US among top markets for Indian sellers on eBay

THE US, UK, mainland Europe, and Australia are the top markets for Indian sellers that are exporting products through cross-border e-commerce on eBay’s platform, a top official said.

Indian sellers have been witnessing strong demand across categories like apparel, fine jewellery, toys, auto parts and accessories and home decor, especially during the holiday season (Thanksgiving to New Year’s), eBay India Country Manager Vidmay Naini told.

‘Evolving consumer demand and increase in the trust in purchases outside domestic e-commerce reflect a huge market potential that developing countries like India should tap into for e-commerce exports. The US, the UK, mainland Europe and Australia are the top markets Indian sellers are exporting products through cross-border e-commerce,’ he said.

eBay’s CBT (cross border trade) business in India has been in operation for over a decade with an aim to help Indian sellers list and sell merchandise to over 183 million buyers who shop on various global platforms of eBay across the globe, Naini said.

He noted that the overall global e-commerce business ranges around $4 trillion (based on data from emarketer.com).

‘According to various estimates, the pure B2C cross border e-commerce potential for Indian sellers is approximately $1 billion now... The top-shopped categories that Indian sellers have observed during the holiday season sales are clothing, shoes and accessories; toys and games; auto parts and accessories; fine jewellery and watches; and home decor,’ Naini said.

During the five days window of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Indian sellers experience a spike in the volume of orders and sales, and the holiday shopping continues till Christmas, he said.

Black Friday is celebrated a day after Thanksgiving with retailers wooing potential shoppers with special deals and discounts.

Naini cited data from a survey conducted among its users to state that shoppers have started relying more on digital marketplaces.

He said 31 per cent respondents said they had started holiday shopping before September 30 this year, and 41 per cent said they spent $1,000 on holiday gifts and celebrations in 2019. About 62 per cent said they planned to spend the same or more this year.