Best E-commerce Websites In India for Online Shopping

Best E-commerce Websites In India for Online Shopping

E-commerce has changed the way businesses operate in India. Much of the growth in the e-commerce industry has been influenced by the rise of the internet and smartphone usage among the population of 1.3 billion. Additionally, Covid-19 has given a massive boost to the e-commerce industry for obvious reasons. As of July 2021, there are around 784.59 million internet connections in the country. The consecutive lockdowns have somehow provoked the Indian population to lean more towards online activities than offline.

As a result of the great economic reset, many home-grown brands have also risen by attracting an online audience. With much noteworthy competition, e-commerce websites have levelled up and constantly bring their A-game to sustain in the market. Also, social media sites like Facebook and Instagram have given the Indian audience a new perspective on online e-commerce activities. Some of the e-commerce sites in India are already familiar with the targeted audience, and some of them are just paving the pathway towards the same goal. So let’s dive in to find out who all have made it to the list of best ecommerce sites in india.

1. Amazon

Everyone who has shopped online in India must have heard about Amazon. It’s one of the most popular ecommerce websites in india. Originally, Amazon is a US multinational tech company that has a wide range of businesses. They entered the Indian market back in 2013 and have grown to hundreds of millions of customers throughout the country. But the size of an ecommerce marketplace doesn’t mean it's the best ecommerce website for every product. For eg. When it comes to buying cosmetics, amazon might not be the most popular ecommerce website in India.

When should you go to Amazon for shopping?

  • When you have a concrete understanding of what you want to buy. For eg. If i want to buy a book called “The Lean Startup”, amazon is a relevant ecommerce website to buy from.
  • When the product needs validation and reviews from other buyers. For eg. When I want to buy a trolley bag I would prefer buying a product which has good reviews and has a 4 star+ rating from many buyers proving its sturdiness and quality.
  • When you need the product urgently in 1 day. Due to amazon’s huge operational infrastructure, they promise a next day delivery on a large variety of products.

Aside from its widely known e-commerce sector, amazon also offers various services such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Amazon has always been ahead of the game for a while, and the e-commerce giant introduced tech gadgets like Alexa and Echo to get even more attention. The brilliant minds behind Amazon have not only added technicality to their e-commerce segment, but also their unbeatable customer service is one of the main reasons for being one of the best e-commerce websites in India.

2. Flipkart

In the Indian context, the story of Flipkart's rise to become the biggest ecommerce website of India is widely known in the startup and corporate world. They too started from delivering books but became a phenomena due their speed of execution and innovative ideas. The most game changing one being “Cash on Delivery” also known as COD. As the Indian market was warming up to online shopping, cash on delivery worked like a safety net for the Indian consumers for whom online shopping could be a hoax or fraud. Is cash on delivery the only differentiator flipkart brought to the table? No. They became the kings of anything electronic which still remains their most searched and sold category.

When should you go to Flipkart for shopping?

  • Flipkart is the best platform for reliable electronic devices ranging from earphones, speakers to microwave ovens.
  • Flipkart is considered more economical than other ecommerce platforms for certain categories like household items, non branded fashion etc.

Flipkart has made its way to the list because of its wide range of segments giving tough competition to its international contemporaries. After Walmart acquired a roughly 77% stake in Flipkart, the e-commerce platform revived its marketing strategy to reach the next 100 Million consumers of India i.e. tier 2 and beyond consumers.

3. Myntra

Myntra takes a special place in the list for making India shop fashion online. Launched in 2007, Myntra has changed the online fashion and lifestyle scenarios to much extent in India. Over the period of time, the e-commerce website also added its home and beauty slabs to amp up the user base. Myntra is always equipped with attractive marketing strategies covering social media and even a reality television show known as Myntra Fashion Superstar, pairing with social media fashion influencers.

In a market like India, where copy products are rampant, myntra acts as a trusted website offering original products. They went a step ahead for Cash on Delivery by providing Trial on Delivery i.e. consumers can try the products when delivered and return immediately if they don’t like the products.

Due to this reason, large ecommerce marketplaces also face a high return percentage making it difficult for them to turn profitable.

4. Grabbit Live

In the changing landscape of ecommerce in India, the new age internet users are looking for new ways to shop. Remember offline shopping and the joy of buying from a shop? Here’s a platform creating the best online shopping experience in India.

Grabbit is a live shopping marketplace for people who love street shopping and are bored with your search and transaction way to shop online. Sellers from all across India go LIVE regularly and offer the most immersive shopping experience for you. Discover new products, watch them on video, talk to the seller, ask questions and buy if you like something. Grabbit takes care of quality sellers and returns.

When should you go to Grabbit Live for shopping?

  • When you are not clear about what exactly you want to buy and want to explore new products, verify quality and then buy. Various sellers in categories like jewellery, toys, footwear, personal care products host Live Shopping shows on the platform.
  • When there are not enough reviews of the products you generally want to buy. For eg. Latest launches and product drops in categories such as anime, superhero, sports merchandise etc. Grabbit hosts a plethora of sellers in interest based categories.

