Digital transformation in Indian retail sector: Opportunities and challenges

Abstract

Indian retail is a swiftly growing industry. It is emerging as one of the biggest sectors in the economy contributing about 10% to national GDP and about 8% to employment. A Boston Consulting Group study predicts that India will surpass US$ 400 billion in consumption by 2025 and move up to the third-largest consumer economy in the world. Consequently, India is ranked 5th largest global destination in terms of retail space. Indian retail sector can be divided into traditional unorganized retail, organized retail, and ecommerce. Currently, most oflndia's retail is unorganized (88%) but organized retail is rapidly growing at the rate of CAGR of 20-25%. The ongoing digital transformation, accelerated further by the COVID 19 pandemic, has been fueling the growth of e-retail. Retail companies are adopting various strategies to capture maximum share in the growing market which include expansion, strengthening supply chains, ornnichannel and d2c retailing, integrating data analytics etc.