government of India, 1999) has been passed by both Houses of
Parliament. The Bill provides legal recognition of electronic records and purposes including its
authentication through digital signature. This Bill has enabled the conclusion of contracts and the
creation of rights and obligations through the electronic media. It has proposed to provide a legal
implementation structure. It has also proposed to amend Indian Penal code and Indian Evidence
Act to provide for necessary changes in the various provisions which deals with offences relating
to documents and paper based transactions; amendments to Section 2 of the Banker's Book
Evidence Act and RBI Act, 1934 will include safeguards for E-commerce transactions. The IT
Bill is also aimed at prevention of computer crimes.
As the Bill comes into effect, corporate and individuals will be able to rightfully carry on trade
through electronic medium without the fear of losing rights and obligations. This will give E-
24
commerce in India a much-needed boost. As the communication network expands and

computerization gathers momentum, the scope of E-commerce will expand. The need for the
banking and financial system to adjust to the changing circumstances has become urgent. In
India, E-commerce in the financial sector is catching up. The pre-requisites for the E- commerce
in the financial sector are: total branch computerization; inter branch connectivity; interbank
connectivity; safeguards to ensure accountability of the transactions put through computers and
appropriate legal framework. In the advanced countries, owing to the existence of a welldeveloped telecommunications infrastructure, the accessibility of the internet connection is
expeditious, even when a large number of customers want to browse or access a particular site.
But in India the lines get very often choked and it is not uncommon that one may be compelled
to wait for a long time to get access to a particular website. So to get E-commerce to be widely
accepted as a reliable means of conducting business a state-of- the-art communications network
is needed. The INFINET commissioned by RBI recently is major step in reducing delays and
increasing faster communications in the financial sector. The INFINET plays a key role in intercity Electronic Clearing Service (ECS), Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), Centralized Funds
Management (CFMS), Centralized Funds Enquiry System (CFES) and the proposed Real time
Gross Settlement (RTGS) system.
The practice of payment through Internet is expected to pick up in the near future. Besides Credit
Card, Electronic Checks will be in use with multiple vendors and banks/financial institutions.
With WTO Commitments to encourage E-commerce in the Third World countries, Indian
Copyright Act, 1957 (amended in 1994) has been broadly in conformity.
Likewise certain amendments to Indian Patent Act in the form of the Patents Amendment Bill
has also been introduced in the Parliament. For protection of intellectual property rights, a Bill
has also been introduced in the Parliament. These are under the consideration of the Parliament.
A knowledge base in IPR has been created and IPR Cell set up in MIT provides facilitating
support. Worldwide new developments on IPR in the context of emerging digital economy are
25
followed and proactive actions are taken. In line with WIPO Treaties (WCT, WPPT, Digital
Agenda), a project is underway on Electronic Copyright Management System to develop Image
Watermarking Technology. To accelerate E-commerce in Internet, it may be necessary to take
follow up action on WIPO Copyright Treaty, Technology Development and Pilot Projects on Ecommerce.
2.8
Promote E-Commerce Enterprises
Promoting innovations, supporting entrepreneurs with brilliant & commercial ideas, providing
business support, create incubation centers are some of the areas where government with the
participation of industry and other sectors have been playing a catalytic and facilitating role. This
may need to be further intensified. Some of the recent initiatives taken include:
1) MIT in association with SIDBI, IDBI and software industry has set up a corpus of Rs
100 crore recently, named as National Venture Fund for Software and Information
Technology Industry (NFSIT). NFSIT is targeted to provide venture capital to start up
software professional and IT units in small scale sector.
26
2) To provide help to small enterprises, STPI has recently set up business support centre at
San Jose, USA.
3) In various software technology parks as well as other parks promoted by State
Government, Incubation Centers and plug and play facilities are being set up.
4) To release the Indian venture creation and incubation engines, procedures and policies
are being simplified.
2.9
Security for E-Commerce
Following phenomenal expansion of Internet and its application in E-Commerce, there is a

tremendous rise in economic transactions using this medium. However, since Internet is evolving
as a means to provide easy interconnectivity of networks for information exchange as freely as
possible, the systems are not designed keeping the requirements of information security. Aspects
like privacy, integrity, authenticity and non-repudiation which are essential elements for a
commercial transaction, are not taken care of in its elemental form. There are frequent reports of
hacking and other kinds of abuse of the network owing to such deficiencies. To make this
medium suitable for E-commerce, significant work on a continuous basis needs to be taken up
and government is expected to take keen interest in this area of work.
Encryption being the key element to ensure security in a network communication, the
government could consider extending the present restriction of 40 bit encryption level. This will
necessitate an up gradation of facilities with the national security agencies. Specific network
security products like Intruder Detection System and Firewall are being developed in the country.
Though, many such products are available internationally, national capability in this area is
27
required to ensure that no trap-doors are available giving rise to the lack of confidence on the
part of business houses. There would be, in addition, indigenous products similar to Secure
Electronic Transaction (SET) and Secure Socket Layer (SSL). Besides expertise and capability
building, efforts are needed to promote E-commerce as a wealth building enterprise which would
increase GNP. The government is ensuring setting up of Public Key Infrastructure and
Certification Authority (CA) by the end of the year 2001 following the passage of IT Bill so that
interested E-commerce players can have secure transactions as required.
2.10
E-Commerce and Standards
With a view to ensure global seamless connectivity for E-commerce, as the demand picks up, the
need for such standards have been felt more in 2001 than in any other year. The general
perception is that it should be private sector, market led approach to open standards supported by
Government. In this regard, Ziff Davis Global Information Infrastructure (GII) Group have been
working for a standard for Internet based e-commerce involving a broad alliance of leading
global corporations, institutions and individuals. NIST, USA is providing effective support for
industry led standards (through alliance with Internet Engineering Task Force). These efforts
include:
1) building standards road-maps with private sector stakeholders;
2) providing technical assistance to industry in the development and harmonization
of open standards;
28
3) establishing neutral test beds and developing reference implementations with

