ONLINE RETAIL MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Challenges And Opportunities

Restraints:

The food & beverages segment is a major opportunity area for market players. So far, growth of online retail of food & beverages has been slack due to concerns over quality and freshness of products. Amazon Fresh is a service from Amazon Inc. which offers same day delivery of grocery items. Similar services have emerged in countries such as India, China and U.K. albeit by local players such as iFresh, Grofers and Sainsbury. All these services offered by these players at discounted offerings and free delivery services have the potential to boost the food & beverages segment. The electronics segment is one of the key segments that has been driving the growth of the online retail market. Electronics industry players have tied up with online retailers for the marketing and sale of their products. For example, in China, Alibaba Group picked up a 20% stake in electronics retailer Suning Group. The synergy achieved by the stake acquisition will drive up electronic sales of the company.

Opportunities:

Among product type, the fashion segment held a dominant position in the online retail market in 2016. The segment was valued at US$ 347.50 billion in 2016 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 13.43% over the forecast period. Fashion specific online marketplaces have gained popularity in owing to the high demand. Zalando S.E. is a Germany-based company operates an online marketplace for fashion products. The company recorded a revenue of US$ 5.5 billion in 2017. The company showcases over 2,000 products on its online platform. The company is expected to be a key player in the online retail market.