2020 onwards ecommerce accounted for 31 per cent transactions
E-commerce has turned out to be a huge driver of warehousing and logistics in India, especially through the pandemic. E-commerce has emerged as the most prominent driver of Indian warehousing market volumes, according to Knight Frank. In the last year alone, the sector’s share in transactions grew from 23 per cent (FY 2020) to 31 per cent (FY 2021).
“E-commerce companies became our major occupiers during the pandemic, with active expansion in tier-1 cities and select tier-2 and tier-3 markets,” says Abhijit Malkani, CEO, ESR India. “The e-commerce industry has seen exponential growth during the pandemic, and there is still room for substantial growth.” “The pandemic particularly catalysed e-commerce and generated warehousing requirements in tier-2 and tier-3 cities,” adds Architect Sneha Gurjar, Director, CEM Engineers. The e-commerce industry is the fastest-growing segment in the logistics sector, agrees Rajesh Jaggi, Vice Chairman, Real Estate, The Everstone Group. “E-commerce and third-party logistics providers are driving businesses to ramp up supply and storage to deliver products to customers quickly.” Knight Frank estimates that the share of the e-commerce sector, 3PL and other sector companies will grow from 78 per cent of the total transacted space to 86 per cent of the total transacted space in the next five years.