technical experts from the private sector;
4) Developing test methods and infrastructures for measurement and demonstration
and
5) Contributing to implementation guidelines set by ITU, ISO, IEC, UN, CEFACT
who have been working in this area.
It is necessary to set up a dedicated team in the country which would follow these international
trends and actively participate in these international standards so that capabilities and interest of
India are taken care of. If India is to become a major stake holder in E-commerce, Indian
Industry needs full commitment from the government in this area. Real benefits of E-commerce
will come to India if Indian industry leap-frogs in using these tools to re-engineer its operations
aiming at gaining competitive advantage. USA and Europe through support of their respective
governments have taken such initiatives. Specifically under the Fifth Framework Program of
European Commission, one of the key actions is related to New Methods of Work and Electronic
Commerce. In USA, industry, government and Small Business Electronic Commerce Working
Group has been created to serve SMEs. Collaborative programs are being developed to help
SMEs benefit from electronic commerce through increased training and education. To take lead
in E-commerce, it is necessary to develop such programs. Various organizations of MIT could
work with different leading industry associations to develop such awareness building and
education programs. A special group could be set-up to develop this. A proactive role by WTO,
WIPO and other multilateral organizations would put pressure on all countries to quickly gear-up
for E-commerce culture. However, a major concern is the proposed zero-duty issue on Ecommerce, if it is considered under GATT. Developing countries need to examine the
consequences carefully and evaluate possible option of its classification under GATT. For certain
international E-commerce, one needs to know if E-commerce transactions should be classified as
cross-border trade or consumption abroad. Likewise, a considered view on domestic taxation
issues needs to be taken.
29
Chapter 3
Research Methodology
3.1
Introduction
In the era of economic liberalization and increased competition, Indian industry is attempting to
harness technology to succeed in achieving its business objectives. In doing so, it has focused on
balancing the benefits provided by new technologies with the associated risks in having ones
business depend on it. This has resulted in a race to be the first to be second in implementing
new technologies with most organizations waiting for their peers to explore new areas before
venturing into them.
The basic elements required for successful business engagement are changing rapidly.
Pressures to economies, speed up operations, and supply superior service are constant. One of
the most visible, challenging, exciting, and ill-understood means of responding to these pressures
is the use of a number of electronic channels, particularly the Internet and its offshoots.
30
3.2
Objective
This is study is a research into the use of e-commerce by companies. This study is conducted to
evaluate the perceptions, status, and triggers on the use of e-commerce in Indian companies. This
survey has been conducted simultaneously in a number of countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
The results are expected to contribute significantly towards the current thinking regarding ecommerce in this region. The results presented in this report pertain to the Indian survey.
The survey sample consisted of more than 110 Indian companies, 69 of which had a minimum
turnover of INR l billion, and 17 with an annual turnover above INR 10 billion. We chose the
largest companies in the country because they were most likely to have the greatest resources to
commit to e-commerce and potentially the largest benefits to reap. They are also the ones with,
arguably, the greatest cultural and organizational obstacles to overcome in order to do so.
The research carried out by KPMG India and that took place during late-1998 was referred to
while carrying out this study. Respondents included CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, and Heads of Marketing
at the companies surveyed.
3.3
Survey Methodology
The research study was conducted both Primary as well extensive Desk Research for this report.
Secondary data sources were used to gain a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the ECommerce market in India. Inputs related to the internet users in India, and segment-wise users
of Internet in India etc. have been taken from I Cube 2006, a syndicated research product of the e
technology group at IMRB International. These annual syndicated set of reports on the Internet
market in India are based on a large scale primary survey covering 65,000 individuals across 26
cities in India.
31
Information from various published resources and other research bodies were also used to
perform a data validation check and also to reach at the final numbers. Primary Research was
conducted using in-depth interviews with large and medium-sized B2C and C2C E-Commerce
players. A detailed questionnaire was administered to the players from various verticals of the ECommerce Industry.
Respondents were required to classify their organizations as belonging to:
3.3.1
Manufacturing (MFG),
Financial Services (FS),
Computers & Communications (C&C), and
Other Industries.
Definitions
A very common question in this context is: What exactly is e-commerce and what is the impact
of the Internet? The Internet and its related technologies (Intranet, and Extranet) are fast gaining
popularity worldwide as like other technologies for electronic communication between
organizations (like EDI and Groupware). E-commerce is a generic term to describe the way
organizations trade electronically. It uses a group of technologies to communicate with customers
or other companies, to carry out information gathering, or to conduct business transactions.
Although the Internet is the best known of these, others include Intranet, EDI, and smart cards.
For the purposes of this survey, e-commerce was defined as computer-to-computer, individualto-computer, or computer-to-individual business relationships enabling an exchange of
32
information or value. Hence, the survey also sought to explore the use of e- commerce through
channels other than the Internet.
The main objective involved an attempt to determine the current awareness of, usage levels, and
initiatives undertaken in the area of e-commerce. Identification of perceived barriers to adopting
e-commerce by respondents was also a major objective. This yields a starting point to address
issues related to its adoption.
The respondents consisted of people from diverse sectors of industry. The survey also aimed to
identify the benefits accrued by those organizations that have already implemented such
technology in one form of the other. This, along with the top potential benefits expected by the
respondents, gives an indication of the thrust areas for those aiming to promote e- commerce in
the country.
3.4
E-Commerce & Taxation
Key Considerations
The growth of e-commerce has resulted in exciting opportunities becoming available for people
to adopt this medium as an avenue to market products and services globally. The potential uses
of e-commerce have created implication for governments and the sovereign of their tax systems.
Some of the organizations that have taken note of this development and constituted study groups
and guidelines to tackle transactions undertaken include:
The US treasury has released a guideline on Selected Tax Policy Implications of Global
Electronic Commerce.
The OECD has produced a report on Electronic Commerce Opportunities and Challenges
For Government.
The European Commission has also released a report constituted by a high-level group of
experts on e-commerce.
33
There is an unprecedented level of international co-operation over such a short span of time on
the challenges posed by e-commerce and this, in fact, has brought in seriousness within
governments and tax authorities to tackle the tax implications of e-commerce transactions.
National governments have a disadvantage of not being able to dictate domestic policies in
relation to e-commerce. Nevertheless, this issue will be addressed in the near future as ecommerce is gaining momentum and will pose tremendous challenges to the existing systems of
taxation. Some of the tax issues that could arise because of e-commerce would be as follows:
Personal Tax: Individuals could escape the tax net by not declaring the income generated by
providing services via the Internet.
Residence: People using the Internet can effectively live and work in a number of jurisdictions.
A similar situation is possible in the case of corporate.
E-Commerce: Companies can transfer profits from high tax jurisdictions to low tax
jurisdictions, or adjust their income and expenses with branches or subsidiaries in the low tax
jurisdictions via Internet transactions.
Tax on Goods & Services: By routing transactions through the Internet, it would be difficult to
subject goods and services to tax. The jurisdiction where the sale or service has happened could
become a matter of interpretation.
Permanent Establishment (PE): The concept of PE is important in determining a companys
business profits and tax liability in a particular country. However, business via Internet
challenges the whole concept of a PE and, therefore, the question of how the business income of
an enterprise is determined could become a debatable issue.
Electronic-commerce is, undoubtedly, going to pose challenges to countries as their present tax
system is based on tangible information reporting and paper trials. Countries will be forced to rethink the method of taxation and adopt means to recognize transactions in an equitable manner
34
keeping in mind the existing guidelines issued by some Western countries for taxing e-commerce
transactions.
Chapter 4
Data Analysis
4.1
Usage of E-Commerce in India a Demand Side perspective
Since the introduction of E-Commerce, there have been debates on future of its prospects in
India. Would it be as successful as it is in US or is it a mirage that attracts many but offers
nothing worthwhile? True enough; the players in the online marketplace are still struggling to
settle with a successful business model. Most of them are settling for Advertising Model, hoping
it would help them breakeven. However, to grow beyond, the majority of the revenue needs to be
generated from customers. Customers on the other hand, have become choice- spoilt. There is no
dearth of offerings for them. They skip from one seller to other in search of best deals in the
standardized products market.
In this section, we would,
Focus on the usage of E-Commerce in India, and

