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RESEARCH JOURNAL REVIEW

Submitted by:
Pooja Raj
1421162
4MBA J

RESEARCH JOURNAL DETAILS

1. Author(s) : Jayakrishnan.s
2. Title of the paper: E- Retailing in India : Opportunities and Challenges
3. Journal name: International Journal of Research in Finance and

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Marketing
Volume: Volume 5
Issue : 3 (March 2015)
Year of publication: 2015
Web link to the paper: papers.ssrn.com

INTRODUCTION:
E-retail or online retail is defined retailing activities done through internet. We have many
online or e-retailers in India who provide a variety of merchandise to customers. It has
witnessed steady growth of 50-60 % over the years. E-retailing accounts for 10 % of ecommerce activities in India In general retail business is referred as Business to Consumer
(B2C). Retailers provide categories like books, stationery, electronics, furniture, apparels,
personal care, grocery, flowers, sports goods and services also.
Online retail players are classified into two types category focused players and multi
category focused. Category focused players provide particular merchandise with deep

assortment. Ex: - Myntra, Jabong (Apparels and Lifestyle products), Big basket, and
Fabfurnish, etc., Whereas Multi category players provide variety of merchandise with limited
assortment. Ex: - Flipkart, Amazon, Future bazar and Snap deal etc. The growth of online
retail can add immense value to different stake holders of Indian retail sector. The growth
prospects of online retail are high in India, but along with the growth opportunities there are
challenges. The article focuses on the opportunities and challenges for online retailers in
Indian business environment.
The structure of the paper starts from introduction regarding the E-retail in india and its
impact in e-commerce followed by the review of literature on secondary sources and the
methodology used concluding with findings and conclusion,
DATA AND METHODOLOGY USED:
The study looks into the online retail market and how it had impacted the Indian retail
industry. The study is primarily based on the secondary data. The scope of the research study
is limited to online retail market, the opportunities and challenges for the evolving online
retail market in India.
. The objective of the study is structured as follows:

To understand the online retail market in India and its impact on Indian retail.

To analyse the opportunities for online retailing in India

To study the major challenges for online retailers in India

Data is collected from secondary source such as from journals, industry reports, company
websites, news articles and reports.
MAJOR FINDINGS/RESULTS:
1. The key factors that can contribute to the growth of online retail in India include
a) Increase in the number of Internet users and online buyers: India now have around
200 million internet users which is expected to reach 500 million by 2018. Every year
there is an estimated increase of 5 million internet users every month. On the other
hand, online buyer population will reach 39 million by 2014 and 128 million by 2018
which can stimulate the growth of online retailing in India.

b) Smart phone revolution and Mobile Internet: According to 2015 projection, out of
300 million internet users 200 million users will be accessing internet using mobile
phones which can enhance e-retailing opportunities in India.
c) Increase in transaction by Debit cards, Credit cards, Net and mobile banking: With
the emergence of secure transaction methods like two factor authentication, One Time
Passwords(OTP) and payment gateways, consumers preference to shop and do
financial transactions online has increased. This can enhance online retailing because
of enhanced security and easiness in doing the transaction. Banks and ecommerce
sites are taking proactive steps in enhancing on-line transactions by addressing
security and other issues with respect to online transactions.
d) Rising disposable Income and Rapid urbanisation: Annual disposable income in
India is expected to increase at CAGR of 5.1% and expected to be USD 3823 by
2.

2015.
multiple challenges for e-retailers in India market includes:
a) Logistics: limited fleet of freight carriers which can hinder the priority services
like same day delivery for customers.
b) Poor internet speed: The average internet speed is less than 1 mbps which makes
it one of the low ranked nations in global scenario with respect to internet speed.
This can affect the accessibility to shopping sites and online transactions which
will in turn reduce the customer buying through online portals.
c) Overcoming touch and feel mental barrier of Indian customers: Indian customers
prefer to touch and feel products before they purchase. The biggest challenges
faced by online retailers to overcome this barrier.
d) FDI policy in B2C ecommerce: In online B2B e-commerce 100% FDI is allowed
but this is not applicable to B2C ecommerce activities. Government allowed 51 %
FDI in B2C e-commerce for retailers with brick and mortar operations. The
restriction with respect to FDI is affecting the growth and expansion plans of
online retailers.
CRITICISMS:
The topic chosen for the research is very relevant in the current scenario as E-retailing
has been emerging at 50-60% every year and to learn about the opportunities and
challenges is important in order to overcome them and increase its share in
contribution to GDP as well as increase more no. of users and E-retail segment in the
E-commerce industry .The research methodology used was appropriate as it was

based on various reports , articles, journals , etc. in order to get a detailed information
to do the study so that the result will be more validate.
The findings of the study has been appropriate based on the research objective stated
by the researcher and there is no gap between the objectives and the study findings
stated in the research journal. The research has completely focused on secondary
research which is good but if he would have done a primary research through
questionnaire ,the findings would have been more accurate based on the sampling
population chosen and proper findings could be interpreted which would be more
relevant . However, the flow of the research has been logical and gave a good learning
on the e-retail opportunities and challenges in India.