INTRODUCTIONThe cutting edge for business today is e-commerce. E-Commerce stands for electronic commerce. It means dealing ingoods and services through the electronic media and internet.On the internet, it relates to a website of the vendor, who sellsproductsorservicesdirectlytothecustomerfromtheportalusing a digital shopping cart or digital shopping basket systemandallows payment throughcredit card, debit cardor ET!Electronic fund transfer" payments. E-commerce or E-businessinvolvescarryingonabusinesswiththehelpoftheinternetandbyusingtheinformationtechnologylikeElectronic#ataInterchange !E#I". $ore simply put, E-Commerce is themovement of business onto the %orld %ide %eb. E-Commercehas almost overnight become the dominant online activity.Thereis nosinglede&nitionof E-Commerce, it means onlycommercial activity which is performed or linked to orsupported by Electronic Communication. The e'ects of e-commerce are already appearing in all areas of business, fromcustomer service to new product design. It facilitates new typesof information based business processes for reaching andinteracting with customers like online advertising andmarketing, online order taking and online customer service. Innow days E-commerce uses the %%% at least some point intransaction lifecycle. It can also reduce costs in managingorders and interacting with a wide range of suppliers andtrading partners, areas that typically add signi&cant overheadsto the cost of products and services. or developing countrieslike India, e-commerce o'ers considerable opportunity. In Indiait is still in nascent stage, but even the most-pessimisticpro(ections indicateaboom. Therehas beenariseinthenumber of companies) takingupe-commerceintherecentpast. $a(or Indianportal sites havealsoshiftedtowards e-commerce instead of depending on advertising revenue. $anysites are now selling a diverse range of products and servicesfrom*owers, greetingcards, andmovieticketstogroceries,electronic gadgets, and computers, etc. %ith stock e+changescoming online the time for true e-commerce in India has &nallyarrived. ,2. Rationale of studyElectronicCommerce!E-commerce" seemstobeeverywherethese days. It)s nearlyimpossible to read a maga-ine ornewspaper without coming across an article about howe-commerce is going to change and a'ect our lives. It is widelyaccepted that e-commerce and Internet technologies canbene&t anorgani-ationbut still thereareveryfewstudiesabout e-commerce adoption in India. In addition to that, thereisn)tanydetailedrecentstudyaboutofe-commerceinIndiaincorporating latest factual data and trends relating to itsvarious aspects at all. .o, I have proposed to study this area toinvestigate the e+tent of India)s involvement with e-commerceapplications, its detailed conceptual framework, evolution,stories of topIndianplayers inthis &eldand&ndaset ofguidelines or recommendations onthebest practices of e-commerce adoption which might help the Indian e-commerce&rms.3. Objectives of the Study:The ob(ectives of present studyare/ ,. To understand the evolution of E-Commerce0. Todescribetheconceptual frameworkof E-CommerceinIndia1 2. To analyse the present trends of E-Commerce in India1 3. To e+amine the barriers of E-Commerce in India. 4. To predict future of E-commerce . Resea!ch "ethodolo#y I have reviewed the academic literature to gain insight into 5E-Commerce in India6. .o, various articles, (ournals, books,websites etc. have been used to study the evolution,conceptual framework, de&nitions, key players, present trends!relatingtointernetpenetration, growthprospects, modesof0paymentspreferredetc.", futureprospectsandbarriersof E-commerce. 7ll the data included is secondary base and proper referenceshave been given wherever necessary.$. Revie% of &ite!atu!e:8eyword search on 5E-Commerce adoption in India6 5e-businessin India65E-Commerce and India6 and 5e-business and India6 in variousdatabases likeE9.CO, :ro;uest, andEmerald$anagementuality between urban and rural connectivity must beresolvedtoreallytakeadvantageof e-businessinboththecountries."alhot!aandSin#hstudiedthedeterminants of Internetbanking adoption by banks in India. :anel data of ?? banks inIndia covering the &nancial years ,@@AB,@@? to 0CC3B0CC4 wascollected through C$IE !Centre for $onitoring Indian Economy"database. Dogistic regression analysis was used, the dependentvariableis categorical withavalueof ,if abankadoptedInternet banking during the study period and C otherwise.Independent variables included in the study are &rm si-e, &rmage, bank deposits ratio, average wages, e+penses !&+edassets E premises", FO7 !ratio of average net pro&ts to average2assets", market share, average number of branches,percentage of banks adopted Internet banking. The results ofthe study prove that 9ank type !:rivate", &rmsi-e, bankdeposits ratio, &rmage, market share, averagenumber ofbranches, percentageofbanksadoptedInternetbankingande+penses, arefoundto besigni&cant inadoptiondecision.