Understand the triggers and barriers for the online marketplace
35
4.2
Usage of E-Commerce
According to the survey conducted among the Industry players, the E-Commerce Industry in
India was worth INR 7080 crores at the end of 2006-07. Is it big enough? How much is it
expected to grow?
The adoption and usage of E-Commerce in the country is a function of the overall environment
for Internet usage in a country. To correctly understand the likely growth path for E-Commerce
in India it is imperative to understand the internet ecosystem in the country. Some of the key
variables that need to be understood are the proportion of computer literates, internet penetration,
frequency of access to the internet, purpose of internet access etc. A correct mapping of these
would help in understanding the overall framework of E-Commerce in the country.
PC Literates (Million)
36
70
60
50
40
70
59
30
51
42
20
10
0
31
16
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Ever Users (Million)
37
45
40
35
30
25
41
20
32
15
10
5
0
16
9
12
5
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Active Users (Million)

38
35
30
25
20
32
15
21
10
11
5
2
0
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Figure 4.1: Frame-work of E-Commerce in the Country

The PC literate population is on a fast growth curve having grown 100% in 2006 over 2004.
Though in India overall penetration is still low the important factor is that a critical mass of users
is shaping up which will fuel rapid growth over the next 3-4 years.
A Claimed or Ever Internet User is defined as one who has ever accessed Internet. A subset of
Claimed Internet users, Active Internet Users are defined as those who have accessed Internet at
least once in the last one month. They are the regular users of Internet and are aware of the recent
trends and applications emerging on the Internet. The population of Active Internet Users was 21
million in March 2006.
As these Internet Users mature with respect to exposure and awareness of internet, they tend to
spend more time online; access internet more frequently and surf non-communication based
applications and advanced online applications like gaming, E-Commerce, etc. However, as it is
39
evident from the charts below, E-Commerce is still not the key driver of the internet. Internet
usage in the country is still driven by email and information search.
E-mail
Chat
Information
8%
Entertainment
E-Commerce
4%
46%
32%
10%
Fig 4.2: Internet Users: Key Activities

However, the interesting part is that out of the 13.2 million internet users across 26 cities
covered
in I-Cube
2006,
(Syndicated
Research
of
technology group
@IMRB
International),14.2% use the internet to buy travel tickets; 5.5% people do online shopping
especially products like Books, Flowers, Gifts etc. and 5% people deal in stocks and shares
through the internet. Though the percentage contribution of E-Commerce is almost same over the
years, however, the number of Internet users using E-Commerce is growing rapidly.
Thus, E-Commerce is surely being adopted by the Internet users as a way to shop. They are
buying a variety of products online and visiting various websites to buy products from. Given the
rate of growth in E-Commerce users, size of the E-commerce industry is expected to reach INR
9210 crores at the end of 2007-08, a big jump of 30% over the current industry size.
40
4.3
Triggers and Barriers for the E-Commerce market in India
In addition to the industry size, it is imperative to understand the reasons behind the growth and
reasons hampering the growth E-Commerce industry in the country. This section elaborates the
triggers and barriers that impact the adoption of E-Commerce by the Internet users we would
start by enlisting the triggers which motivate the online shoppers to buy products online.
Table 4.1: Triggers in buying through internet

As evident from the table above, time saving is the major reason that drives Internet users to
shop online. It is followed by convenience of anyplace, anytime shopping online. Online stores
do not have space constraints, thus, a wide variety of products can be put for display. Companies
can display whole range of products being offered by them. This further enables the buyers to
choose from a variety of models after comparing the looks, features, prices of the products on
display.
To attract customers to shop online, e-Marketers are offering great deals and discounts to the
customers. This is facilitated by elimination of maintenance, real-estate cost of the seller, selling
its products online.
An insight into some of the problems stated by customers while buying through Internet will
41
help us to have a closer look at the issues which need to be addressed by the online community.
Table 4.2: Barriers in buying through Internet

Absence of touch-feel-try creates concerns over the quality of the product on offer. Another
roadblock in the way of E-Commerce is lack of interactivity so as to allow for negotiations
between the buyer and sellers. In addition to above, the security of online payments is a major
issue requiring immediate attention of the eMarketers. Increasing rate of cybercrimes has made
customer apprehensive of revealing their credit card details and bank details online.
Moreover, the duration of selecting, buying and paying for an online product may not take more
than 15 minutes; however, delivery of the product to customers doorstep may take about 1-3
weeks.
Furthermore our past observation has been that in India shopping is an experience itself.
Consumers look forward to it as an opportunity to get out of their homes and interact with other
people. The recent growth in the malls and the hypermarkets only corroborate this fact. Thus,
Ecommerce has to bank on the convenience and discount platform as there is no way that they
can compete with the offline platforms on the experience that they provide.
There is no doubt that Internet shopping has a number of benefits to offer. With changing
lifestyles, E-Commerce is surely the most appealing and convenient means of shopping.
However, the grave issues surrounding the market do not make it the choice of most of the
42
Internet users. Addressing the above specified issues, thus, has become critical to expand beyond
the current user base.
4.4
Categorization of Internet Users
In I-Cube 2006, a survey done among Internet Users, details of products they looked information
for and the products bought by them online in last 6 months were captured along with the details
of products they are likely to look information for and the products they are likely to purchase.
On analysis of the data, following trends were observed:
43
Table 4.3: Category of Internet User
According to the data, of total 21 Million Active Internet Users in March 2006 (Source: I- Cube
2006), around 53% have had looked for information on travel while 27% are likely to look for
information on travel services online. Though, only 10% of the Internet Users have booked Air
tickets rail tickets or hotel rooms in last six months, only, 22% are likely to avail these services in
the near future.
44
Except for Travel, percentage users looking for information and buying online is pretty low. For
instance, only 13% of the total Internet users have had looked for information on online
classifieds, however, only 2% of the total Internet Users have paid for availing any of the
services online. In future, only 3.4% of the total Internet Users interviewed is expected to avail
paid classifieds service online.
Based on their behavior towards buying online, Internet users can be classified into the following
four categories:
Table 4.4 Classification of Internet Users

