Indian Internet Users Will Double To 730 Mln By 2020; Ecommerce Will Expand To $34 Bn Market

Nasscom, in association with Akamai has researched the future of Internet in India; and the possibilities look exciting.

As per the findings of the report, India will keep dominating USA in terms of Internet users by 2020, and the catalyst of this incredible expansion would be rural India. Besides, this burgeoning digital economy will unleash a new wave of ecommerce growth in the country, where mobile would be the platform where maximum transactions would happen.

Digital startups and daring entrepreneurs should look forward to 2020 with renewed hope and determination now.

Internet Users Will Double By 2020

From existing 35 crore Internet users by the end of 2015 in India, the number will double to 73 crore by the end of 2020, thereby maintaining their position of world’s 2nd largest Internet community after China.

India has already beaten USA in terms of total number of Internet users, and thanks to rural expansion of Internet, this position will maintain.

As per the report, 75% of new Internet users in India would be arriving from rural areas, where mobile connectivity and broadband expansion is triggering an unprecedented growth across all spectrum.

Thereby, India will remain the fastest growing market for Internet users, globally.

Nasscom president R Chandrashekhar said, “India’s Internet consumption has already exceeded the US to become number two globally… By 2020, the Internet is expected to penetrate deeper in the hinterlands of the country, helping create more opportunities for everyone,”

Ecommerce Will Become Bigger

During 2015-16, ecommerce market in India was valued at $17 billion (Rs 1.12 lakh crore), which will expand to $34 billion (Rs 2.24 lakh crore) by 2020. And as per the trend of Internet growth, shopping done in rural and Tier 2 / 3 cities would be experiencing tremendous growth.

Out of 73 crore Internet users, the report estimates that around 17.5 crore users would be transacting online by 2020.

Travel, Finance Services Will Trigger More Ecommerce

Online shopping will continue it’s magnificent growth, accounting to 2/3rd of overall ecommerce market by 2020, which amounts to $22.6 billion.

However, it’s the growth of other verticals such as travel and finance services which would be the thing to watch.

Nasscom has predicted that online travel bookings will substantially increase, as 50% of all travel related transactions would happen online by 2020.

On the same hand, online finance services will witness a growth of 1.7 times by the time 2020 ends.

Mobile Penetration Will Aid Digital Economy

As per the findings of the report, there would be 70 crore mobile users in the country, which means that there would be more Internet users, and more online shoppers, pan-India.

Infact, 70% of the overall ecommerce market in India by 2020 would be captured on mobile, which amounts to $23.8 billion.

Considering the fast expansion of smartphones, broadband and more Internet users from rural market, Nasscom has predicted that go-to-market strategy for digital startups needs to alter as more audio/visual content would be consumed, compared to textual content.

Startups can look forward to 10-times more funding by 2020, which means that $420 billion of funding would be received by Indian startups, compared to $40 billion last year.

[Source]