eBay India sees double-digit growth as MSMEs find opportunity in global markets

Ecommerce platform eBay India has clocked a double-digit growth since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The brand has evolved from working extensively on domestic business to refurbished products and is now basing its primary focus on growing the ecommerce exports business for Indian SMEs. 

Most business operations saw an inevitable shift to the digital, and in the case of ecommerce, it was a brand new audience in the market. In the case of eBay, it had a contingency plan in place, accounting for the next 6-12 months being uncertain. 

“What we have done in the last year is augmented our capabilities, moved completely to digital, ensured that we have great contact with our stakeholders,” says Vidmay Naini, Country Manager, eBay India, on overcoming the challenge of the pandemic. eBay’s stakeholders include the government, sellers, postal services, and internal teams. 

The ecommerce company claims to have been clocking in double digital growth and seeing a significant uptick in the Indian market. The platform seems to have attracted a lot of interest from SMEs and large enterprises. 

“Globally, we have around 19 million sellers who come onboard with 1.5 billion listings,” says Vidmay on the opportunity the platform is presenting for small businesses. 

There has been a prominent mention of SMEs and startups in government initiatives, foreign trade policy, and the Budget. As the nation recovers from the massive economic hit led by the pandemic, exports-led recovery has become a priority. 

According to the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), the share of MSME products in total exports from India was at 48.10 percent in 2018-19. 

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Now, with the pandemic, ecommerce has proved to have potential at managing operational tasks and supply chain efficiencies, which can be used by sellers to display products overseas. 

For eBay, Vidmay says, the platform is built to be margin-driven, highly valuable for its sellers and provides a chance of bringing in a lot of supply. He claims the whole of India’s supply is listed to the world on this platform. 

Riding on the COVID-19 wave, eBay’s growth targets for FY22 would be a double-digit growth annually. The company offers market access to 190 countries and has over 187 million active buyers on its platform. 

For eBay, the business and industrial category is showing promise. Going forward, it will be exploring category expansion for its auto, natural remedies, and lockdown-friendly products segments.