According to the ASSOCHAM estimates, 2.5 million staff will be required to work within the e-commerce industry by 2016. The e­-commerce departments and businesses have increased their turnover since last year and there is a huge opportunity for the industry to develop further.

 

Globally, cross border e­commerce is a big revenue opportunity which SMEs have not fully explored yet.

 

According to Ministry of micro, small and medium enterprise annual report 2013­2014, 48 million SMEs operating in India employ around 40 per cent of the country's labour. SMEs’ contribution to employment in manufacturing and service sector is 18 per cent and 34 per cent respectively.

 

Growing smartphone user base and investment from retailers are fueling the rapid growth of m-commerce in India. As the popularity of smartphones and other emerging channels increase with consumers, more retailers are beginning to merge and combine multiple departments and operations for all of their customers. In case of the SME sector, it is advancing at the rate of 23 per cent in manufacturing and 31 per cent in services and this has been made possible mainly due to the increasing online penetration in India.

 

The report says, hiring activities are expected to grow by over 60­65 per cent in this sector and may help create between 5­8 lakh employment opportunities in two to three years.

 

A considerable percentage of staff works in areas supporting the e­commerce industry, including distribution and delivery, customer support and website development. While m­commerce currently represents only 20­25 percent of the India’s e­commerce market, this share is expected to grow as businesses, including those operating in the online to offline space such as taxis and restaurants, look to seize greater market share.

 

It is also likely to be further accelerated by advancements in mobile technology and improvements in security and connectivity of shopping and payment platforms – an indicator for SMEs to strategise their businesses in the 'M' direction.

 

Mobile commerce (m­commerce) is growing rapidly as a stable and secure supplement to the e-commerce industry. Shopping online through smartphones is proving to be a game­changer, and industry leaders believe that m­commerce could contribute up to 70 per cent of their total revenues.

 

India's e­commerce market was worth about $3.8 billion in 2009, it went up to $17 billion in 2014 and to $23 billion in 2015 and is expected to touch whopping $38 billion mark by 2016, says the report.

 

Also, as per the study, one­third of MBA students from across India's top business schools, including the IIMs prefer working for the fledgling e­commerce sector, over traditional favourites like consulting and financial services jobs.