The digital influence on users in India has gone up to 30 per cent in 2016 from nine per cent in 2013. Infrastructure progress, lower prices of smartphones, falling data charges and higher smartphone penetration are the catalysts for increasing digital purchasing, a report called ‘Decoding the Digital Opportunityin Retail’, jointly released by the Retailers Association of India (RAI) and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), said.

The e-commerce sector of India is expected to touch $50-55 billion by 2021.The market currently stands at $6-8 billion. Digital buying has increased from three per cent in 2013 to 23 per cent in 2016. Apparel, luxury and furniture are some of the sectors, which are likely to see maximum e-retail penetration in the next few years, the report said.

Discount was a key driver for consumers to buy products from e-retail sites, but convenience has now overtaken it. According to the report over 55 per cent of the online purchases are carried out because they are convenient. E-commerce adoption for people in the over-35 age group has increased from four per cent to 15 per cent between 2014 and 2016.

The number of internet users in India will be 650 to 700 million by 2021, which will be more than the entire population of the six G7 countries, the report added.

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