New Delhi [India], January 12 (ANI/ BusinessWire India): The Indian e-commerce industry has been driven by increasing mobile phone adoption. As of October 31, 2022, there are 1143* million mobile connections with 625 million urban and 518 million rural connections. * A few trends that are set to further increase mobile commerce: - Launch and adoption of 5G network - Launch and adoption of ONDC (open network for digital commerce) - Quick commerce - Hyperlocal delivery * The India e-commerce market size** is estimated to be USD 75 billion in 2022 and has the potential to expand to USD 111 billion by 2024 and USD 200 billion by 2026, with a CAGR of 20-22 per cent. * The online retail market in India is estimated to be 25 per cent of the total organized retail market and is expected to reach 37 per cent by 2030. * India's social commerce gross merchandise value (GMV) is expected to reach USD 20 billion by 2026, with a potentially reach USD 70 billion by 2030. * Amazon and Flipkart account for more than 60 per cent of the Indian e-commerce market. * For long a duopoly, there is now increasing competition from new entrants like Meesho, Nykaa, etc and Indian giants like the Tata group and Reliance group who are slowly increasing their presence in e-commerce. * The Indian e-commerce industry is controlled by stringent regulatory measures to prevent monopolistic and anti-competitive behaviour and control unfair trade practices. Speaking on this, Shriram Subramanian, Managing Director, Ingovern Research Services, said that "India has benefited from Amazon and Flipkart's continued focus on India and players like Meesho are yet to make their presence felt as disruptors." * TRAI data as of 31 Oct 2022 ** IBEF data of December 2022 Amazon * Amazon India has over 10 lakh sellers on its e-commerce platform. Amazon started in India in 2013 with 100 sellers and has grown to be the preferred online destination for sellers across India. * Amazon offers 168 million products to its Indian customers and over 4,000 products are sold on Amazon per minute. * The largest category on Amazon is the online smartphone channel with a 47 per cent market share. * Amazon Retail India Private Limited, a subsidiary of the e-commerce global giant, reported its revenues for FY2021-22 as Rs 1,720 crore, an 8 per cent year-on-year jump. * Amazon leads in core categories (consumer electronics, media) and has done well in Tier 1 cities with over 5 million Prime subscribers. * An Amazon Prime membership includes various bundled offerings, including free delivery (two-day, one-day and same-day delivery options), OTT streaming, shopping, music access and reading access on its site. * Amazon is one of the most trusted among the Internet brands in India, followed by Google and Facebook, according to a report by TRA Research in 2019. * Amazon India on 5th Feb 2022 said that the company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Karnataka State Rural Livelihood Promotion Society (KSRLPS) to support the growth of women entrepreneurs. * Amazon has digitized businesses through programmes like Karigar and Saheli. * Amazon has also partnered with NSDC and participated in the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS). Challenges for Amazon * Amazon India is facing huge competition in fast growing categories, a weaker value proposition in quick commerce, limited traction in tier 2 and 3 cities, and an unfavourable regulatory environment for 100 per cent foreign-owned retailing. * In year 2022, one of its main vendors, Cloudtail, discontinued operations. * Amazon are its sellers are facing increasing regulatory scrutiny many of which are as yet contentious. Flipkart * The Flipkart Group includes digital commerce entities such as Flipkart, Myntra, Flipkart Wholesale, Flipkart Health+, Shopsy and Cleartrip. * Flipkart, a marketplace, hosts 4.2 lakh sellers on its platform. * Flipkart Group (Flipkart, Myntra, Shopsy) led the Diwali festive sale with around 62 per cent share in terms of gross merchandise value (GMV) followed by Amazon with GMV of around 26 per cent. * Flipkart plus, which is competition to Amazon prime, launched in 2018 and has free signups along with a loyalty programme which offers free delivery and early access to sales. * Flipkart leads in the apparel vertical, due to the acquisition of Myntra. * Flipkart also launched its social e-commerce platform, Shopsy app, to empower aspiring local entrepreneurs to set up their own online shop. * Walmart and Flipkart on 6th December announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the National Small Industries Corp. (NSIC) to jointly accelerate capacity building for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across India. * Flipkart runs initiatives like Samarth and the EDGE initiative to bring MSMEs also onboard. * Flipkart has visibly scaled up its supply chain during the pandemic. Challenges for Flipkart * The antitrust watchdog has plans to expedite a probe into allegations of anti- competitive behaviour by the leading e-commerce platform. * For Flipkart, 65 per cent of its business is based on the convenience segment, which is why they have a dedicated logistics arm and warehouses, thus ensuring the fixed cost is high. * Problems faced: - One of the top issues faced by consumers during festive sales, especially the Big Billion Days sale, is when their orders start getting cancelled for no appropriate reason. Netizens have brought up the issues on Twitter, where some have said that they are waiting for a refund while some have been refunded. - Many small sellers on the Shopsy platform have complained about how in numerous sales they made on Flipkart, the due receivables - which is the final settlement amount that the e-commerce giant pays after deducting the commission, delivery fee and other charges - end up being negative. To make things worse, they often find out about this very late. One of the most common issues faced by the sellers is unknown and delayed deductions to their accounts. These deductions are often unexplained and difficult to retrace to the order against which it was charged, the seller said. Even in cases where such deductions were linked to a particular order, they were so delayed that it turned reconciliation into an accounting nightmare. Experts found it puzzling as it was not common for e-commerce players to delay the deductions made to seller accounts. Meesho * Meesho is a social commerce/ reseller platform. * Over 70 per cent of customers come from Tier 2 and 3+ cities. These customers are generally price conscious by nature but want to buy quality products. * These resellers are usually housewives or fashion influencers who operate WhatsApp and Facebook groups, with hundreds of potential buyers looking for something to buy. * As of July 2021, social e-commerce start-ups have raised USD 554 million in funding, which is a 7x increase from the previous year and the highest ever since 2015. * Moreover, Meesho has a zero-commission model, making it a no brainer for the suppliers in Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns to sell their products on the platform. Challenges for Meesho * Meesho's average order value (AOV) is Rs 400-500 compared to average order value of likes of Flipkart and Amazon Rs. 2000-3000. * The distribution costs hit hard on Meesho financials. Acquiring & retaining the users who are price conscious needs constant burning of cash. * Inconsistent product quality - a consequence of Meesho's social commerce model, where any merchant can set up their storefront on the platform, is that several sellers are selling what appear to be counterfeit goods. * There have been multiple reports of delayed deliveries from Meesho. * There have been multiple reports of poor customer service provided by Meesho. * At times, the ordered product with 6 months warranty gets damaged within 10 days of delivery. * Meesho still depends on third party services to fulfil deliveries, while competing with Flipkart and Amazon, who have their own delivery services. * Recently the shift from reseller to direct model has led to a situation where majority of sellers feel cheated. This is