With rising internet access in the country, more than half of online shoppers are expected to buy products from social commerce platforms by 2025. According to a report by insights and consulting company Kantar, the rise in internet users in the country will fuel the adoption of social commerce, healthtech, online education and smart home solutions, among others. The report estimates that by 2025, India will have over 900 million internet users driving more than 500 million digital transactions. It expects that in more than 87 per cent of the Indian households will have at least one internet user by 2025.
The report, which has identified key trends that will drive this digital ecosystem, states that already 27 per cent of the online shoppers have experienced social commerce, and by 2025, over half of all shoppers would have also bough products through social commerce platforms.
Biswapriya Bhattacharjee, Director, B2B & Technology- South Asia, Insights Division, Kantar, said,“By 2025, India will have 200 million more internet users than what it is today. Most of these users will be new to the world of Internet. For them, Digital will be driven by 3 Cs – Content, Communication & Commerce. There will be a need to increasingly focus on delivering on one or more of these 3 Cs for the services to be relevant to these new Internet users.”
Prospects for EdTech and HealthTech
The Kantar report also points out, given the huge unmet need of patients across geogrpahies, medtech category will become a much larger category in the coming years. “HealthTech will have the second highest number of users,” after online fashion category by 2025, it added.
Also, nearly 50 per cent of all students are expected to undertake some form of online education by 2025. “ EdTech has a significant opportunity to address two key areas plaguing the Indian learning ecosystem – that of gender disparity and supplementary learning. By 2025, the gender disparity will be addressed and 1 in every 2 edtech user will be a female. In addition, we also expect to see about 40 per cent of all users to be non students, thereby, leading to supplementary education,” the report stated.
While e-governance is expected to become more universal by, AgriTech will be defined by Public-Private partnerships, Digital Agriculture apps and Drone technology. In addition, Kantar estimates that one out of every three micro business will be doing some kind of commercial transaction online, including digital advertising.
“Whether it is around commerce (through quick grocery and social commerce) or social & rural enablement (through online health, education and AgriTech) or it is around immersive experiences (with AR/ VR, Metaverse), there is something of interest for every Internet user in this space. As we continue to witness the evolution of the digital space, we expect these trends to further strengthen in the new future,” Bhattacharjee added.