Previously, the purchase decision process, based on discovery, occurred through recommendations from friends or family and was built on word-of-mouth trust. Although this principle is still relevant in the modern era, the source of information has shifted from physical to digital formats, where content creators influence consumer choices.
Today, from Mumbai to Mirut, product discovery through content happens on the same platform, with the same product, almost simultaneously. Closing this knowledge gap and, consequently, striving for better things is an underestimated driver for retail in India, which is changing user behavior with every video.
The figures underscore the significance of the situation. According to a Bain & Company report, the Indian e-commerce market is currently valued at approximately $60 billion and is projected to triple by 2030, reaching $170–$190 billion, with over 270 million online shoppers. The growth driver is not just major cities; second-tier and smaller cities already account for about 80% of e-commerce growth. Generation Z constitutes 40–45% of India's online shoppers, with their spending per shopper growing more than twice as fast as any other group. This segment forms the foundation for development, as digital behavior and aspirations are deeply rooted among them. They possess the tastes of metropolises but have regional budgets.
Demand has changed, but the infrastructure to serve this demand with quality is not yet ready. Availability remains a significant barrier for consumers from the Bharat region, which implies issues of accessibility and convenience. These consumers can purchase branded goods online through traditional e-commerce platforms to satisfy their growing desires. However, most products listed on these platforms do not match their budget and are often not what the mass consumer from the Bharat region buys. What the mass consumer from the Bharat region typically buys is available in unorganized urban markets offline, and these items are usually 30–50% cheaper than similar offerings on traditional e-commerce platforms.
However, offline city markets suffer from a lack of aspiration. Today, they lack the ability to acquire higher-quality brands, better products, and receive better service within their budget. E-commerce and quick commerce models in megacities are not designed to solve this problem and serve this consumer. Therefore, a copycat approach will not work.
This is why value comes to the forefront. A product is considered 'unavailable' to a consumer from the Bharat region not because it is not online, but because it is beyond their financial means. The desire to buy branded goods instead of unbranded alternatives is real, but it does not translate into a willingness to pay the metropolis premium price. As soon as the aspiration starts costing significantly more than the alternative, the purchase is not made. In this market, availability begins with offering the best brand or product at a price the consumer deems fair.
Convenience is the second decisive factor. Local stores do not offer the same assortment as online platforms. Even online marketplaces that do contain it deliver too slowly and raise doubts about the authenticity of the product. Fast delivery and a wide, reliable assortment in the Bharat region are not premium features; they are the difference between a successful order and an abandoned cart.
Now consider why existing players have failed to bridge this gap so far. Horizontal marketplaces reach these cities, but they arrive slowly and do not match consumer budgets. Quick commerce, despite all its promises, was designed for the convenience associated with meal ingredients in megacities, and possibly for affluent audiences in second-tier cities, not for the carefully curated price aspirations of the Bharat region.
Directly copying the megacity quick commerce model onto these markets completely distorts the customer perception. On the other hand, offline retail cannot provide the convenience and assortment that these consumers actually want. Each of these formats was created for a different customer, in a different city, in a different era.
This is where the huge opportunity lies. The next defining company in India's commercial sphere will not win through discovery, as discovery is already free and universal. It will win through availability, redefined for this consumer as having the right brands and products at a fair price for them, delivered quickly and from an assortment much wider than any store in their city can offer. By providing aspiration while solving value and convenience problems simultaneously, one can discover the consumer whom everyone sees but almost no one serves properly.
The battle for discovery ended in the last decade. The next battle—for availability, redefined around value and convenience—is wide open.