Online sales will make up more than 25% of all major retail categories, except groceries, in the $163 billion ecommerce market by 2026, according to consulting firm RedSeer Consulting.
The firm came up with a list of 75 companies that account for approximately $15 billion in online sales, making them category leaders, for its recent report titled “Digital Disruptors.” The metrics used to determine the rankings were growth and performance on the e-commerce platforms, the percentage of sales generated by e-commerce, and the online market share of the brands in their category.
BoAt, a digital-first company, topped the electronics and appliances category list. BBK, which owns smartphone brands like OnePlus, Oppo, and Vivo, came in second place, closely followed by Asus, a computer and phone hardware manufacturer.
“In the case of BBK, Oppo, and Vivo have largely been offline brands. Asus is more of a youth-centric gaming laptop brand, and hence its focus on online channels is higher,” said Mohit Rana, Partner at Redseer, during the report launch.
He added that selling white goods, such as refrigerators and other appliances, was still higher through offline channels, explaining why Samsung India trailed at position 10. Due to the product’s high value, Apple India, which ranked 24th, appears to prioritize offline franchisee sales over online sales intentionally.
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail took the top position in the home and fashion category, followed by the sports and casual wear company Puma India and the mattress brand Wakefit in third place. Large FMCG firms dominated the grocery and personal care sectors. At the top of the list were Hindustan Unilever and L’Oreal India, with the direct-to-consumer meat brand Licious coming in second.
The list was compiled by tracking the performances of over 1000 businesses and 2000 brands across 50 sectors.
“With digital-first brands accounting for ~25% of online sales and expanding their footprint in the offline market, traditional brands have newer challenges to conquer. Legacy companies need to focus on building digital capabilities and adopt an omnichannel approach to stay relevant in the digital age,” said Anil Kumar, CEO and Founder of Redseer, in a statement issued by the company.
The report categorized the companies into four quadrants based on their adoption of digital strategy, with Tigers being the early movers, legacy players, and dominant offline players being clubbed into Elephants. The other two categories included digital-first companies under the Rabbits list leveraging ecommerce channels, while Turtles included offline brands with slow adoption of online sales.
