India currently has a total of over 700 million internet users and this includes 350 million digital payment users and 220 million online shoppers. India will see household consumption doubling by 2030, the report said.

India’s internet economy is expected to register a six-fold growth to reach $1 trillion by 2030, driven majorly by e-commerce verticals. “India’s internet economy is expected to grow 6x to $1 trillion by 2030,”  said Sanjay Gupta, Country Manager & Vice President, Google India. He said most of the purchases in future will take place digitally. According to ‘India e-Conomy Report’ jointly published by Google, Bain & Company, and Temasek, “a continued shift in consumer and merchant behaviour, matched with strong investor confidence, has ushered India into its ‘Digital Decade’ and set the country on a path to reach a $1 trillion internet economy by 2030.” India currently has a total of over 700 million internet users and this includes 350 million digital payment users and 220 million online shoppers. India will see household consumption doubling by 2030, it said.

Where is the growth expected from?

India’s internet-economy was in the range of $155- $175 billion in 2022, per the report. It said that the expected growth will be led by the B2C e-commerce segment contributing approximately a third of the internet economy’s value. “Largely driven by increased penetration in smaller towns and cities, B2C e-commerce GMV sits at $65 billion today with expectations it will swell 6x to reach $380B by 2030. Meanwhile, other sectors like online travel and ride-hailing are also projected to follow similar trajectories with high probability of scaling at least 4-5x over the decade,” it said. This will be followed by B2B e-commerce, software-as-a-service providers and online media led by over-the-top players. The report further added that widening consumer and merchant acceptance of digital tools and solutions will also mean for digital financial services to expect growth ranging from 8-13 per cent CAGR between 2022-2030 across subsectors (i.e., payments, lending, investments and insurance).

According to the ‘India e-Conomy Report’, B2C e-commerce is expected to grow 5-6 times to $350-380 billion by 2030, B2B e-commerce is expected to grow 13-14 times to $105-120 billion, and the software-as-a-service segment is expected to grow 5-6 times to $65-75 billion by 2030. “Indian consumer habits have been shifting over the past few years, with three standout digital behaviours: 1) the widespread preference for digital interactions; 2) convenience and value are key drivers; and 3) sustainability is increasingly top of mind,” it said.

Furthermore, India is also leading in the world in online video streaming, digital payments and time spent on social media, followed by the United States in overall time spent online per user per day. The report added that while 220 million people shopped online, 110 million made purchases in online games, 65 million ordered food online, 80 million households paid utility bills online, 25 million used online ride-hailing services, 15 million have paid for an online course.

Beyond metros

The report stated that the wave of change is not limited to metro cities alone and that the tier-II and beyond towns too are playing a significant role in driving the growth. Even as the opportunities are immense, the smaller towns present substantial challenges that require a push from the government as well as the private sector.

https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/indias-internet-economy-to-grow-6x-to-1-trillion-by-2030-says-google-bain-company-and-temasek-report/3115853/