Procter & Gamble (P&G) is rolling out an ecommerce platform to tap India’s growing online market, joining Hindustan Unilever and Coca Cola in launching web stores for local consumers. P&G is currently testing the beta version of the site and the products are sold and the supply chain managed by its Kolkata-based distributor BG Distributor. A person close to P&G said it is a ‘test and learn’ approach, and its Kolkata distributor is running the webstore “end to end.” 
P&G expects to use the learnings from the exercise the “distributor has undertaken.”
The website pgshop.in will go live in the next month. India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) rules allow overseas companies to sell products through their own online platforms, provided the items they are selling are fully manufactured in India. For example, US-based direct selling firm Amway has a company-owned ecommerce portal to sell products made in India.
However, P&G’s online store pgshop.in will be owned and operated by the Kolkata distributor and P&G will only supply products; the U.S. giant won’t have any financial investment in the venture, industry officials said. P&G has listed a host of products including Oral-B branded oral care products and Herbal Essences shampoo, hair oil and other items.
One of the sources said the complete range of P&G products will be available for consumers to buy in the coming months through the webstore. A spokesperson for P&G declined to comment.
Coca Cola had launched its webstore Coke2home.com in India more than a year ago and the website leads consumers buying Coke products to online platforms of Flipkart, BigBasket, MilkBasket and Grofers. Similarly, HUL operates Tajmahalteahouse.com to sell premium Taj Mahal tea online.
The share of consumer packaged goos sold through online in India is 2% compared to about 16% in China. However, as Indians purchase everything from food to furniture online, the share of FMCG products is poised to grow at a faster clip in the coming years. Market research firm Nielsen said online sales of consumer products are expected to swell to $4 billion by 2022.
