It’s been a magnificent year for eCommerce. While it’s extremely difficult to narrow everything that happened down to one blog post, we have selected the 22 most important global updates that impacted online business owners in some way or the other.
As we welcome 2023, here are 22 things to remember for 2022!
Contents
Commerce stats
1. eCommerce order volume grew by 37% in 2022
India’s eCommerce order volume grew by 37% in 2022. An Unicommerce report states that eCommerce growth in the region is expected to generate $3 trillion of economic impact by 2026, and that number is growing faster than analyst projections.
2. Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) launches a controlled pilot in 20 cities
The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) has launched a controlled pilot in 20 cities in India. It has received support from the Reserve Bank of India and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with some customers interested in this platform.
3. Tier 2 (64.7%) and 3 (50.9%) show higher order volume growth than tier 1 (10.9%)
Tier-3 markets like Udaipur, Roorkee and Rohtak grew 64.7% year on year. Tier-2 markets like Amritsar and Bhubhaneshwar saw a 50.9% growth.Tier-1 cities coming in last saw a lower growth rate. They clocked in 37% growth compared to 46% in 2022.
4. Home, personal care & beauty – fastest growing categories during the festive season
Home and personal care were the fastest growing categories according to the Unicommerce report of 2022, which showed that shoppers spent more on home, personal care and beauty during the festive season compared to their overall spending.
Related read: Just in: eCommerce order volume up by 37% in India
5. The D2C sector formed 41% of total funding in eCommerce
This sector formed 41% of funding in the total eCommerce sector in India in 2022, compared to 18% for C2C and 22% for C2B.
6. eCommerce sees second highest M&As in 2022 despite lower funding
According to Inc42, 22% of retail sales were done online in 2022. With this growth, eCommerce has also seen the second-highest rate of merger and acquisition activity in the past 12 months despite lower overall funding levels on a year-over-year basis.
Government interventions
7. Govt launches a framework to fight fake reviews
On October 5, 2022, the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs launched a framework to fight fake reviews in eCommerce platforms. This framework is applicable to all eCommerce entities and mainly aims at protecting consumer interests and providing a fair platform for their reviews.
8. 400 trains launched under PM Gati Shakti
The government is all set to roll out 400 semi-high-speed, next-generation Vande Bharat trains under the overarching PM Gati Shakti plan of the Indian government. These trains are likely to be deployed on busy eCommerce routes and are expected to bring down overall logistics costs for online sellers.
9. Mandatory GST registration waived for online sellers with annual turnovers of less than 40 lakh
In a move to help the unorganized sector with an online presence, the GST council of India has lowered the threshold for mandatory GST registration. Now, online sellers with a turnover of less than 40 lakh are exempted from registering.
However, this waiver is subject to conditions such as – the businesses would have to declare their principal place of business and their Permanent Account Numbers.
10. Startups incorporated till March 2023 will see an extension of tax benefits
In a series of tweets, the DPIIT announced the extension of the period of incorporation of eligible startups to March 31, 2023. So now, all startups incorporated between April 1, 2016, to March 31, 2023, will be able to claim tax benefits.
These startups can avail of a tax holiday for 3 consecutive financial years in their first 10 years since incorporation.
Here’s a complete list of tax benefits for Startups in India!
Smt. #NirmalaSitharaman announced extension of tax benefits for #startups to boost the innovation ecosystem!
#AatmanirbharBharatKaBudget #Budget2022 pic.twitter.com/jVEwCcEhyV
— DPIIT India (@DPIITGoI) February 1, 2022
11. Release of the Draft National MSME Policy to promote growth-oriented measures
In February, the MSME Ministry released a draft of the National Policy for MSMEs. It proposed multiple measures that could promote competitiveness, help with technological upgradation, cluster and infrastructural development, and offer credit support. There has been a lot of anticipation for this MSME Policy considering India hasn’t had one to date.
12. RBI introduces ‘tokenisation’ to make online payments safe, secure and convenient
RBI has introduced a mandate that prompts all authorised card networks to issue merchant-specific tokens against card details. This move will help keep data secure, and will also facilitate faster and more convenient transactions on eCommerce platforms.
13. Emergency Credit Line Services extended to March 2023
During her budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam announced the extension of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) from March 2022 to March 2023.
Positive news!
14. India’s Ease of Doing Business global ranking improved from 142 to 63
In a World Bank Report, India’s rank in “ease of doing business” has improved from 142 in 214 to 63 in 2022. The Department for promotion of industry and internal trade spokesperson said that taking steps to reduce compliance to sustain this growth momentum will remain a priority.
15. A 915% increase in DPIIT-recognised startups with at least 1 woman director
From April 2018 to April 2022, there has been a 915% increase in DPIIT-recognised startups that have at least 1 women director. In India, 20.37% of women are MSME workers and contribute to 23.3% of the entire labour force. In November, startups with women directors provided employment to up to 3,90,000 personnel.
16. Single-use plastic banned across the nation
The Indian government has banned single-use plastic items like straws. This aims at curbing plastic pollution and harm to our natural ecosystems. Even though this move impacted beverage industries temporarily, they have since bounced back with creative replacements for straws.
D2C brands are now taking packaging seriously and have a heightened awareness of their impact on the environment.
17. India becomes the largest Facebook user base
In 2022, Facebook saw its highest adoption in India with 329.65 users. with growing internet penetration in the country, Facebook is becoming the preferred choice of tier 2 and tier 3 users for social commerce.
18. Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Reddit saw major outages
These social media giants saw outages for a couple of hours on more than one occasion. When disrupted, it affects businesses that are depending on social media for communications. Especially Twitter’s recent upheavals are proof that relying solely on social media can be dangerous.
As an eCommerce business owner, you should have more than one channel of communicating with your consumer. The most stable form would be having an eCommerce website of your own.
19. WhatsApp launches In-chat polls, 32-person video calls, larger groups, enhanced privacy
Meta owned-Whatsapp has made it easier for online businesses to connect to more people, manage orders and streamline communications. new features like Communities, in-chat polls, 32-person video calls etc. are designed to help businesses and communities grow.
Whatsapp also took decisive steps to enhance their data privacy giving social media sellers more confidence to transact and communicate on the platform.
20. The Google search for “Can I change?” was at an all time-high
“This year, the world searched “can I change” more than ever before. From changing careers to seeking new outlooks on life, people are finding ways to reimagine themselves and reshape the world around them.” – Google
People want to live better and do better. This was proven when people all over the world asked questions that indicated they want to take active steps to lead a better life. And this included people who wanted to be more independent and be more in control of their own businesses. Searches for “can I start a business” and “How to start an online business” all showed the vigorous entrepreneurial spirit of people globally.
What is new at Instamojo?
21. Instamojo launched a landing page builder – Smart Page
Instamojo, a #D2CTech platform launched Smart pages – the smart landing page builder that comes with an integrated payment button, marketing features, smart lead generation forms, analytics, a goal tracker and so much more!
Easily share your pages with your customers to instantly receive payments. If you are in the services businesses, create different landing pages for different events and unpublish them when the event is over. Simplicity redefined, these smart pages are a must-try!
22. Instamojo saw a million purchases from their websites
A million! Instamojo eCommerce websites in 2022 saw more than a million purchases. For every single online business owner who has chosen Instamojo for their business aspirations, we are ready to make 2023 an even bigger year!
For those who have not chosen us yet? it’s time to give us a go.
