According to a report by Boston consultancy firm Bain & Company, India’s online shopper base which was at 180-190 million in 2021, will increase to about 400-450 million in 2027, when it will be valued at over $150 billion.
The report pegged the e-commerce market at $50 billion in 2022, an increase of $40% from 2021. Going forward, the category mix in online commerce will evolve due to growing demand in the fashion and grocery genres.
Bain categorizes India’s e-commerce into three phases:
- First phase: The early days of this business – 2015 when cash-on delivery was introduced.
- Second phase: The growth and expansion or the “massification” phase between 2015 -2020 with increasing users in tier-2 cities, increasing delivery speeds, and buy-now-pay-later constructs.
- Third and current phase: With segments such as Gen-Z users, low-income users, and tier-1 city users.
Manan Bhasin, partner, Bain & Co. said, “With the pace of growth we are talking about, we are very soon going to be the second largest shopping base, only behind China.”
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
