New Delhi, April 26 (IANS) India’s fast-growing digital market, if left unregulated, can seriously damage the country’s traditional retail structure, which remains one of the largest generators of self-employment and jobs, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said on Sunday, urging the government to roll out an enforceable National E-Commerce Policy to protect crores of small traders, neighbourhood shops, and the livelihoods of crores of employees.

In a letter sent to Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, CAIT Secretary General and MP Praveen Khandelwal, referring to the latest joint report of Deloitte and Google titled “The $250 Billion Commerce Frontier,” said the report clearly reflects the massive future expansion of India’s digital commerce market, but also underlines the urgent need for policy safeguards to ensure fair competition and balanced growth.

According to the report, India’s e-commerce market has expanded to nearly $90 billion between 2019 and 2025 and is projected to touch $250 billion by 2030.

It further states that by 2030, 22 crore new Gen Z shoppers will join online commerce, Gen Z consumers will account for 45 per cent of total online spending, 15 crore new shoppers will come online, and per capita e-commerce spending is expected to double.

Tier-2 cities and smaller towns already account for over 60 per cent of online shoppers, nearly half of total spending, and close to three-fifths of total orders.

Khandelwal said these numbers show the tremendous scale and opportunity in India’s digital market.

CAIT urged that the government urgently implement a comprehensive National E-Commerce Policy with provisions for strict enforcement of FDI rules, ban on predatory pricing, regulation of dark stores, transparency in algorithms and seller rankings, protection against dark patterns, accountability for counterfeit and sub-standard goods, equal opportunities for MSMEs and small retailers, data protection, and a dedicated grievance redressal system for traders and consumers.

India’s small retailers, kirana stores, wholesalers, distributors, transporters, and allied sectors support crores of families across urban and rural India. Any weakening of this ecosystem would have serious economic and social consequences, he noted.

CAIT National President, BC Bhartia, alleged that major e-commerce companies are continuously violating the spirit of India’s FDI policy through indirect inventory ownership, preferred seller arrangements, private labels, and manipulative business structures.

What was permitted as a marketplace model has increasingly become an inventory-controlled model.

He further stated that practices such as predatory pricing, deep discounting through cash burning, dark stores, dark patterns, preferential listings, and supply of sub-standard goods have become common. These methods are not only anti-competitive but are gradually eliminating millions of honest traders who have built India’s domestic market through trust and service.

—IANS

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