%age and FO7 are found to be insigni&cant. This studycontributes to the empiricalliterature on di'usion of &nancialinnovations, particularly Internet banking in Indian conte+t.$ost of thestudyonadoptionof technologywasrelatedtodeveloped markets like G. and Europe, this study is animportant contributiontoevolvingliteratureas it dealt theproblem of technology adoption in developing country conte+t..tudy byTa!afda! and'aidyae+aminedthefactors thatdetermine the organi-ational inclination to adopt E-Commerce!EC". The study proposes a framework based on the >ualitativedata on four &nancial &rms in India collected through multiplecase study design. ace to face interview was used to collectprimary data and e+isting database, company documents,press reports and websites are used to collect secondary data.The framework describes two broad factorsHleadershipcharacteristics and organi-ational characteristicsHto e+plainthein*uenceof organi-ational factors onthepropensitytoemploy EC technologies. The study found that both leadershipand organi-ational characteristic in*uence EC adoption. Itestablishes that leadership characteristics in*uence adoption ofEC technologies in centrali-ed organi-ation and organi-ationalcharacteristics in*uence EC adoption in de-centrali-edorgani-ation. The study also found that characteristics ofInformation.ystems professional andorgani-ation structurein*uence EC adoption.7nother study byTa!afda! and 'aidya,analysesorgani-ational and strategic imperatives that in*uenceInformation .ystem !I." assimilation in Indian organi-ations. I.assimilationherereferstothee+tent towhichasystemortechnology becomes di'used in organi-ationalprocesses. Thestudyisbasedonmultiplecasestudymethod. #ataonnine&rmswhichhavedeployedI.wascollectedthroughfacetofacestructuredinterviewinvolvingmiddlemanagers, seniormanagers of I. and other departments. The study e+amines the3nature of the systempresentHdata processing=transactionoriented, operational, strategicHand how these systemsa'ectedkeyoperational processes. .trategicimperativesaree+amined by analysing the environmental factorsHpresence orabsenceof government regulation, pressurefromcustomers,suppliers and competitors, and strategic stanceHwhetherproduct and process changes, and the conse>uent I.deployment were proactive or reactiveOrgani-ationalimperatives wereinvestigatedby >ualitatively assessingsi+factorsHtop management support1 I. department knowledge ofbusiness, technology andinvolvement inI.deployment, ITliteracy of managers, management style1 presence of ITchampions and availability of IT resources. #ata was analy-edacross-case and within-case. The study identi&es threecategories of organi-ationsHinnovativeI.users, enlightenedI.users andreluctant I.usersHwithrespect to I. assimilation, and describes strategic andorgani-ational factors characteristics of each group. The studyalso traces the evolution of the I. application portfolio in eachof thestudied&rmsandanalysesaccompanyingchangesinstrategic and organi-ation factors. In short, the paper presentsan integrated and &rst level analysis of strategic andorgani-ational imperatives that have in*uenced theassimilation and evolution of I. in Indian organi-ations.'is%anathan and (ic)e+amined the issue of e-commerce inIndia and $e+ico from the framework of developing countriesas suggested by Tallon and 8raemer. The framework includedcritical factors that might impact the di'usion of e-commerce.The factors are government policy, legal framework, technologyinfrastructure, relationship with developed economies ande+tent of e-commerce usage by individual, corporate andgovernment. Thestudy)sprimary focusisonIndia.$e+icoisanaly-ed more brie*y, and compared with India based oncommon international datasets. The analysis and the datapresentedinthis paper represent asynthesis of datafromsecondaryresearchanddatafrominterviewsconductedwithseniore+ecutivesintheITindustryinIndiaand$e+ico. Thestudysuggeststhat substantial e'orts havetobemadetoinvest intelecommunicationsinfrastructure, andtocreateaculture of electronic payments and e-commerce usage that willsupport economic growth.4Das#u*taandSen#u*tapaper one-commerceinIndianinsurance industry discusses the features of e-insurance incomparisonwiththetraditional oIineinsuranceservice. Theauthors put forth that e-insurance o'ers bene&ts such asreduction in search cost and hidden cost, price comparison forcustomers, andbene&ts suchas opportunitytohavenichemarket, &rst mover advantage and product bundling forinsurancecompaniesgoingonline. urther, it discussesthatstatus of e-insurance in India is still formative stage, but standsto gain particularly from the rural markets since the availabilityof insurance agent is very less compared to urban markets. Thestudy is conceptual innatureando'ers insights basedonmarket reports and data from secondary sources.'ish%as!ao and +ossha!dtused a theoretical frameworkdeveloped by 8at-and .hapiro !,@?A" to e+amine the ongoing technologyadoptionbehavior of foreignownedanddomestic&rms. irmlevel data on ,3CC medium to large Indian &rms from ,@?@ to,@@2 was used to test the model. :robit and :oisson estimationwas used to analy-e the data and model. Jariables included inthestudyareno. of collaboration, natureof collaborationHforeignor otherwise, &rmage, total assets, total sales, netpro&t, her&ndhal inde+, FE# e+penditures by industry aspercentage of sales. Fesults of the study throw someinterestinglight ontechnologyadoptionbehavior of foreign&rms. In general, it shows that liberali-ation happened in Indiaafter ,@@, has positive impact on technology adoption, but it isfoundthat foreign&rms are>uick to takeadvantagethandomestic &rms. FE# e+penditure is found to be not signi&cantfor technology adoption, &rm si-e !large &rms are more likely toadopt"andageof&rmarefoundtobesigni&cant. 7lsoitisfound that foreign &rms adopt new technology when pro&ts aredown, and doesn)t adopt technology in competitive markets.&alstudied the determinants of adoption of InformationTechnology !IT" inIndia. Thestudywas basedon4@electrical andelectronicgoodsmanufacturing&rmssituatedinKOI#7. .emi-structured>uestionnaire were used to collect the data. The studyLe+amined the factors in*uencing the degree of IT adoption by&rms. The factors included are entrepreneur characteristicsmeasured by entrepreneur)s >uali&cation, importance given tomarket share, FE# and >uality consciousness, &rm)sinternational orientation factors measured by import and e+portintensity, work force skill and &rm si-e. The sample &rms weredivided into four categories depending on their intensity of ITuse, these are/!," non-IT &rms !&rms that do not use IT tools"1!0" low-level of IT users !&rms using only $I. for oMceautomation"1!2" moderate level of IT users !these &rms have adoptedC7#=C7$ in addition to$I."1 and!3" high level of IT using &rms !&rms that have adopted $. inaddition toC7#=Cam and $I.".Ordered probability model !:FO9IT" was used since thedependentvariableiscategorical andfollowsordinal rankingscale. Theestimates wereobtainedbyma+imumlikelihoodmethod. The study found that entrepreneur)s >uali&cation,importance given to market share, FE#, e+port intensity, workforce skill and &rm si-e in*uence the degree of adoption of ITby the &rms.7part fromthe studies mentioned above, there are >uitehandful of research reports and survey based studies done byInternet and$obile7ssociationof India, I$F9International,#atamonitor, and Internet and Online 7ssociation whichpresentswith>uantitative&gures, thestatusof e-commercee+isting in the country.,. D-.INITIONS O. -/CO""-RC-$any of the implicit and e+plicit de&nitions of e-commerce relyonpaste+perienceratherthanonpossiblefutures. Therearevarious ways to de&ne e-commerce by di'erent people,di'erent books or di'erent parties.E-commerceisageneral termfor anytypeof business, orcommercial electronic transaction that involves the transfer ofinformation across the Internet. Or we can say that e-commerceAis de&ned as the use of computers and electronic networks toconduct business with other businesses or with customers overtheInternet or another electronic network. .incetherearevarious de&nitions of e-commerce, the Gnited KationsConferenceonTradeand#evelopment !GKCT7#, 0CCC" hassummari-ed the descriptive de&nitions of electronic commerceas stated below/-,.0 De1nition by U.S. -2ecutive O3ce of the (!esidentE-commerce is commercial interaction over the internet, whichcan lower costs dramatically and facilitating newtypes ofcommercial transactions. 7s theInternet empowers citi-ensand democrati-es societies, it is also changing classic economicparadigms. Kew models of commercial interaction aredeveloping as businesses and consumers participate in anelectronic marketplaceandreaptheresultant bene&ts. TheInternet has the potential to revolutioni-e commerce and otherareas. The Internet will revolutioni-e retail marketing.Commerce on the Internet could total tens of billions of dollarsby the turn of the century. !GKCT7#, 0CCC",.2 De1nition by -u!o*ean Info!4ation Technolo#yObse!vato!yElectronic commerce is the carrying out of business activitiesthat leadtoane+changeof valueacross telecommunicationnetworks. !GKCT7#, 0CCC",.3 De1nition by O!#ani5ation fo! -cono4ic Co/o*e!ation and Develo*4ent6O-CD7E-commerce refers generally to all forms of transactionsrelatingtocommercial activities, includingbothorgani-ationsand individuals that are based upon the processing andtransmission of digiti-ed data, including te+t, sound, and visualimages.!GKCT7#, 0CCC",. De1nition by -u!o*ean Co44issionElectronic commerce is about doing business electronically. It isbasedontheelectronicprocessingandtransmissionofdata,including te+t, sound, and video !GKCT7#, 0CCC".?It encompasses manydiverseactivities, includingelectronictrading of goods and services, online delivery of digital content,electronicfundtransfers, electronicsharetrading, electronicbillsof lading, commercial auctions, collaborativedesignandengineering, online sourcing, public procurement, directconsumer marketing, and aftersales service !EuropeanCommission, ,@@?". It involves both products !consumer goods,speciali-ed medical e>uipment" and services !informationservices, &nancial and legal services"1 traditional activities!healthcare, education" and new activities !virtual malls".,.$De1nitionby "inist!y of Inte!national T!adeandIndust!y8 9a*an5. . . electronic commerce, which has been limited to a numberof speci&edcompanies, is enteringanewerawheremanyunspeci&ed persons, including general consumers, are involvedon the networks. In addition, its contents have come to includenot only simple transactions of data concerning placement oforders or order acceptance but also to general commercial actssuch as publicity, advertisements, negotiations, contracts, andfund settlements.: !GKCT7#, 0CCC",., De1nition by T!ansatlantic +usiness Dialo#ue-lect!onic Co44e!ce ;hite (a*e!Electronic commerce, de&ned simply, is the commercialtransaction of services in an electronic format. !GKCT7#, 0CCC",.< De1nition by "I"OS8 "alaysiaTheresearcher hasconductedinterviewwithfewITe+pertsfrom $I$O. 9erhad, $alaysia and gets the following de&nitionbythem. E-commercebuildsonthestructuresof traditionalcommerce by adding more *e+ibility with computeri-edbusinesstransactions using the Internet,networks,andotherdigital technologies.,.=De1nitionby"alaysianInte!national Cha4be! OfCo44e!ce > Indust!yE-commerce is commerce that is transacted electronically overthe Internet, such as transact or facilitate the selling ofproducts or services online !$ICCI, 0CCL".@7mong all the de&nitions, the researcher think that thede&nition by EuropeanCommissionisthebestoneasitscoversall thescopeofe-commerce. In a simple way, the researcher can conclude thatthe e-commerce is doing business electronically, with the use ofelectronic transmission mediums !over computer or electronicnetworks".uitymaster.com1 http/==www.4paisa.com..ome of the services o'ered to registered members are/N Online buying=dealing of stocks and shares1N $arket analysis and researchN Company informationN Comparison of companiesN Fesearch on E>uity and $utual undsN Tracking $arket TrendsN Ootline for advice on Fisk $anagementN 03-Oour helpdeskR.and more.Real estate and E-commerce::ortalslikehttp/==www.indiaproperties.com=,www.@@acres.comfacilitate online dealing in real estate. They o'er either outrightpurchaseor leaseof a property throughtheir portal. Theyprovide information on new properties as well as properties forresale. Onecandeal directlywithdevelopersor buildersorthrough consultants and brokers.,27llied services/N Oousing inanceN Insurance companiesN 7rchitects E Interior #esignersN KFI servicesN :roperty $anagement ConsultantsN :ackers E $oversN .ecurity E $aintenance .ervicesN Jaastu or eng .hui ConsultantsRand more.Travel & Tourism and E-commerce:India has a rich history with cultural heritage and e-commerceis instrumental, to a large e+tent, in selling India as a product,encouraging Indians as well as foreigners to see itsmultifaceted culture and beauty. 7 ma(or Qovernment of Indiaportal, http/==www.tourisminindia.com=, has avast varietyofinformation for a potential tourist. The tourist destination sitesare categori-ed according to themes like/N 7dventure - trekking, mountain climbing etcN Eco-Themes pertains to (ungles, *ora and faunaN 9eaches of IndiaN 7rchitectural attractionsN orts and :alacesN 9uddhist attractionsN Oill resortsN #esert treksN :ilgrimage sites7llied services o'ered are/,. :assport E visa0. Travel E accommodation information2. %eather information3. estival E fair dates4. .hoppingL. Tour OperatorsA. Information on Cuisine E Festaurants?. Car rental servicesRand more.There are also sites that highlight the tourist destinations of aspeci&c region in India, like,3http/==www.incredibleindia.org=, which covers Korth East India.Gifts and E-commerce/In the bygone days, one had to plan what to gift a loved one,trudgeacrosstoyour favouriteshop, andbrowsefor hoursbefore purchasing a gift. Today there are speci&c Indianwebsites making the act of gifting >uick and easy to suit oneslifestyle. One such site is http/==www.indiangiftsportal.com=.The gifts are categori-ed as/,. Collectibles like paintings and sculptures0. Du+ury items like leather goods, perfumes, (ewellery bo+es,etc2. Oousehold curios and carpets, etc3. Toys E games4. ChocolatesL. lowersA. %ood-craft E metal-craft?. Idols for worshipRand more.7lso the items can be searched by di'erent regions of India, asevery region has a special style in making handicrafts.Hobbies and E-Commerce:The most popular hobbies from time immemorial are reading,music and &lms. On the Indian websitehttp/==www.&rstandsecond.com= one can buy more than2CC,CCC titles of books, cassettes, JC#s and #J#s.Thebooks cover awiderangeof topics like9usiness, 7rt,Cookery, Engineering, Children)s .tories, Oealth, $edicine,9iographies, Oorror, Oome E Qarden, etc.7s for music and videos, they are available in English as well asin Indian languages to cater to the varied tastes and the topicsrange from devotional songs, old-time favourites and retro and(a-- to the latest pop, rap, etc.Matrimony and E-commerce:,4It is said that marriages are made in heaven, but in the world ofE-commerce they are made on marriage portals likehttp/==www.(eevansathi.com= !meaning life-partner.com in Oindi"and http/==www.shaadi.com= !meaning marriage.com inOindi".One can search for a suitable match on their websites byregionofresidence!Indiaorabroad", religionorcaste. Onceregistered with them, they have email facility and chat roomstoo, sothatthecouplegetstoknowmoreabouteachotherbefore making the biggest decisionof their lives.7llied servicesfor registered members/,. 7strological services0. Information on Customs and Fituals2. Degal issues3. Oealth E 9eauty4. ashion E .tyleL. %edding :lannersA. Ooneymoon #estinationsRand more.Emloyment and e-commerce/Two ma(or portals like www.monsterindia.com andwww.naukri.com !meaning (ob.com in Oindi" are instrumental inproviding (ob seekers with suitable employment at the click of amouse. They have directories categori-ed under the headingsEmployers and Pob .eekers. The service for (ob seekers is freeand for Employers they charge a nominal fee. Pobs are availableonline in &elds ranging from secretarial to softwaredevelopment, and from real estate to education. Theopportunities o'ered are unlimited.@. (!esents T!ends of -/Co44e!ce in India:India isdeveloping rapidly and if development is to be measured, howcan we ignore the role of ecommerce in it. The internet userbase in India might still be a mere ,4, million which is muchless when compared to its penetration in the G. or G8 but itSssurely e+panding at an alarming rate.7t ,4, million totalInternet users, theInternet penetrationinIndiaremains at,0.LT India now has the 2rd largest Internet population with,4, million in the world after China at 4L? million and G.7 at043 million !in 0C,2". Considering the annualrate of growth,L3,-32T India is e+pected to cross 2A4 million uni>ue internetusers by endof 0C,4.Thenumber of newentrants inthissphereisescalatingdailyandwithgrowthratereachingits-enith1 it can be presumed that in years to come, customaryretailers will feel the need to switch to online business. Insightsinto increasing demand for broadband services, risingstandards of living, availability of wider product ranges,reduced prices and busy lifestyles reveal this fact moreprominently thereby giving way to online deals on giftvouchers. Qoing by the statistics,according to a study by theInternet E $obile 7ssociation of India and 8:$Q, Indianecommerce was pro(ected to grow to U,0.L billion by the end ofthisyear. 9y0C0C, itise+pectedtocontributearound3percent to Q#:. Currently, the Internet penetration in India standsat ,, per cent of the population, a third of the world average.igure ,. internet penetration in various countries!source/ digitalinsights.com",AThe table-, shows market si-e of di'erent verticals ofecommerce industry since 0CC@ to 0C,2. The growth inecommercebusiness clearlyimplies thegrowingnumber ofinternet users .The online purchases are limited to certaincategories like gaming subscription, food delivery, onlineclassi&eds, buying movie tickets, travel related purchases andelectronics items etc. Thegrowthinecommerceindustryisprimarily driven by online travel industry which has contributedA? T !Fs ,3@42 crore" in 0CC@ and e+pected to touch A0 T !Fs33@CA Crore" in 0C,2 of total ecommerce market and isbuildinguser con&dence. Theonlinetravel industryincludessale of domestic air travel, international travel, hotel bookings,railway tickets, bus tickets, tour packages and travel insuranceetc.1#u!e 2:!.ource/ digitalinsights.com"Indian 9anks too have been very successful in adapting EC andE#I Technologies to provide customers with realtime accountstatus, transfer of funds between current and checkingaccounts, stoppayment facilities. ICICI 9ank, Qlobal TFG.T97K8 7K# GTI-9ank also have put their electronic banking overtheinternet facilitiesinplacefor theupcominge-commercemarket. Certain uni>ue attributes of the E-commerce industryin India such as cash on delivery mode of payment and directimportsthat lower costsconsiderablyareprobablygoingtobring about a speedy growth in this industry in years to come.7ccording to the latest research !The report, titled 57sia :aci&c,?Online Fetail orecast, 0C,, To 0C,L,6" by orrester, a leadingglobalresearch and advisory &rm, the e-commerce market inIndia is improving between 0C,0-,L. The report revealed thatecommercerevenueinIndiawill increasebymorethan&vetimes by 0C,L, (umping from G.U,.L billion in 0C,0 to G.U?.?billion in 0C,L !Table-0". %hile G.U?.? billion is stillless thanother countries in 7sia :aci&c, such as China and Papan, IndiaVsC7QFismuchhigher thananyother countrythat orresterforecasts in the region. ON&IN- TR?'-&&INAOnlineTravellinghasonanaveragegrownby20TfromIKF,3,@42Croresin0CC@toIKF23,433Croresin0C,0andbyanother 2CT to and was valued atINR 8@B< C!o!esby theend of #ecember 0C,2. It can be seen from the &gure below/.i#u!e 3. Online T!avellin#!.ource/ digitalinsights.com"-/tailin#:The e-Tailing category has grown from IKF ,,44C Crores in theyear 0CC@!Pan-#ec0CC@" toIKFL,343Croresinyear 0C,0!Pan-#ec 0C,0" and it crossed the INR 0B8BBB c!o!e mark inthe year 0C,2. Its details can be seen in the pie chart/,@.i#u!e : -/tailin#!.ource/ digitalinsights.com".inancial se!vices:inancial servicesmarket wasvaluedat IKF0,??LCroresin0C,0 and grew by 04T and reached INR 38,B< C!o!es by theend of year 0C,2..i#u!e $: .inancial se!vices!.ource/ digitalinsights.com"0CClassi1ed:Classi&eds market has seen a signi&cant growth and isestimatedat IKF0,243Croresin0C,0andreachedtoINR38B,0 C!o!es by the end of year 0C,2.i#u!e ,: Classi1ed!.ource/ digitalinsights.com""ode of *ay4ent:$a(ority of the online shoppers useDebit ca!dsCInte!netban)in#as their preferredmodeof payment for shoppingonline. :ayment through credit cards, follow closely at secondposition and Cash on #elivery on third position.0,.i#u!e ue visitors a month. The growth hascome across all retail categories and most of themshowpromising transactions and conversion rates along with growthin visitors. The top retail sitesin India have each seen a growthof over ,CCT in the last ,0 months.00!.ource/ digitalinsights.com" ?4a5onisthemostvisitedretail sitewithmostofthetraMc slipt among 7ma-on.com and Punglee.com. .li*)a!t leads the way among the online retailers in Indiawith A.3 million uni>ue visitors a month, growing at 32,Tannually. Sna*deal has been close second with L.@ million uni>ues. 9abon# and "ynt!a have been competing closely in thelifestyle category with over 4.2 million uni>ues each. Do4eSho*0= has over 3 million uni>ues a month.02.i#u!e @: -/Co44e!ce RevenueE-commerce in India to e+plode in 0C,3, Indian e-shoppers willhaveagoodtimegettinggreatdealsandservicesonline. 7recent pan-India report released by Com .core Inc reveals thatonline shopping in India has touched a growth rate of ,? percentandisonlylikelytogrowfurther.Thereport foundthatnearlyLCpercentof citi-ensinIndiavisitedaretail siteinKovember 0C,2, with the number of online shoppers increasingby ,? per cent in the past year. E-commerce can become anintegralpart of sales strategy while it is one of the cheapestmedium to reach out the new markets, if implementedsuccessfully, it o'er asmart way of e+pansionEdoinge-commerce attribute to the successful implementation tocarefully understanding the products E services, customers andthe business process, easy-to-use system to e+tend thebusiness ontheweb.7 newreportby the 9oston ConsultingQroup says online retail in India could be a U?3-billion industryby 0C,L H more than ,C times its worth in 0C,C H and willaccount for 3.4 per cent of total retail. The e-commerceplatformsma+imi-eitsreachtothepotential customersandprovide them with a convenient, satisfying E secure shoppinge+perience.0B. Eey (laye!s03Top 4 E-Commerce companies in India!.ource/ ne+tbigwhat.com"FlipKart.com.li*)a!t.co4 is an e/co44e!ce%ebsite founded by Sachin +ansaland+inny+ansal in2BBues that online retailers canemploy to improve this level of trust and build an environmentwhere customers feel safe in clicking that 5:roceed toCheckout6 button.0. Custo4e! Revie%sToday)s customers are putting less trust on website marketingmessages and becoming more in*uenced by recommendationsfrom other people. Customer)s trust for an online retailer willincrease if the retailer o'ers an ability to let customers sharetheir positiveaswell asnegativereviewsabout productsorvendors. Thekeyistonot 5moderate6thenegativereviewsbecause by allowing customers to post negative reviews, it willactually enhance the credibility of the retailer as well as otherreviews. Obviously, any foul language needs to be moderatedbut any genuine issues with the products or vendors must beposted along with the positive reviews.2. Clea! shi**in# and delive!y co44it4ent7t the time of setting up products for sale, clear shipping andhandling time must be associated with the product. Thisinformationshouldbedisplayedconsistently onall productpages so that customer)s e+pectations around shipping timelinecan be clearly set.0@3. ?nalytics > (e!sonali5ation7lthoughpersonali-edproductrecommendationsandcontentdo not directly increase customer)s trust, they do demonstrateto the customer that the online retailer is making a good e'ortin understanding the customer)s individual needs and is actingupon them. This implicitly improves the comfort level that theretailer isnot (ust lookingtosell productsbut ismakinganhonest attempt in building relationship with the customer.. O*e!ational Re*o!tin# > Dashboa!dsOnline retailers must invest in strong operationalreports thatprovide alerts and metrics on orders that have a risk of missingtheservicelevel thatwaspromisedtothecustomers. Ifyouhave recently implemented an e Commerce platform, chancesarethat at times orders will get 5stuck6 invarious states.Therefore, itisimportanttoestablishthresholdsaroundhowlong should orders stay in various states !such as 5:rocessingfor :ayment6, 5:reparing for.hipment6 etc." and then build automated alerts when orderse+ceed these thresholds.$. 'endo! (enaltiesIn the Indian conte+t, ma(ority of the e Commerce sites work ina 5drop-ship6 model. This implies that the online retailerdoesn)t physically stock the goods, and instead relies one+ternal vendors to directly ship the merchandise to customer)shome. In this case, it is e+tremely critical to set clear .D7)s onhowlongwill it takethevendorstoshiptheorders. Thereshouldbe&nancial penalties built intothecontracts if thevendors miss the service levels. 7lso, there should be penaltiesif the vendors receive e+cessive negative reviews fromcustomers.,. (!ice "atch Aua!antee7 :rice $atch Quarantee !:$Q" is a store policy which entitles acustomer toarefundof thedi'erencebetweenthestore)sasking price and a competitor)s price. It can not only help build2Ctrust with the customer, it can also help reduce pricecompetition across online retailers.This maysoundcounter intuitivebut it is oneof themostdiscussed e+amples in 5Qame Theory6 and it has actuallyhelped retailers in G. to avoid direct price wars. Take fore+ample a &rmlike Circuit City that has a price matchguarantee, which looks good to a consumer. 9ut that guaranteereally allows Circuit City to charge higher prices sincecompetitors will be discouraged from setting a lower price thatCircuit City only will match when it must.uestion. It ishuman nature to e+pect timely communication, especiallywhentheyarewaitingforsomethingthattheyhavealreadypaidfor. Theretailersshouldensurethateverysinglestatusupdate on the order generates an alert for the customer. 7lso, ifthe order waits in a speci&c state for a timeframe longer thanwhat was promised to the customer, an email should beautomatically sent to the customers to make them aware of thedelay. If the delay is longer than a few days, customer shouldbe contacted via phone and asked for approval for the delay orgiven an option to cancel the order.0B. Cha!#e only afte! o!de! shi*4entCustomers feel much more comfortable if they know that theywill only get charged once the order ships. Currently, a lot ofretailers charge the customer)s credit card immediately whencustomer places the order. Oowever, they should considerauthori-ing the amount at the time of order and only chargethe card once the order ships. This will also minimi-e any needto refund the amount back to the customer in case the orderneeds to be cancelled for any reason.00. Self Se!vice Ca*abilitiesThe more online self service capabilities !e.g. ordercancellation, modi&cations" retailers can provide to thecustomers, it will not only help reduce the call centre e+pense,but will also build more con&dence with the customers.Customers will feel more in control because they wouldn)t havetospend,Cminuteswithacall centreagenttoe+plaintheissue B instead, they can directly resolve the issue online.02. Real ti4e invento!y u*dates > safety stoc)Fetailersmust invest inbuildingautomatedcapabilitiesthatkeep an up to date record of how much inventory is availablefor all their products. :roducts must immediately becomeunavailable for purchase from the site as soon as the inventoryreaches below the safety stock. Cancelling customer orders dueto lack of inventory is a situation that all retailers must avoid20becausethis notonlyfrustratesthecustomers,it drops theircon&denceintheretailer)s abilitytokeeptheir promise. E-Commerce will see a signi&cant growth in India. Oowever, thechasmbetweentheearlyadoptersof eCommerceandtheones who are waiting can only be crossed by building a stronglevel of trust withour customers B andwinningthem, onecustomer at a time.@. The .utu!e of -/Co44e!ce-/Co44e!ce is the futu!e of sho**in#.Thus, is would beapt to >uote !The future is here"#t$s %ust not &idely distributed yet'- %illiam QibsonThe Internet economy willcontinue to grow robustly1 Internetusers would buy more product and buy more fre>uently online 1bothnewandestablishedcompanieswill reappro&tsonline1andRN Safe! Online (ay4ent Syste4s: 7s the Internet becomes asafer place to transact, the amount spent by the Internet Gsersonlineisboundtoincrease. Thoseapprehensiveof divulgingtheir credit card and bank details would be active onlineshoppers. TheInternet users aree+pectedtobuyhigh-endproducts like automobile, property, home durables online.N Custo4i5ation of content and oHe!in#s:7s the internetusers mature, the demand for customi-ation will increase. Thecontent would adopt the regional *avours. $ore niches will beformed, seeking for o'erings made for them and content thatmeets their re>uirements.N "o!e nu4be! of sho**e!s f!o4 Non/"et!os:Currently,followingthespreadof userscomingfrom$etrosandKon-$etros.This change would be bought by higher penetration ofInternet in the small towns and limitedreach of physicaldistribution channels of the established sellers tothese towns.Thesefactors coupledwithhigher disposableincomewouldcompel the Internetusers in these towns to buy online.22N -2*andin# Use! +ase/ Qoing at the current rate of growthintheInternetuserstransactingonline, theuserbaseforE-Commerceise+pectedtorisee+pande+ponentially. 7largeportion of the Internet population is under the age of 24 yearsand is increasingly movingnorthwards as far as the purchasingpower is concerned. The uncanny nature of this segmenttouse now and pay later is going to play an important part in thefuture growth of e commerce market. 9e it picking new stocksor new clothes, &nding a (ob or a bride, the web way of doingthings will gain precedence.N "/Co44e!ce: Currently E-Commerce is synonymous with :Candbrowser-basedinteraction. Oowever, inthenear futureQ:F.-enabled mobile phones will rule the online transactions.Today, onlinedownloadstomobilephonesislimitedtolowvalue services like music downloads, picture messagedownloadsandringtonedownloads. Oowever, asthemobileusersget morefamiliar withbuyingonline, thepurchaseofhigh-involvement products is e+pected to rise. Certain verticalslike 9anking and inance, Travel, Entertainment, and Fetail arelikely to drive the growth of m-Commerce in the country. In therecent past, E-Commerce and it variants like the m-Commercehaveyearnedfor thepositionof beingthemost importantdrivers of theInternet. Theyarecontinuouslyevolvingandupgrading to make a consumer)s e-.pending e+perience hasslefree and memorable. Oowever, to attain that position, it needsto awaken its inner beauty B simplicity and security oftransaction.The trend of online shopping is set to see greaterheights incomingyears, not (ust becauseof India)s risinginternet population, but also due to changes in the supportingecosystem. The E-Commerce market in India is smaller than inother markets that orrester forecasts in 7sia, but it is growingthe fastest. Fetailers have a si-eable opportunity as the onlinepopulation starts to spend more and buy more fre>uently online23Conclusion.everal important phenomena are associated with e-commerce. E-Commerce has unleashed yet another revolution,whichischangingthewaybusinessesbuyandsell productsandservices. Kewmethodologieshaveevolved. Theroleofgeographic distances in forming business relationships isreduced. E-Commerce is the future of shopping. %ith the24deployment of 2Q and 3Q wireless communicationtechnologies, the internet economy will continue to growrobustly. In the ne+t 2 to 4 years, India willhave 2CC to 3CCmillion internet users which will e>ual, if not surpass, many ofthedevelopedcountries. Interneteconomywill thenbecomemore meaningful in India. %ith the rapid e+pansion of internet,E-commerceisset toplayaveryimportant roleinthe0,stcentury, the new opportunities that will be thrown open, will beaccessible to both large corporations and small companies. Therole of government is to providea legal framework for E-Commerce so that while domestic and internationaltrade areallowed to e+pand their hori-ons, basic rights such as privacy,intellectual property,preventionoffraud, consumerprotectionetc. are all taken care of.+I+&IOAR?(DG,. Chakraborty, 8. #. and Chatter(ee, #., 5E-Commerce6, 9.9. 8undu Qrandsons, 8olkata, 0C,,, pp- 20-4L 0. #as, D., 5QrowingTrendsofE-CommerceandItsFoleinConsumers9uying :attern6,nternational Journal of!ar"eting# Financial Ser$ices %!anagement &esearch,Jol.,, Issue ,C, October 0C,0, pp- 0CC-0C@ 2. E-commerce 9usiness $odels and Concepts, E'(ommerce:)usiness# Technology# and Society *++,, ifth Edition, by2L8enneth C. Daudon and Carol Quercio Traver, :ublished by:rentice Oall, a division of :earson Education, Inc.!7vailable %ebsite/http/==wps.pearsoncustom.com=wps=media=ob(ects=LA,A=L?A@,@,=E9$,CC[ChC0.pdf, ,C=,=0C,3" 3. Qoele, .. and Channa, K., 5uture of E-Commerce inIndia6,nternational Journal of (omputing %)usiness&esearch, :roceedings of \I-.ociety 0C,0at Q8G,Talwandi .abo 9athinda ,:un(ab !7vailable %ebsites/http/==www.researchmanuscripts.com=isociety0C,0=A.pdf,,C=,=0C,3" 4. Oariharaputhiran, .., 5Challenges and Opportunities of E-Commerce6,nternational Journal of !ar"eting# Financial#Ser$ices %!anagement &esearch#Jol.,, Ko. 2, $arch0C,0, pp- @?-,C? L. Pain, .. and 8apoor,9., 5Ecommerce in India- 9oom andthe Feal Challenges6,-S&. nternational Journal of)usiness % !anagement# Jol. 0!0", 0C,0, pp- 3A-42 A. Dal, 8. !,@@@". #eterminants of the adoption of InformationTechnology/ a case study of electricaland electronic goodsmanufacturing&rmsinIndia.&esearch/olicy,*0, LLABL?C.?. E-Commerce- The Cutting Edge of 9usiness, 9a(a( E Kag-Kew #elhi 0CCC@. :. $alhotra and 9. .ingh, 5#eterminants of internet banking adoption by banks in India6, Internet Fesearch, vol. ,A, no. 2, 62BB