Introduction

The old days are gone when we used to go to the market to purchase every little thing. Now, most of the shopping is done online through various digital platforms. You can order almost every product online, whether a book, clothes or even any electronic device. Due to the rapid growth of technology, business organizations have switched from traditional methods of selling goods to electronic methods. Business organizations use the internet as the main vehicle for commercial transactions.

Further, online stores do not have space constraints, and a wide variety of products can be displayed on websites. Customers can now purchase items from the comfort of their homes or workplace. Standing in long queues at cash counters to pay for the products purchased by the customers is not an issue in online shopping. In this article, we will discuss some of the online shopping sites available in India.

1. Flipkart

In the western world, few companies rival Amazon in e-commerce. But in India, one business has grown tremendously and now tops India's e-commerce industry. That business is Flipkart, the Bangalore-headquartered business founded in 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal. It shares a similar story to Amazon as it also started life as an online bookstore.

Flipkart now sells various products from electronics, technology, appliances, clothes and sporting goods, among many others, in their 150 million strong product range. To fulfil all those orders, Flipkart has over 1 million square feet of space within distribution centres across India. In its first full year of business, it delivered nearly 3500 shipments of books.

Its website has 10 million page visits daily and sells different categories of goods. The company's digital ecosystem has supported this expansion. In 2009, it founded Ekart, its in-house supply chain arm. Ekart is now India's largest logistics company delivering 10 million shipments a month for Flipkart, as well as independent brands and sellers. It also owns PhonePe, an app the company acquired in 2016, which helps facilitates electronic payments throughout the country. In addition, Flipkart's purchase of India's leading online fashion retailers, Myntra and Jabong, ensured the company remained the leading player in India's online retail industry.

2. Myntra

Myntra is an Indian e-commerce company, and its headquarter is in Bangalore. It sells clothes, garments, shoes and accessories for all age groups. Myntra was founded by Mukesh Bansal, Vineet Saxena and Ashutosh Lawania in 2010. They all three completed their graduation from IIT Kanpur. Before launching Myntra, Mukesh Bansal had worked as a Product Manager and engineer in four startups.

But do you know that Myntra was not like this when it started? You will get shocked after knowing that Myntra started from personalized merchandise. In 2007, when these 3 people started Myntra, Myntra provided personalized t-shirts, cups, mugs, and pens and sold them in bulk.

Companies used to buy personalized things for their employees from Myntra, and Myntra used to make lots of profit. But there was a big problem. The problem was the demand uncertainty. Any company for their employees used to buy cups, bags, hoodies, T-shirts, pens etc., only during appraisal months, Diwali or during functions. Later, Myntra expanded its category and included fashion and lifestyle products. In May 2014, Myntra merged with Flipkart. In February 2016, Myntra moved to an app-only model but was unsuccessful. Later it relaunched its website. It has a unique try-and-buy service. It allows you to try out your purchases at the time of delivery. In 2017, Fashion Brand Myntra negotiated the rights to manage Espirit Holdings' 15 offline stores in India.

3. Amazon

Amazon sells pretty much everything. Amazon, the online retailer, was established by Jeff Bezos in 1994 when the internet was a very different place. Their online presence has expanded into cloud computing, film streaming, E-readers and a whole host of new and unique things. Amazon's original business plan did not predict any profit for five years.

Amazon is the world's largest e-commerce company, and the company has become a role model to every online retailer worldwide. Amazon has 40 subsidiaries across multiple industries such as gaming, robotics, clothing and food. Amazon is one of the best online shopping sites and is loved because of its customer-oriented service.

4. Swiggy

We all love Swiggy because whenever and wherever we want food, we order it, and it comes to our doorstep. What makes it our favourite is that there is no minimum value policy so that any order will be delivered. All the restaurants which work with Swiggy accept online payment for the same. It is also available there if you want to pay it in cash on delivery.

One big thing over here is that it has made our life very easy. Even if you need food at 2:00 or maybe 6:00 in the morning, you will easily get it from the working restaurants. Swiggy is a location-based search engine where one can order food online from the list of restaurants nearby. Swiggy makes money by charging a commission from the restaurant based on the order value, location of the restaurant, the customer buying it and popularity of the restaurant.

5. Zomato

Zomato is the same as Swiggy, an online food delivery platform. Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah started Zomato. They both were students of IIT Delhi. They passed college together and started working in a management company named Bain and Company. They noticed that people spent much time looking at the menu and deciding what to eat. Deepinder thought, why not do something, so people do not have to go to a restaurant, look at the menu, and waste time. They made a website named Foodiebay.com, on which the menu card of almost all the restaurants was available.

The user of the app kept increasing over time. They changed the name of Foodiebay to Zomato, which sounds similar to Tomato. The website's name was changed because Foodiebay was similar to an online company, eBay, and they did not want to confuse their customers. Then they expanded this website by linking the restaurants to it, allowing users to order food from their favourite restaurant without paying any delivery charges because of its free delivery feature. Zomato started expanding to other parts of India with some help from funding. Zomato is currently one of the best online food delivery platforms.

6. Nykaa

Gone are the days when you had to physically visit the local cosmetic store to buy makeup and beauty products. Nykaa is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nayaka', which means an actress and "the one in the spotlight". This popular e-commerce beauty brand started in 2012; the founder Falguni Nair got the idea of starting Nykaa after she visited a Sephora store. Before Nykaa, Indian customers did not have access to this kind of variety in beauty products advice and unbiased guidance.

To buy makeup, they had two options- the local drug store or cosmetic shop with barely trained staff. Mrs Falguni Nair sought this discrepancy and got inspired to initiate Nykaa. It has a wide range of cosmetics, skincare, hair care, fragrances, bath and body, and luxury and wellness products for both women and men.

7. PharmEasy

A startup that sells online medicine and healthcare-related products online. Recently, the company has filed for IPO also. PharmEasy operates as an online pharmacy and handles hassle-free delivery of medicines and other equipment. It operates in many major cities of India and has made online shopping for medicines convenient and easy. They deliver medicines and other medical equipment to thousands of customers every day.

It has developed an online healthcare platform to make the healthcare system easy and modern in India. PharmEasy is taking the help of data and technology to strengthen the health service in India. It is easily accessible on both the mobile app and the website. Whenever someone uploads a prescription on PharEasy, PharmEasy sends the prescription to the nearest drugstore of the user. Then the delivery agent of PharmEasy collects the medicines from the drugstore, following all the precautions and guidelines. Pharmaceutical companies and health care manufacturers showcase their products on PharmEasy's platform.

There are some other online shopping platforms which are available in India. They are:-

8. Ajio

9. Big Basket (Online Grocery)

10. BookMyShow (Online Tickets (Movies, Shows and Entertainment)

11. PaytmMall - Online Marketplace (Electronics, Fashion, Accessories. Recharge etc.)

12. Goibibo

13. The Souled Store

14. Redbus

15. Urban Company

16. Grofers

17. Dineout

18. Bewakoof

19. Healthkart

20. Mobikwik

21. Decathlon

22. Firstcry

23. MamaEarth

24. Udemy

25. Beardo

Conclusion

Online shopping is a boon for many people as it offers many advantages. It not only saves your time but also helps to save your money and energy. Instead of spending a whole day in the market, you can buy things by sitting at home. There is high market competition, and new websites are popping up daily. There are thousands of online shopping sites in the market, and it becomes confusing to decide which is safe and trusted. The list of the sites mentioned here will give you a brief idea of some of the best online shopping sites in India.

Miscellaneous