An interesting Reuters article points out how Internet based retail, which is taken for granted in the first world countries, is revolutionizing the retail business in India. In fact, for many (rich and poor alike) this is the first time they get access to various categories of goods.
According to a Boston Consulting Group study, online retail in India could be a $84-billion industry by 2016 -- more than ten times its worth in 2010 -- and will account for 4.5 percent of total retail. And most of this business will not come from large cities...it will come from small-town India.
A number of new and dynamic startups are at the helm of this fast paced change - flipkart.com, Indiaplaza.com, makemytrip.com (also listed on NASDAQ) and many more. However, the article claims that the real change started with the Govt website selling railway tickets online - irctc.com. This brought about an attitudinal change for the janta and has made the whole concept of buying things online more acceptable.
According to a Boston Consulting Group study, online retail in India could be a $84-billion industry by 2016 -- more than ten times its worth in 2010 -- and will account for 4.5 percent of total retail. And most of this business will not come from large cities...it will come from small-town India.
A number of new and dynamic startups are at the helm of this fast paced change - flipkart.com, Indiaplaza.com, makemytrip.com (also listed on NASDAQ) and many more. However, the article claims that the real change started with the Govt website selling railway tickets online - irctc.com. This brought about an attitudinal change for the janta and has made the whole concept of buying things online more acceptable.
