Over the last decade, the digital boom has redefined everything about the world as we know it - from the way groceries are being purchased online to multi-million-dollar M&A transactions and deals being closed virtually without physical interaction between parties. As evolving technology continues to keep pace, retail innovators to are looking at newer ways to grow and expand their businesses.

A buzzword that has been going around for several years now is B2C e-commerce exports. In the last 10 years, several companies have grown this space with their new ideas and advanced platforms. The next ten years, however, are where the real opportunity lies for Indian retailers to lay the foundation of a robust and efficient e-commerce export network.

Among the key factors that we need to build on are:

• B2C Exports

B2C exports are a prime opportunity for the current Indian macroeconomic setup. Currently, the growth of the Indian e-commerce sector is being powered by a budding class of young entrepreneurs who are aware of modern trends and opportunities and are driven by a vision and technology-oriented outlook. The stronger ties we build with our global partners, the more robust our technology solutions, and the wider we will be able to expand the B2C export framework.

• New Opportunities for Indian Retailers big and Small

Organizations led by this young crop are efficiently adopting technology for increased business efficiency. They are able to digitally connect both big and small vendors and retailers with customers through e-commerce platforms that offer a seamless and quick online experience for them.

As a result, a whole new world of opportunities has opened up for a growing breed of small to mid-sized retailers who are now making their wares directly available to global consumers scattered across the world.

Whether it is browsing through e-commerce platforms, enabling quick, safe payments, or having their products —both local and global — delivered to their doorsteps within a stipulated period of time, Indian e-commerce platforms are constantly evolving and adapting their offerings as per consumer demand.

• USP of Indian Retailers

The main USP of Indian retailers is that they provide quality products at competitive price points that match or even better the offerings of their biggest competitor - China. While China struggles with the aftereffects of the COVID-19 crisis, global customers are increasingly turning to India for ceramics, homeware, fashion and lifestyle items, textiles, and furniture. This has helped platforms widen their reach and bring on board retailers living in Tier II/III/IV and beyond cities of India enabling them to cater to global customers.

• Logistic capabilities

In the last 3-4 years, as a result of increasing demand, our logistic capabilities have also expanded multi-fold. It has become possible to order a product from any part of the world and expect it to be shipped within a period of 7-10 days. As scale continues to grow, economies of scale will kick in and expand logistic capabilities further, reducing both delivery timelines and the cost associated with it.

• Government support

The government is also playing a part in helping push this growth and expansion. They have set up a strong vision to reach $350 billion in e-commerce exports by 2030. With the majority of the Indian market already dominated by foreign companies (Amazon: US, Walmart/Flipkart: US) – this should not be very difficult since they already sell well in the domestic market and can supply products from India to their existing customers.

Prominent e-commerce players in the country like Amazon, eBay, and ShopClues are all delving into B2C exports through various partnerships and tie-ups and it truly is the right time for Indian/homegrown brands to start thinking about expanding their global presence.