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Consumer Mobility and E-Commerce Zinnov study

Mobile Apps

With the raging trends in mobile adoption space and incredible growth of e-commerce, we at Zinnov recently concluded a study on “Consumer Mobility and E-Commerce”. This study overall covers mobile and ecommerce space in the NCR area. This first-of-its-kind consumer led study highlights major trends shaping the industry in the mobility space and clearly spells details like the kind of spending that is happening on devices, the various payment mechanisms, device change trends, purchasing patterns of apps and devices and their usage on different OS platforms. I am hereby sharing a few study snapshots for your reference:

  • On an average, NCR consumers spent INR 18,230 on buying a smartphone; 10% of all smartphones were bought online in NCR
  • 16% of all smartphone users in NCR also own a tablet device
  • 83% of the NCR consumers never paid for a mobile app; 63% of consumers never clicked on a mobile ad
  • 50% Consumers in NCR use E-Commerce Websites to Research on Products before Buying them Offline
  • 34% of NCR consumers shopped online at least once a month; at least 25% say that they do not intend to shop online
  • 35% of respondents use mobile devices for e-commerce purchase in NCR

 

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Indian SMB market at 48.8 million units growing at a CAGR of 4.53%

Our recently launched study titled, ‘Indian SMB Sector 2013’ captures some interesting facts and figures on the burgeoning SMB segment in India. The study reveals that with a total base of 48.8 million SMBs, India is expected to emerge as the largest SMB country globally.

The SMB sector in India is growing at an exceptional rate and has the potential to be one of the primary drivers of the Indian economy. Today, 1.5 million SMBs export their products or services outside India which is a sign of the sector’s rapid evolution. The sector is expected to be the largest employment generator in the country and today represents the true entrepreneurial spirit of the Indian business community.

The study also highlights that the Indian SMB space today is largely dominated by micro scale businesses which account for 95% of the SMB landscape. This is followed by small scale businesses contributing 4.8%, and the rest 0.2% by medium scale businesses. Out of the 48.8 million SMBs around 55% are located in urban areas whereas rural regions account for the rest 45 %.

SMBs in India have gained strategic importance from both corporations and the government. The recently announced tax incentive for growing SMBs in the Union Budget is one such example. Such initiatives have helped SMBs enhance their competitiveness in the global markets. Globalization in trade is further driving SMBs to improve their efficiency of conducting business.

The study also states that around 82% of all SMBs are situated in 10 states in India. These 10 states, also account for 2/3rd of the mobile and internet subscribers in the country. Additionally, Manufacturing is the single largest vertical at pan India level followed by Repairs & Maintenance, and Services vertical. Greater employee mobility, increased competition and expansion in terms of office locations have further pushed SMBs in India to generate more employment. The study indicates that the Indian SMB sector provides employment to approx. 81.16 million people in India, growing at a CAGR of 5.29%, while the fixed investment has been consistently increasing over the years at 11.48%.

The following are some of the key findings of the study:

  • India is a hub of 48.8 million SMBs providing employment to 81.16 million individuals
  • Micro enterprises account for 95% of total SMBs, small & medium put together hold the remaining 5% share
  • 1.5 million Indian SMBs export their products or services globally
  • 55% of SMBs are located out of urban cities whereas 45% are situated in rural areas
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The Product Ecosystem in India is at the Inflection point…

We have been long hearing that the product ecosystem in India is at the inflection point and will grow significantly over the next few years (different consultants look at 2015, 2020 or 2025 to be that period :)). More than we hear this, we do hear lot of people talking about how the ecosystem is constrained, a number of challenges that exist and that India is not yet a “start-up” nation. Sure they have lot of data to support these as well. I also had more or less the same picture in my mind for a long time, but this is fast changing as I see some quality action in this space. Below are my quick observations on the “product ecosystem in India”:

1. It’s not just evolving, it’s happening: The product ecosystem has finally arrived and that too with full force. There are over 3,000 start-ups in the country today and 500 new start-ups are taking birth every year. The interesting fact is these start-ups are not a replica (or “copy”) of a globally successful company, but are truly innovative companies who are trying to address a genuine pain point (in their own way of course) in the global or domestic market. Most of the top VC firms globally have made commitments to India market, industry associations are aggressively looking at the start-up space, global incubators and accelerators are eyeing the Indian entrepreneurial landscape.

2. Modern IT is the new buzz word: Modern IT (Cloud, big data, social and mobility) is the new buzz word in the start-up space. While Indian ecosystem may have lagged behind in the traditional IT areas (don’t have enough data to prove this though) however these modern technologies are whitespaces worldwide and surely Indian start-ups do realize this. Over 70% of the new start-ups formed in India are focused on modern IT. In fact most of the 40 start-ups I met recently were based on modern IT. It is interesting to note the way these start-ups are defining use cases based on convergence of these modern technologies (cloud + Big Data OR Social + Mobile OR Social + Big Data etc.) and competing with some of the top companies worldwide

3. Indian entrepreneur is equal to a confident entrepreneur: I must say I was thoroughly impressed by the confidence that most of these start-ups had while talking about their vision, mission and the company. In my recent meetings with start-ups, it was fascinating to note how well prepared each of these entrepreneurs were, no one fumbled on the “tough questions” and everyone seems to believe thoroughly in what they were doing. While some of them went to the extent of being arrogant about this, most of them were flexible enough to take feedback and keep going

4. Indian start-ups as leader in their own niches: “No, we do not have any competition”, “We are the market leaders in this space”, “We haven’t come across a company like us worldwide” were very commonly heard statements during my recent meetings with start-ups. Of course they had a lot of data to prove this as well. Everyone was eyeing a large opportunity and a bigger market share in the times to come. I think we certainly have a few billion dollar companies in making from India

5. Who says enterprises only prefer working with big IT companies: This was a perception (at least I had one) that large Indian enterprises only prefer working with bigger IT companies. However, it was thrilling to note that many start-ups today work with some of the biggest Indian enterprises including Airtel, SBI, ICICI, Reliance, and many others. Some of the start-ups have also extended the customer list to include large global enterprises. Many of these engagements are enterprise scale and the pipeline for many of these start-ups looks very strong

I am personally thrilled by the progress seen in this landscape (and can go on writing about the same :)). While the ecosystem may have been weak for the last decade, that does not hold true for the current decade (beware consultants :)). It is time that we start recognizing this and help accelerate the ecosystem faster. Obviously, start-ups will need more support from the industry, associations, government as well as VCs/ angels/ incubators to evolve faster from the current state.