Top 5 Ecommerce Sites In India

Ecommerce has become a way of life in India. Once used only by the tech savvy to buy things not available in the neighbourhood mall, it has now become ubiquitous, thanks to a surge in internet use, and some heavy duty advertizing by ecommerce bigwigs.

Indians have their quirks and specific needs when it comes to online shopping. Globally leading shopping sites aren’t necessarily the ones most popular within the country. Also, while Amazon India is top of the list in the shopping category, overall, it ranks sixth, behind Google (both global and India), Facebook, YouTube, and Yahoo.

Let’s take a look at some of the most popular shopping sites here, and compare their domestic rankings to global ones.

The list is indicative rather than exhaustive, intended to show which types of ecommerce sites tug at Indian hearts.

Amazon India

Top of the lot is Amazon India, beating all other ecommerce websites, as per SimilarWeb. Amazon launched its India website in 2013, six years after Flipkart. A mean fight ensued, complete with mega ad spending, localization, and billion dollar checks on both ends. Amazon, however, seems to be winning the desktop war.

Flipkart

 The king of Indian ecommerce holds second place in website popularity. Flipkart insists that is because it is pushing more towards app transactions, where the company beats Amazon. 

Many industry analysts, however, think while mobile commerce is the way to the future, it is too early to discount website business. Flipkart, valued at around US$15 billion, leads the ecommerce pack in the country, but is under pressure to maintain that lead as Amazon nips in.

Snapdeal

The self professed online Walmart of India, Softbank-backed Snapdeal takes the third spot. Founder and CEO Kunal Bahl has repeatedly said he is building the company modelled after Alibaba, calling Snapdeal a “technology platform that brings sellers and buyers together,” rather than an ecommerce site. Now, 

Indian laws make it mandatory for most ecommerce sites to operate as marketplaces, so that doesn’t make much of a difference. Bahl, however, has an uphill task at hand, matching Amazon India and Flipkart’s mega budgets and massive leads. 

Alibaba

Surprised? Don’t be. Alibaba does not have an Indian website, and one does not see ads asking Indians to buy on Alibaba, but customers here have long discovered the benefits of getting electronics and bulk purchases done on this online megastore. Shipping via Aliexpress is gaining popularity as well.

Ebay India

 

Once talked of in the same breath as Amazon, Ebay has quietly slipped in rung across the world, including in India. Travails at home have hit Ebay’s performance in India, but the company now manages to cling to the fifth spot. That’s ahead of Jabong, though.