Though majority of Internet Users look for information on various product categories online, a
relatively smaller portion of them actually buy online.
Some of the reasons to explain this behavior are:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Apprehensions with paying online

Lack of touch-feel-try
Concern with authenticity of seller and products sold online
Time lag between placing order and delivery of the product
The sequence in which the above-mentioned category of Internet Users can be targeted by the
online players:
45
Fig 4.3: Segmentation of Internet Users based on probability of converting online

It has been observed that most of the Online Shoppers start their e-Shopping journey with buying
Air/ Railway Tickets. This might be because the service provided in case of Travel, especially
ticketing is undifferentiated with the place of buying the tickets. The buyer is ensured that he
would get the same service as his co-passenger who has bought his tickets from the physical
counters.
However, the need for touch-feel-try might be important for product categories like Apparels,
Jewelry. Product categories like Electronics, Mobile phones fall in the zone of high-risk
products, for which there are many LFIs and very few Enthusiasts. The above- mentioned
factors make Travel more attractive to the Enthusiasts than other product categories. As a result,
the Online Travel Industry is growing at a faster pace than other online categories, we are,
therefore, dividing the rest of the report into two segments:
1. Online Travel Industry, comprising Air, Rail, Hotel Reservations; Car Rentals, Tour
Packages
2. Online Non-Travel Industry, comprising e-Tailing, Digital Downloads, Classifieds and
Paid Content Subscription
Chapter 5
46
Research Findings
5.1
E-COMMERCE IN INDIA IN 2011
E-Commerce has paved a way for the economy to rise in its standard of living which has
ultimately resulted in huge revenues and introduction of new products and techniques.
During the year 2010-2011, two major Industry Associations produced separate reports on ecommerce in India. Both the reports came out around the same time, namely June-July 2010.
One was prepared by the National Committee on E-Commerce set up the Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII), while the other was commissioned by the NASSCOM and prepared by the
Boston Consulting Group. Both the reports are optimistic about the growth of e-commerce in
India. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) report estimates the volume of e-commerce to
grow to Rs 500 billion (US$ 10.6 billion) in the year 2003, out of which B2B will be Rs 420
billion (US$ 9 billion) and B2C will be Rs 80 billion (US$ 1.7 billion) (CII, 2010). The
NASSCOM BCG Report, on the other hand, estimates for the same year that the total volume of
e commerce will be Rs 1,950 billion (US$ 41.5 billion), out of which Rs 1,920 billion (US$ 41
billion) will be on account of B2B and Rs 3 billion (US$ 64 million) will be on account of B2C
(NASSCON and BCG, 2010). E-commerce volume for the year is estimated to be Rs 150-200
billion (US$ 3.2-4.2 billion) (NASSCON and BCG, 2010).
In addition to the above data ICRA2 has made a comparison study for the year 2009 and 2011 in
analyzing the e-commerce activities in India. It has predicted a more than 50 fold increase in ecommerce business in India. E-commerce would take a larger hold of service oriented industries
such as Banking, Leisure and Travel and Education.
47
Source: ICRA- Credit Rating Agency

