The Rise of Ecommerce in India: What I’ve Seen and What the Data Shows

Over the last two decades, I’ve had the chance to visit India multiple times. I’ve seen the changes firsthand. I’ve worked with my own development team based in India. I’ve watched India-based WordPress companies like Brainstorm Force and InstaWP grow from small teams into global names.

I’ve also been inspired by grassroots efforts like WordPress Campus Connect — started by Anand Upadhyay — which brings WordPress education into Indian universities and helps students build digital skills early.

All of this made me curious. How much of the growth I’ve seen anecdotally is backed by real data? What’s the scale of the opportunity for ecommerce websites in India? So I took a deeper look, and here’s what I found.

The Big Picture

India’s ecommerce market isn’t just growing; it’s accelerating. As one of the world’s fastest-expanding digital economies, India is on track to become a global ecommerce powerhouse. That creates a huge opportunity for anyone building, designing, or hosting ecommerce websites.

According to Mordor Intelligence, India’s ecommerce market is expected to reach USD 136 billion in 2025, growing at around 19% per year through 2030. By the end of the decade, estimates put the market between USD 327 billion and USD 385 billion (PS Market Research).

This growth is being driven by affordable smartphones, widespread 4G and 5G connectivity, and the huge success of India’s home-grown digital payments system, UPI (Unified Payments Interface).

The Shift Beyond Major Cities

For years, online retail in India was dominated by metro hubs like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore. Now, the real story lies in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and even rural areas.

Smaller towns are seeing huge increases in internet access and mobile adoption. As that happens, new customers are entering the digital economy for the first time, often via mobile phones. These shoppers are curious, price-sensitive, and increasingly confident about buying online, especially when websites support local payment methods and languages they trust (Bain & Company, 2025).

What’s Powering the Boom

Several forces are shaping this new wave of ecommerce:

Smartphones everywhere. India adds millions of new mobile internet users every month.
Digital payments that work. UPI has made paying online as easy as scanning a QR code.
Social and direct-to-consumer (D2C) commerce. Brands are selling directly through their own sites or even WhatsApp.
Quick commerce. Apps promising ultra-fast delivery are reshaping expectations across groceries and essentials (Reuters, 2025).
Supportive policy. Initiatives like Digital India continue to improve infrastructure and trust.

The Challenges (and Why They’re Opportunities)

The Indian ecommerce market is still complex. Logistics networks are uneven in some regions, and cash-on-delivery remains popular. Many consumers are still cautious about online payments, and average order values (AOVs) remain relatively low.

But these are exactly the kinds of gaps that creative entrepreneurs and smart web developers can fill. Localised ecommerce websites with simple UX, multi-language support, and clear trust signals can build loyalty faster than global platforms that treat every market the same.

Comparing India and the UK

Factor	UK	India
Ecommerce penetration	Mature; most of retail is online	Lower, but rising rapidly
Average order value	Higher; premium markets	Lower; volume-driven
Competition	Established and saturated	Fragmented; plenty of room for new entrants
Customer acquisition costs	High	Often lower with mobile-first or social approaches

For website creators, this means the growth curve in India is steeper and there’s far more headroom for new ecommerce sites to emerge, especially in niche or regional markets.

The Scale of the Website Opportunity

India currently has around 260 million online shoppers, with projections of well over 400 million by 2030 (IBEF, 2024).

Even if just 5–10% of them buy from smaller, independent ecommerce sites instead of giant marketplaces, that’s 13 to 26 million potential customers and billions in revenue potential spread across thousands of small online stores.

At the same time, millions of small brick-and-mortar businesses are still waiting to go online. Each of those represents a potential client for a new ecommerce site, whether built with WooCommerce, Shopify, or a custom WordPress setup.

What This Means for Website Builders and Entrepreneurs

If you’re in the business of creating ecommerce websites, India’s rise represents one of the biggest global opportunities of the decade. Success here isn’t about copying Western models; it’s about building for India’s reality:

Design mobile-first experiences. Most users shop from phones, not laptops.
Integrate local payments. UPI and digital wallets are essential.
Build for trust. Clear refund policies, visible contact options, and fast support matter more than flashy design.
Think local. Use regional languages, relatable imagery, and culturally relevant messaging.
Partner smartly. Logistics, fulfilment, and after-sales service can make or break a brand’s reputation.

The Bottom Line

India’s ecommerce economy is vast, dynamic, and still only partly mapped. Millions of new shoppers are joining every year, and they need websites that feel local, fast, and trustworthy.

For designers, developers, and entrepreneurs who understand that shift, India isn’t just a fast-growing market; it’s an open frontier.