[Teaching Note] Alibaba: Expansion in the Indian E-Commerce Marketplace

Abstract

By 2014 India was one of the fastest growing internet populations- third largest after China and the US. It was estimated that by 2018 it would surpass the US in terms of internet users, making it the second largest internet population in the world. The key reason was increased awareness and affordability in the small towns and rural India. In 2013, internet had contributed to 2.7 percent of India’s GDP. India’s internet economy was at a juncture where, with the right steps, it could grow to USD 200 billion by 20182. E-commerce was set to grow at 34 percent per annum to reach USD 75 billion in 20183. The Indian e-commerce industry was being dominated by three major players Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon.