E-commerce industry likely to generate 2.5 lakh jobs in 2016: Report

NEW DELHI: E-commerce industry is likely to generate nearly 2.5 lakhs jobs in the online retail in 2016 including temporary employees, supply chain, logistics, ancillary units etc, reveals the ASSOCHAM recent paper.

As per the estimates, 2.5 million staff will be required to work within the e-commerce industry by 2016. The paper shows that majority of e-commerce departments and businesses have increased their turnover since last year and present a huge opportunity for the industry to develop further.

According to the ASSOCHAM recent paper, nearly 3,50,000 staff working under e-commerce industry and are looking to bring in new staff over next 12 months. Increasing smartphone ownership and investment from retailers are fuelling the rapid growth of m-commerce in India.

Releasing the ASSOCHAM paper, D S Rawat, Secretary General ASSOCHAM said, the popularity of smartphones and other emerging channels increase with consumers, more retailers are beginning to merge and combine multiple departments and operations for all of their customers.

"The hiring activities are expected to grow by over 60-65 per cent in this sector and may help create between 5-8 lakh employment opportunities in two to three years," he added.

The paper further suggests that a considerable amount of staff also work in areas supporting the e-commerce industry, including distribution and delivery, customer support and website development.

While M-commerce currently represents only 20-25 percent of the India’s e-commerce market, this share is expected to grow as businesses, including those operating in the online to offline space such as taxis and restaurants, look to seize greater market share. It is also likely to be further accelerated by advancements in mobile technology and improvements in security and connectivity of shopping and payment platforms.

The paper says that India's e-commerce market was worth about $3.8 billion in 2009, it went up to $17 billion in 2014 and to $23 billion in 2015 and is expected to touch whopping $38 billion mark by 2016.

On the other hand, mobile commerce (m-commerce) is growing rapidly as a stable and secure supplement to the e-commerce industry. Shopping online through smart phones is proving to be a game changer, and industry leaders believe that m-commerce could contribute up to 70% of their total revenues.

“Increasing internet and mobile penetration, growing acceptability of online payments and favorable demographics has provided the e-commerce sector in India the unique opportunity to companies connect with their customers”, adds ASSOCHAM paper.

As per the study, one-third of MBA students from across India's top business schools, including the IIMs prefer working for the fledgling e-commerce sector, over traditional favourites like consulting and financial services jobs.

"India is successful in becoming the largest e-commerce market in the world. The rapid transformation in logistics, innovation, consumerism and productivity prove to be an interesting case study for other emerging economies," Rawat said.