A Research study has been conducted by the IOAI 1 to analyse the total value of E- commerce
activities within India. E-commerce activities have exceeded to INR 5.7 billion during 2004-05,
and it is estimated to cross the10 billion marks in future.
Some research highlights:
The E-commerce industry: Rs 5.7 billion worth of E-commerce conducted online
in 2004-2005 to grow to Rs 230 billion by 2006-2007, an estimated 300 per cent
plus growth. The E-commerce site visitor: 55 per cent of visitors to ecommerce sites have
adopted the Internet as a shopping medium.
The 'Regular Online Shopper': Of the 55 per cent of online shoppers [Base 1716] - 87 per cent
[1493] of shoppers have shopped more than once and have been termed 'as regular shoppers'.
They form the 'base' for this report of users who have transacted online to buy products and
services 'more than once'.
Age and gender: 25 per cent of regular shoppers are in the 18-25 age group, 46 per cent in the
26-35 age group and 18 per cent in the 36-45 age group. 85 per cent of online shoppers are male
even a 15 per cent female audience represents a 15 million strong market by 2007-2008 (IOAI
Estimate: 100 million Internet users by 2007-08.)
48
Education and profession: 83 per cent of the user base is educated with a Bachelor or Post
Graduate degree, it represents an educated audience. 54 per cent of online shoppers are at an
executive level. 24 per cent of online shoppers are professionals or self-employed, indicating an
assured spending power.
Internet access/savviness: 76 per cent of online shoppers access the Internet from their office, 63
per cent from home and 24 per cent from cyber cafes. Shoppers accessing the net through
multiple access points represents a dismissal that Internet Penetration is no more only PC
dependent. All Internet activity support e- commerce in an allied or primary capacity.
Purchase history: 62 per cent of shoppers having shopped for more than a year. 37 per cent of
online shoppers have started shopping online in the last 12 months. 67 per cent of online
shoppers have shopped online as recently as three months showcasing the growing acceptance of
ecommerce
Frequency of purchase: 67 per cent of online shoppers have shopped online as recently as three
months showcasing the growing acceptance of ecommerce. 53 per cent of online shoppers have
shopped online more than five times, 27 per cent of online shoppers have shopped online more
than 10 times.
A top state/city representation: Maharashtra: 29 per cent (Mumbai: 24 per cent), Delhi NCR: 19
per cent, Tamil Nadu: 11 per cent (Chennai: 7 per cent), Karnataka: 10 per cent (Bangalore: 6 per
cent), Uttar Pradesh: 7 per cent (Lucknow: 2 per cent), West Bengal: 6 per cent (Kolkata: 5 per
cent), Andhra Pradesh: 5 per cent (Hyderabad: 4 per cent), Rajasthan: 5 per cent, Gujarat: 4 per
cent (Ahmedabad: 2 per cent) and Kerala: 3 per cent.
Top City/Product Preference: Mumbai (24 per cent) holds the Top Slot for Every Category,
except jewellery. Delhi (19 per cent) fast competing with Mumbai in accessories, apparel, gifts,
49
home appliances categories and has piped Mumbai to rank first in jewellery. Chennai (7 per cent)
is at rank three for railway tickets, airline tickets, magazines, home tools, toys, jewellery, beauty
products and sporting goods categories. Bangalore (6 per cent) is at rank three for books,
electronic gadgets, accessories, apparel, gifts, computer peripherals, movies, hotel booking,
home appliances, movie tickets, health and fitness products and apparel gift certificates. Kolkata
(5 per cent) jumps to rank three in online music sales online and is at rank four for the movies
and the music categories.
20 Products Bought Online: Books (41 per cent), Electronic Gadgets (40 per cent), Railway
Tickets (39 per cent), Accessories Apparel (36 per cent), Apparel (36 per cent), Gifts (35 per
cent), Computer and Peripherals (33 per cent), Airline Tickets (29 per cent), Music (24 per cent),
Movies (21 per cent), Hotel Rooms (20 per cent), Magazine (19 per cent), Home Tools and
Products (16 per cent), Home Appliances (16 per cent), Toys (16 per cent), Jewellery (15 per
cent), Movie Tickets (15 per cent), Beauty Products (12 per cent), Health and Fitness Products
(12 per cent), Apparel Gift Certificates (10 per cent) and Sporting Goods (7 per cent).
Satisfaction Index: 18 per cent of online shoppers are 'Highly Satisfied' with online shopping and
62 per cent are 'Satisfied' with their online shopping experience making a case for repeat
purchases and peer to peer recommendations on this interactive medium. 17 per cent are 'Neither
Satisfied or Dissatisfied' An opportunity to convert them towards this increasingly high
satisfying index. 3 per cent of online shoppers are 'Dissatisfied' with online shopping. Top 5
Reasons to Shop Online: 70 per cent of online shoppers like 'Home delivery' about online
shopping, 62 per cent like 'Time saving', 60 per cent of online shoppers like the '24x7', 45 per
cent like the 'Ease of use' and 39 per cent of online shoppers like product comparisons.
5.2
INTERNET GROWTH IN INDIA
E-commerce figures in advertisement are likely to record the maximum growth between the
years 2000 to 2003, because of the substantial addition to the user base expected in\ this period.
The emergence of broad band and the convergence of media are likely to provide the thrust to the
online ad-spend budgets of companies.
50
Fig 5.2: Growth in number of Internet Users

5 to 10% of existing 50,000 dotcoms which are of Indian origin or are India oriented were likely
to survive in the next 5 years. Online advertising in India is poised for a stupendous leap.
A shake-out in the content providers segment following large-scale redundancy as e-commerce
and online advertising sink their roots deeper.
Intense competition in the Internet Service Provider (ISP) segment is likely to focus on
generating alternative streams.
In the case of Internet enablers and software service providers, a significant increase in market
size was expected in the long term. On the structural front, a spate of mergers, acquisitions and
alliances in the Indian Internet business in the medium to long to long terms, paving the path for
greater consolidation is expected.
Most large companies in the Internet business categories were expected to follow the merger and
acquisition (M&A) route to widen the portfolio of products and services, increase geographical
coverage and reduce the marketing costs and gestation period.
Internet penetration was low in India. Indias subscriber base reach 8.3 million users in 2005,
51
with the highest growth rate being witnesses by DSL (digital subscriber line) and cable
connections. Dial-up connections, however would still account for the largest share of internet
connectivity options. Net subscriber base of up to 45 lacs.
Net Subscriber base in lakh

17%
25%
BSNL
MTNL
Others
58%
5.3
Research Highlights
5.3.1
Respondents to the survey
Responses were received from 116 organizations. The organizations were asked to classify
themselves under one of the following sectors of industry:
Manufacturing & distribution.

Computers and communications.
Financial services.
Retail and wholesale trade.
Other industries.
Some of the questions were analyzed by industry to highlight variations peculiar to those
52
industries.
A significant majority of the responding organizations had global reach and marketed their
goods/services to both end-consumers and other businesses.
Use of e-commerce can be classified into 2 broad areas:
Interfacing and selling to the end-consumer or B2C (Business-To-Consumer).

