The Growth of eCommerce
eCommerce is a growing and highly competitive market. In fact, over 51% of the American population shop online and 40% of internet users worldwide have purchased items online. The eCommerce market is expanding about 23% every year.
eCommerce in India
Many countries are working to improve and grow their eCommerce market. In fact, it was predicted that India’s eCommerce could grow from $16 billion to $102 billion in five years, hitting that number by 2020. The Prime Minister of India has even proposed a major revamp of the India Post to help expand the reach of eCommerce businesses into more rural areas.
Indian Marketplaces
As mentioned before, eCommerce is a highly competitive market and that goes for the marketplaces as well. There is a major battle to see who will be the major marketplace for India. Currently, there are three big marketplaces in India: Amazon, Flipkart, and Snapdeal. However, the big battle is between Amazon and Flipkart.
Flipkart
Flipkart is India’s current number one marketplace and they are trying to keep it that way. Flipkart is rapidly growing their business and is working on business deals to buy eBay India. There is also talks that Snapdeal may merge with Flipkart, which could provide a bigger edge.
Selling in an Indian Marketplace
Unfortunately, it is not easy to sell on an Indian marketplace. Your business will need to be registered with India, you will need an Indian bank account, a value added tax (VAT) identification number and a permanent account number (PAN). Flipkart also requires that businesses have 10 unique products they want to sell on their marketplace in order to sign-up as a seller.
Beyond Borders
Luckily, for those wanting to sell in an Indian marketplace, there is an alternative or back door in. eShipGlobal’s Beyond Borders eCommerce solution works around the paperwork by integrating directly with Witch Wand, a branch company of Flipkart. Witch Wand is an eCommerce management tool and integrates directly with Flipkart. This integration allows US eCommerce businesses a way to sell their products on India’s biggest eCommerce marketplace. It will also help them to save money on shipping with discounted shipping rates.
Open Up Possibilities
With the highly competitive eCommerce market, it is important to stand out and get your products in the faces of many people. Selling your products on international or on other countries marketplaces is one way to help you expand your business.
By: Ashleigh Cue
