A few years ago, if an Indian MSME wished to establish an export trade, they were required to attend international trade fairs, book orders, understand logistics and shipping arrangements and then wait for the payments to reflect in their accounts. Now, all of this is attained flawlessly; all credit goes to e-commerce.

At present, exports contribute to approximately 21.51% of India’s GDP. Moreover, considering the size of India’s economy, manufacturing prowess, the increasing share of MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) in the economy, enhanced internet penetration and fast speed of technology acceptance, exports can play a significant role in financial resurgence after COVID-19. What is important is to employ technology and reduce the entry barriers for millions of MSMEs in India to take part in various export opportunities.

This post discusses the role of e-commerce in export from India and several things that are important to know.

What is E-commerce Export from India?

By definition, exporting is the method of shipping goods or services to a foreign country for sale or trade. E-commerce, the selling and buying of products and services over the Internet, has come up as a game-changer in international businesses. In current years, India has seen a bigger growth in e-commerce, changing the way businesses run and customers shop. In evaluation, e-exporting is the process of obtaining and processing orders of goods and services online from customers residing in foreign nations.

The DGFT estimates that e-commerce exports from India to be at $2-5 bn presently, which is less than 5% of the total goods exported from India and anticipates it to increase upto $200-300 bn by 2030, adding to an important share of the 2030 target of $1-tn commodities exports.

What are the Benefits of Exporting through E-commerce?

A. E-commerce export from India can help trades increase their market reach, decrease costs, and improve competitiveness.
 

B. It permits businesses to explore a huge and diverse client base, specifically in growing markets where e-commerce is increasing quickly.

C. It lets companies export with less investment via e-commerce, as establishing a physical store can be changed with a product catalogue on the Internet. This can assist in reducing the physical store set-up and maintenance charges.
 

D. It permits organisations to provide a wide variety of products or services personalised to match diverse customer choices and requirements.
 

E. It removes the obstacles to entry and the risks linked to conventional and offline bussiness, for example, physical framework, logistics, and regulatory consent.

F. E-commerce export from India can help you reach a large number of prospective customers from the whole world and offer entry to new markets at the lowest feasible cost via the Internet. Thus, you can personalise your goods and services on the basis of diverse target markets.

India’s MSMEs and Role of E-commerce Exports

MSMEs are a contributor to more than a third of the GDP of India, which accounts for half of the country’s exports. They create employment opportunities and presently employ a large number of people throughout the country, that’s why they are mostly considered the base of the Indian economy. A sharp focus on authorising Indian MSMEs to benefit from e-commerce and bring in Indian exports can support the growth of international direct to customer (D2C) brands from India. MSMEs can gain mostly from the opportunities that international trade provides. Moreover, entry obstacles such as market approach, navigating the difficulties of cross-border logistics and reimbursements, extensive initial investments and ambiguity of demand avert these businesses from attaining their complete potential.

This is where e-commerce exports from India can benefit MSMEs of India. E-commerce exports allow these businesses to sell straight to customers crossways the world. It assists trades in transcending boundaries and getting entry to a much bigger number of customers. It also gives a “simple to embrace and scale” structure for MSMEs to increase their business out of India without needing any footprint regionally in global markets and decreasing reliance on intermediaries – bringing the trader closer to the buyer.

How E-commerce Helps in Accessing Global Markets?

A. E-commerce introduces a level playing arena for any type of trade to get entry to international markets. It eliminates the perception that exports are made only for larger organisations or trades that can need huge investments to run their operations on a global level.

B. The growing popularity of goods that are made in India has also given growth to inventive customer use cases for different products. This involves customers changing creamers in coffee with ghee or employing printed bedsheets like beach throws. 

C. Indian goods across a wide category are observing a big demand in worldwide markets, from conventional categories such as herbal products, textiles, and teas to newer segments such as toys, home and kitchen goods and a lot more. A large number of Indian MSMEs are already gaining from this kind of demand, assisting them create an area for themselves. Significantly, these businesses leave a positive impact on the creation of jobs and the economy, on the whole.

D. The role that technology has played in changing how business is accomplished in previous times has led to our anticipation related to the possibility that e-commerce exports provide to Indian businesses. With the aid of e-commerce exports, Indian businesses have a way to make a global identity for world-class products that are made locally.

Final Words

We think that e-commerce exports from India can play the biggest role in making exports simple and accessible for a number of MSMEs all through the country and take regional innovation and expertise to a global level. Taking this initiative, Amazon Global Selling has launched an e-commerce export program to facilitate sellers like you to boost your export business by leveraging the potential of e-commerce.