Interfacing and trading with other businesses or B2B (Business-To-Business).
The following charts show that the main target market of the organizations that responded to the
survey included an even mix of both areas.
The responding organizations were quite varied in terms of size with the number of employees
ranging from less than 100 to more than 10,000, and the turnover ranging from less than Rs 10
million to more than Rs 10 billion.
The annual infotech spending of the organizations also varied over a wide range. While some
organizations spent less than Rs 100,000 on infotech per annum, there are others who spend
more than Rs 100 million.
5.3.2
Strategic Importance Of E-Commerce
Over half of all respondents said that e-commerce constituted either a substantial part of, or was
crucial to their, organizations strategy. Only 4 per cent felt that it was of no\ importance to the
organizations strategy. It is clear that e-commerce is increasingly being seen as a strategic tool to
gain business advantage and competitive edge.
5.3.3
Potential Benefits
This section shows that companies are identifying the real benefits of e-commerce in terms of
53
opening up new markets, improving productivity, and automating their supply chains.
Respondents were asked to rate the potential benefits as relevant to their organizations. The
respondents rated Improved Customer Service and Improved Productivity as the Top Two
potential benefits e-commerce might provide to their organizations.
5.3.4
Realized Benefits
The chart shows the benefits realized by organizations using e-commerce. Improved Productivity
and Improved Product Quality have been rated as the Top Two realized benefits. Improved
Customer Service, rated as one of the Top Two potential benefits, is a close third.
5.3.5
Potential Barriers
The respondents rated Lack of Standard Payment Infrastructure and Trading Partners Technology
as the Top Two potential barriers to effective adoption of e-commerce in their organizations.
Infrastructure Cost and Security Issues figured as major concerns although they were not as
important as the first two. We found that organizations are willing to make the necessary
investments in the technology as long as they could manage it efficiently and get a satisfactory
return on investment.
Our research in the European market indicated that security is an over hyped concern. The tools
for overcoming security risks are available but it remains subject to media hype. Those
companies that are most advanced in their use of e-commerce recognize this and, so, are likely to
regard it as a less significant barrier than those that have not.
5.3.6
Integration
Over half of all respondent companies had support at the board level and had allocated a budget
for e-commerce integration. Forty per cent of the organizations are taking measures to integrate
54
e-commerce technologies with their current operating processes and technologies. However,
adapting to e-commerce will not simply mean redesigning internal processes and customer
interfaces. Instead, companies will have to think of e commerce as a new channel and not just a
replacement for existing channels which, in turn, means that they may have to find that ecommerce provides them with the opportunity to offer new services.
5.3.7
Implementation of E-Commerce Technologies
The charts show the status of implementation of e-commerce technologies in different industry
sectors.
Internal and Internet e-mail, Websites, and Internet access are popular in all major industry
segments. Almost everyone uses internal e-mail and most organizations allow their employees
access to the Web. In 2 years, respondents from Manufacturing & Distribution companies
favored implementation of Extranet, Intranet, and EDI technologies while Financial Services
companies expected to have installed EDI, Extranet, and IVR systems, and Computers &
Communications were planning EDI implementations. The following table summarizes the most
predominant e-commerce technologies that are currently being implemented and that will be
implemented over a period of time in different industrial segments.
5.3.8
Functions Performed Electronically
The Internet was favored far more than all the other electronic channels with almost half the
respondents using it for news and information-based uses. The table ranks the functions on the
55
basis of percentage of respondents performing them electronically.
5.3.9
Transaction Volumes
Less than half of the respondents were able to provide details of the volume of transactions done
electronically. Of these, nearly half said that the volume of transactions in their organizations is
zero. Hence, most organizations surveyed are not able to determine the number of transactions
completed through electronic channels and many are yet to use these channels.
Respondents were asked for the approximate value of transactions currently completed through
electronic channels. Based on the table, the weighted average annual monetary value of ecommerce transactions is approximately Rs 123 million for the respondents surveyed.
5.3.10
Governance
The sponsors within a company determine the scope and success of an e-commerce project. This
section reveals that InfoTech departments are taking the lead one commerce projects within their
organizations. Executive committee support in the form of board approvals, and intervention to
ensure that the necessary business reengineering takes place to ensure that e- commerce is
integrated with business processes is critical to ensure that these projects deliver on promises.
Respondents were asked which part of the company was the principal sponsor of current or
future e-commerce projects. In nearly two-thirds of the companies, it was the Executive
Committee. It was observed that the InfoTech department champions, develops, and maintains
these projects in a majority of the organizations.
5.3.11
Important features of Maintaining Security of E-Commerce Transactions
The respondents were asked to rate the importance of features in establishing and maintaining
the level of trust required for employing e-commerce technologies effectively. It is interesting to
56
note that all the features have received very high ratings (a minimum of 67 per cent of
respondents say that a particular feature is Important/Very Important/Critical). The highest
ratings have been given to Network Access Controls and Through-The-System Tests & Audits.
5.3.12
Trading partners
About 30 per cent of respondents had more than 5 per cent of their trading partners trading
electronically, and about half of these had more than 50 per cent of their trading partners trading
electronically.
5.3.13
Characteristics of Trading Partners
The respondents were asked whether they agreed/disagreed with certain characteristics of their
trading partners. The charts show the cumulative responses of all the organizations. More than
half the respondents felt that trading partners were not a driving force behind their adoption of ecommerce while, interestingly, trading partners+ technology was named as a significant barrier
to their adoption of e-commerce (Section 5.5). This implies that although the driving force
behind e-commerce was internal, its adoption was inhibited by lack of appropriate technology
with the trading partner(s).
Trading partners were viewed favorably by more than half the organizations surveyed in terms of
considering concerns, having explicit role-based agreements, quality of communications, long
associations and levels of trust, while about a quarter of the respondents viewed them as
competitors in some areas. It is evident that most organizations work closely with their business
partners creating an environment with a large, unutilized potential for Business-To-Business
implementation of e- commerce.
5.3.14
Procedures Used By Organizations to Ensure Security and Proper Use of Compute
Resources
57
The chart details the procedures used by organizations to ensure confidentiality, security, and
appropriate use of computer resources.
5.4 Conclusion
From the survey, it is evident that the potential benefits offered by e-commerce are far from
realized. The perception that trading on electronic channels cannot make money is challenged as
incorrect, at least in the Business-To-Business sector. There is also some expectation that,
although trading on electronic channels may take longer in the consumer sector due to the
trading barriers on the Internet, this, too, will soon follow. Electronic channels are forcing
companies to re-think major aspects of the way they are organized and do business. ECommerce raises major strategic issues and is accelerating developments in areas such as
globalization, branding, customer service, and supply chain.
Markets are being transformed as barriers to entry are torn down. This survey shows that the
application of e-commerce and the Internet in particular, extend beyond marketing to all aspects
of the supply chain. It also shows that the technical aspects are no longer as important as the
integration of business processes and the resulting need to re-engineer them across the
organization. But companies are approaching these developments piecemeal.
If companies are to make profitable use of e-commerce, then, its champions must make their
cases heard at the highest levels. This is an opportunity for the infotech and marketing
departments to make their Board aware of the effect of e-commerce not just from the technical
point of view, but also in terms of its impact on the bottom line. In our opinion, only those
companies with an organization-wide initiative, funded from the centre or, at least, on a joint
venture basis between functions, with Board approval, will emerge as leaders in what is a rapidly
changing environment.
Senior management members who have earlier been responsible for the e-commerce initiative in
their organizations need to prepare a compelling business case, detailing the likely returns on
58
investment, and submit it to the Board. The rewards, both for the company and for the individual
involved in shaping its adaptation to the information age, promise to be well worth the effort.
Chapter 6
59
Recommendations and Conclusion

