Indian apparel market is witnessing rapid growth in e-commerce recently with the penetration of Internet and 3G technology. According to the e-retailers, convenience, speed, comparative shopping, etc are the factors attracting more consumers to the online market. Mr. Sanjay Shroff, founder, director and CEO of Styletag.com, an online retailer of luxury clothing, told fibre2fashsion, "Online commerce has been a western trend for a longer period of time. However, as our Indian economy has become bigger than ever, we have seen bigger purchasing powers in e-commerce market." Mr. Anurag Rajpal, CEO of The American Swan Lifestyle Company, an online lifestyle and fashion brand in India, informs, "According to reports, Indian e-commerce market is going through a huge surge of growth and it will grow from Rs. 32 billion in 2012 to projected revenue of Rs. 100 billion in 2013, a compound annual growth rate of 45 percent to 48 percent. This is the testimony to the popularity and growing acceptance of the medium and the fast changing trend in the country."
When asked about the reasons for rise in e-retailing, he says, "Online shopping offers users very strong benefits of ease and convenience, speed, competitive pricing, comparative shopping, ability to assess reviews and ratings as well as home delivery." "The consumer-friendly benefits which until recently were available only to retail purchases, such as multiple payment options, gifting options, convenient return policies as well as cash back & EMI schemes are adding on to the benefits of e-commerce," he adds. According to Zivome.com, an online retailer of lingerie in India, convenience, lack of time, unavailability of sizes, wider choice, etc are the driving factors for the growth of e-commerce apparel market. Mr. Shroff says, "Internet and 3G penetration are mainly the drivers for rapid growth in online clothing market. Moreover, 4G and larger bandwidths will continue to assist in the rapid proliferation of mobile/computer assisted shopping." "Consumers are living in an extremely hectic work schedule and there is little time to go for shopping. So, online retailers are filling in the need of being able to shop with a click of mouse and without the hassles of spending time and resources on visiting a brick and mortar store," he mentions. Explaining further Mr. Rajpal says, "E-retailers and clothing brands are working out innovative methods to woo customers through not just products but service level offerings and they are creating opportunities out of challenges." "The 'try & buy' option to combat touch-and-feel and size aspects; loyalty and referral schemes to incentivize brand patronage; intelligent customer purchase mapping to alert users to new arrivals as well as offers on their preferred category or products attract more consumers to e-platform," he concludes.