The best part, new sellers are being added everyday in new categories hosting exciting live shows and launching products. Be the first one in India to explore Live Shopping, download the app and get an Instant ₹50 discount on your first purchase and earn upto ₹2000 by referring friends.

5. Nykaa

As India’s top beauty e-commerce company, Nykaa has made its mark in the industry like a boss. Established in 2012, the women-led company has shown massive success in achieving constant e-commerce business milestones. It went public at a whopping valuation of around $13 Billion in October 2021.

The company focuses on selling beauty, wellness and fashion products targeting all the demographics in India. By collaborating with many international companies and adding social media marketing as a primary strategy, Nykaa has grown a massive user base within a short span of time.

6. Meesho

Meesho came with an entirely new perspective and solution to the Indian ecommerce market. They went after the closely knit groups of tier 2 women circles and enabled millions of women in India to resell products to their own communities. They started in 2015 and in just 6 years, they have become one of the largest ecommerce websites in India and the most downloaded app on playstore over the whole world.

How did they become so large so fast? They went after an untapped market i.e. tier 2, tier 3 cities of India and enabled housewives to earn for the first time which created a huge network of women entrepreneurs across india.

When should you go to Meesho for shopping?

  • Meesho is well known for economical fashion. So if you are looking for a good deal and don’t want to spend much, meesho is the place to look for.
  • When someone in your group of friends is a reseller on meesho, you can grab a good deal through them and trust them for product quality.

The e-commerce website is fancy and attracts a lot of fashion lovers by charming them into their trendy shopping experience. Not only fashion but Meesho also offers homeware and electronics to cater to a wide range of audiences. One of the most unique things about Meesho is that people can be a supplier to them and apply through their website and can start their alliance with the company. The e-commerce website also has a cool app where people can shop without any hindrance.

7. Ajio

With tough competition to Myntra, Ajio is another e-commerce platform featuring fashion and lifestyle products. Since they are owned by the Reliance Retail group, they have enough warchest to tussle with the biggest commerce websites in India and offer a wide range of products at competitive prices and good service.

Although Ajio is a fairly new company launched in 2016, it has been gaining tons of popularity due to its heavy discounts and product quality. Looking at the homepage of the website, it isn’t hard to guess that they offer amazing deals on some well known brands as well. Plus the e-commerce website has been providing a comfortable online shopping experience by offering unique brands and in constant collaboration with social media influencers to eventually widen its online audience and sustain itself in the industry.

8. Tata Cliq

Where there’s reliance, you can expect Tata group as the other competing player as well. Although the target markets of both conglomerates have been very different since the start. Reliance has catered to the masses whereas Tata has always offered luxuries products and services.

With a great number of social media fan following and of course, the trusted Tata branding offers all kinds of quality products with unique brands to the Indian audience. And the race towards cracking the superapp market in India is on with Tata launching “Tata Neu” recently(April 2022) with a goal to invest ₹5500+ to take on all big ecommerce websites.

9. Snapdeal

Snapdeal is the dark horse in the Indian ecommerce market. Did you know they have more than 50 Million consumers on the platform who have bought at least once and they are growing rapidly in the untapped territories everyday. With a huge logistics infrastructure and amazing quality control mechanism, they offer good quality products at much better prices than most other commerce marketplaces out there. Followed by a failed merger with Flipkart, Snapdeal has managed to get funding from bigger names such as eBay and Alibaba group to flourish in the industry.

As a result of the covid 19 pandemic, Snapdeal added another six million users and 20,000 new sellers, apart from its already-existing 500,000 sellers.

10. Paytm Mall

Piggybacking on huge funds and Paytm’s 130 Million monthly active users, paytm mall started off as the next big thing in the Indian ecommerce market. With never seen before deals and offers, they got a quick boost in number of customers but haven’t been able to sustain the growth.

When should you go to Paytm Mall for shopping?

  • Look out for sales and offers happening on the platform for exciting deals and cashbacks.
  • They are known for a huge assortment of products, so if you can’t find something on the other ecommerce platforms, you might find it on paytm mall.

It was believed that India’s first super app is going to come out of the paytm and rightly so, they have launched so many new business arms including payments, loans, insurance, ecommerce in the last 5 years but unfortunately it didn’t pick up as expected. The model is inspired from China(where superapps are widely used) from where paytm also raised most of their initial rounds before going public in 2021.

Shop Away

In India, with a large population, it is really difficult to grab attention with so many competitions. And India being one of the leading countries for the e-commerce industry, there are many options with many features that appear every now and then. So it is important for business owners to come up with really effective and attractive business strategies to be eye-catching in the industry. Apart from that, being true to the audience and providing what the targeted audience expects is one of the primary points e-commerce websites must adhere to. We have analysed 100+ websites and curated the list based on various parameters including delivery time, experience, ease of use, prices, customer service etc. Happy shopping!