6.1
Future Prospects on E-Commerce
The report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on Ecommerce and Development makes the point that although world economic growth has slowed,
and in spite of the difficulties in which the information technology and telecommunications
sectors are mired, the rapid growth of internet use and electronic commerce continues. Estimates
show that internet use is increasing by around 30 per cent annually, and although the rate of
growth of transactions through the internet is much slower, e-commerce could represent up to 18
per cent of worldwide business-to business (B2B) and retail transactions in 2006. Segments such
as B2B have shown rapid growth.
And in certain sectors, such as finance, travel services, software, information and other eservices, online transactions have been growing at a much faster pace. For instance, in the
developed countries, online banking already represents between 5 and 10 per cent of total retail
banking transactions. Much of the growth has occurred in Asia.
The Report classifies India as a rising star in this regard, pointing out that Indias IT
services exports have almost doubled in two years and now account for more than 16 per cent of
total exports and 8 per cent of all foreign exchange earnings. Given the extraordinary growth
rates of e-services exports, the latter figure is expected to reach 30 per cent by 2008. Policy
measures to support exporters of e-services should focus on increasing market access in eservices for exporters from the developing countries, as well as addressing domestic obstacles
related to technology, payments, infrastructure (telecommunications) and standards.
But the overall message of the Report is a very positive one despite the current slowdown, the
internet and online services are poised to grow, and India will be one of the main beneficiaries.
The e-commerce is one of the biggest thing that has taken the business by a storm. It is creating
an entire new economy, which has a huge potential and is fundamentally changing the way
60
businesses are done. It has advantages for both buyers as well as sellers and this win-win
situation is at the core of its phenomenal rise. Though there are some weak links, with
improvements in technology, they will be ironed out, making the e- commerce easy, convenient
and secure. The e-commerce is certainly here to stay.
6.2
Recommendations
The most important factor that is necessary in growing e-Commerce in India Trust. If we look
at the Indian context, I feel that there is a general lack of trust between retailers and customers.
Consumers dont trust the retailers because they feel that they are either being over charged or
that they wouldnt be able to get appropriate level of customer service once the sale is complete.
Retailers dont trust the customers because they feel that the customers will take every
opportunity to misuse the return or exchange policies. It is my opinion that this general lack of
trust is the primary barrier that is impeding the growth of e-Commerce within India. Here are
some of the practical techniques that online retailers can employ to improve this level of trust
and build an environment where customers feel safe in clicking that Proceed to Checkout
button.
1. Customer Reviews
Todays customers are putting less trust on website marketing messages and becoming more
influenced by recommendations from other people. Customers trust for an online retailer will
increase if the retailer offers an ability to let customers share their positive as well as negative
reviews about products or vendors. The key is to not moderate the negative reviews because by
allowing customers to post negative reviews, it will actually enhance the credibility of the
retailer as well as other reviews. Obviously, any foul language needs to be moderated but any
genuine issues with the products or vendors must be posted along with the positive reviews.
2. Clear shipping and delivery commitment
At the time of setting up products for sale, clear shipping and handling time must be associated
61
with the product. This information should be displayed consistently on all product pages so that
customers expectations around shipping timeline can be clearly set.
3. Analytics & Personalization
Although personalized product recommendations and content do not directly increase customers
trust, they do demonstrate to the customer that the online retailer is making a good effort in
understanding the customers individual needs and is acting upon them. This implicitly improves
the comfort level that the retailer is not just looking to sell products but is making an honest
attempt in building relationship with the customer.
4. Operational Reporting & Dashboards
Online retailers must invest in strong operational reports that provide alerts and metrics on orders
that have a risk of missing the service level that was promised to the customers. If you have
recently implemented an ecommerce platform, chances are that at times orders will get stuck
in various states. Therefore, it is important to establish thresholds around how long should orders
stay in various states (such as Processing for Payment, Preparing for Shipment etc.) and then
build automated alerts when orders exceed these thresholds.
5. Vendor Penalties
In the Indian context, majority of the ecommerce sites work in a drop-ship model. This implies
that the online retailer doesnt physically stock the goods, and instead relies on external vendors
to directly ship the merchandise to customers home. In this case, it is extremely critical to set
62
clear SLAs on how long will it take the vendors to ship the orders. There should be financial
penalties built into the contracts if the vendors miss the service levels. Also, there should be
penalties if the vendors receive excessive negative reviews from\ customers.
6. Price Match Guarantee
A Price Match Guarantee (PMG) is a store policy which entitles a customer to a refund of the
difference between the stores asking price and a competitors price. It can not only help build
trust with the customer, it can also help reduce price competition across online retailers. This
may sound counter intuitive but it is one of the most discussed examples in Game Theory and
it has actually helped retailers in US to avoid direct price wars. Take for example a firm like
Circuit City that has a price match guarantee, which looks good to a consumer. But that
guarantee really allows Circuit City to charge higher prices since competitors will be discouraged
from setting a lower price that Circuit City only will match when it must.
7. Well trained call center
I recently called Airtel customer service to add Blackberry service to my cell phone. There was
an issue with their automated messaging system that was directing me to a wrong group within
Airtel. After calling 9 times, I gave up because every agent that I spoke to had the same scripted
response that I should call back again and press option The point I am making is that although it
is important to train the call centre agents around specific customer service issues, what is even
more important is that the call centre agents be trained to have good problem solving skills, and
they should be empowered to own the problem resolution from end to end.
8. Fraud Protection
Not only should an online retailer ensure that the appropriate security certificates are setup to
handle checkout related transactions, the sensitive customer and payment information should be
stored in an encrypted format. The messaging on the site should clearly indicate that the
63
checkout process is completely secure. In addition, there are third party Fraud detection services
available that help flag potentially fraudulent transaction based upon credit card usage velocity
and other parameters. These services would not only help reduce the credit card charge-backs for
the retailers, but will also improve the sense of security and trust with customers.
9. Proactive, timely communication
Are we there yet? If you have gone on a long drive with kids, chances are that you have been
asked this question. It is human nature to expect timely communication, especially when they are
waiting for something that they have already paid for. The retailers should ensure that every
single status update on the order generates an alert for the customer. Also, if the order waits in a
specific state for a timeframe longer than what was promised to the customer, an email should be
automatically sent to the customers to make them aware of the delay. If the delay is longer than a
few days, customer should be contacted via phone and asked for approval for the delay or given
an option to cancel the order.
10.
Charge only after order shipment
Customers feel much more comfortable if they know that they will only get charged once the
order ships. Currently, a lot of retailers charge the customers credit card immediately when
customer places the order. However, they should consider authorizing the amount at the time of
order and only charge the card once the order ships. This will also minimize any need to refund
the amount back to the customer in case the order needs to be cancelled for any reason.
11.
Self Service Capabilities
The more online self service capabilities (e.g. order cancellation, modifications) retailers can
provide to the customers, it will not only help reduce the call centre expense, but will also build
64
more confidence with the customers. Customers will feel more in control because they wouldnt
have to spend 10 minutes with a call centre agent to explain the issue instead, they can directly
resolve the issue online.
12.
Real time inventory updates & safety stock
Retailers must invest in building automated capabilities that keep an up to date record of how
much inventory is available for all their products. Products must immediately become
unavailable for purchase from the site as soon as the inventory reaches below the safety stock.
Cancelling customer orders due to lack of inventory is a situation that all retailers must avoid
because this not only frustrates the customers, it drops their confidence in the retailers ability to
keep their promise.
E-Commerce will see a significant growth in India. However, the chasm between the early
adopters of e-Commerce and the ones who are waiting can only be crossed by building a strong
level of trust with our customers and winning them, one customer at a time.
6.3
Summarizing: Size of B2C and C2C E-Commerce Market in India
The total market size of B2C and C2C E-Commerce industry in India is around Rs. 7080 crores
at the end of 2006-07. It is expected to rise to Rs. 9210 crores by the end of 2007-08. Following
is the break up for B2C and C2C E-Commerce Industry in India for the year 2006- 07 and 200708:
65
Table 6.3: Market Size

The Online Travel Industry has been driving the growth in the B2C E-Commerce industry, owing
to entry of low-cost airlines and increase in online bookings for railways and hotels. With an
increase in mobile subscribers across the country, the digital downloads segment is expected to
be one of the main contributors to the Online Non Travel Industry in future.
6.4
The Future of E-Commerce
E-Commerce is the future of shopping. Thus, is would be apt to quote The future is here. It's
just not widely distributed yet- William Gibson
The Internet economy will continue to grow robustly; Internet users would buy more product and
buy more frequently online ; both new and established companies will reap profits online; and
Safer Online Payment Systems: As the Internet becomes a safer place to transact, the
amount spent by the Internet Users online is bound to increase.
Those apprehensive of divulging their credit card and bank details would be active online
shoppers. The Internet users are expected to buy high-end products like automobile,
property, home durables online.
Customization of content and offerings: As the internet users mature, the demand for
customization will increase. The content would adopt the regional flavors. More niches
will be formed, seeking for offerings made for them and
Content that meets their requirements.
More number of shoppers from Non-Metros: Currently, following the spread of users
coming from Metros and Non-Metros.
66

90
85
77
80
73
70
64
60
50
36
40
30
20
27
23
15
10
0
2008-09
2009-10
Metro
2010-11
2011-12
Column1
Fig 6.4: E-Commerce by Town class

By the end of year 2007-08, the contribution from the Non-Metros is expected to increase. This
change would be bought by higher penetration of Internet in the small towns and limited reach of
physical distribution channels of the established sellers to these towns. These factors coupled
with higher disposable income would compel the Internet users in these towns to buy online.
Expanding User Base: Going at the current rate of growth in the Internet users transacting
online, the user base for E-Commerce is expected to rise expand exponentially. A large
portion of the Internet population is under the age of 35 years and is increasingly moving
northwards as far as the purchasing power is concerned. The uncanny nature of this
segment to use now and pay later is going to play an important part in the future
growth of e commerce market. Be it picking new stocks or new clothes, finding a job or a
bride, the web way of doing things will gain precedence.
M-Commerce: Currently E-Commerce is synonymous with PC and browser-based
67
interaction. However, in the near future GPRS-enabled mobile phones will rule the online
transactions. Today, online downloads to mobile phones is limited to low value services
like music downloads, picture message downloads and ring tone downloads. However, as
the mobile users get more familiar with buying online, the purchase of high-involvement
products is expected to rise. Certain verticals like Banking and Finance, Travel,
Entertainment, and Retail are likely to drive the growth of m-Commerce in the country.
In the recent past, E-Commerce and it variants like the m-Commerce have yearned for
the position of being the most important drivers of the Internet. They are continuously
evolving and upgrading to make a consumers e-Spending experience hassle free and
memorable.
However, to attain that position, it needs to awaken its inner beauty simplicity and security of
transaction.
6.5
E-commerce Solutions India
With the growth of e-commerce over the past few years, the number of e-business solution
providers in the industry has also grown drastically, especially in India. E commerce can be
compared to a 24/7 open shop or a showroom catering to its clients and buyers. Therefore, a lot
of maintenance has to go into it. This is where the e-commerce solution providers step in, take
things in their hands, spend time and further enhance your business.
Conducting business online may sound very easy as you avoid a lot of unwanted hassles but a lot
of skills and innovation is required to keep it going. E-commerce involves doing market
68
research, getting qualified traffic, converting hits to business advantages and using information
to generate new e-commerce from existing clients.
E-commerce solution providers in India with their in-depth research and skills will provide you
with tactics and strategies to make your business profitable. The first step for them would ideally
be to understand your business and requirements. A research will follow to find out the predicted
market potential, the best keywords and phrases, competition for keywords, search engine
relevancy etc.
The next step for an e-business service provider would be to find a way to get the visitor on your
website to take steps to benefit your business. This is done by understanding the psyche of the
visitor and creating an automated website, attractive and user-friendly for the visitor. Efficient ecommerce solution providers will definitely opt for internet marketing to get more visitors to
visit your website. Launching a monthly newsletter for your customers is also a good idea. You
can send them updates about the new and the latest that has been added to the portfolio of
products on your website.
The launch of your website if required is also taken care of by the e-commerce service providers.
Site-management and promotion is also very important. The content, images and the layout of a
website has to be continuously improved and worked upon keeping up to date with the market.
Overall, your website should be designed to attract the first time visitors. The usability and utility
factor should also be kept in mind. This will bring them back to your website whenever they plan
to buy anything.
The web of e-commerce solution providers in India is vast. They offer a host of e commerce
solution and consulting services to support guide and help you at each step. Outsourcing ecommerce solutions will help you save time and resources while you can focus on other
important business objectives. Some e-commerce solution providers also offer BPO services
which can be used for telemarketing and cross-selling to maximize profits.
E-commerce solutions are a big support for businesses today. The demands and the expectations
69
of the end-users are high and so is the level of competition in the industry. E- Commerce solution
providers help you streamline your process and cover all the gaps that might have gone unseen.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
E-Commerce, C.S.V.Murthy- Himalaya Publishing House, New Delhi 2002.

Electronic Commerce from Wikipedia- the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic-commerce
70
GICC Report on Internet and E-commerce 2000, Government of India, New Delhi. WTO 1999,
E-commerce, WTO and Developing Countries, Edited by Arvind Panagariya, New York.
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