The Indian retail sector, pegged at $900 billion and growing at 5% currently, is expected to soon jump into a 9-10% growth pace, as markets seem ready with right consumer base and increasing spending power.
Sameer Kanodia, Managing Director & CEO, Lumina Datamatics
Walk into any shopping mall today and you’ll notice that the stores are buzzing, but so are smartphones. Shoppers often check prices, reviews, and availability online while standing in front of a product in a store. This is called omnichannel behavior, and it has now BECOME THE NORM.
The Indian retail sector, pegged at $900 billion and growing at 5% currently, is expected to soon jump into a 9-10% growth pace, as markets seem ready with right consumer base and increasing spending power. With e-commerce alone expected to hit $363.3 billion by 2030, the key to success will be well-organised product data. This includes accurate titles, elaborate pictures, detailed information, and precise tags, which help customers find, trust, and buy products more easily. Structured data is quickly becoming the invisible spine of modern retail.
In the competitive online market nowadays, visibility is everything. With the use of tools including schema markup, structured data improves search engines to understand products, leading to higher rankings and the direct display of rich snippets on Google, including star ratings, prices, and stock updates.
According to studies, these features can greatly increase click-through rates, increasing visibility for retailers without spending more money on marketing. However, visibility is only half the story. Structured data guarantees that customers see clear images, precise specifications, and validated reviews once they land on a page. This increases conversions and, eventually, profitability by building trust, lowering decision friction, and minimising cart abandonment or returns.
In retail, trust is currency. Retailers can be open and honest with customers from the very first contact when they have structured product data. Setting realistic expectations is aided by displaying verified reviews, current prices, and precise availability.
This transparency is crucial for Indian consumers, who are becoming increasingly discerning with each purchase. It increases brand loyalty, generates repeat business, and even converts consumers into brand ambassadors. In a marketplace where options are endless, trust is the glue that keeps a customer coming back.
Scalability is another benefit of structured data that is frequently over-looked. From clothing and electronics to groceries, furniture, and personal care products, the Indian retail market is remarkably varied. It is a task to maintain accurate and consistent product information across platforms and categories.
Structured data provides a framework to manage this complexity. By standardising how product information is organised and updated, businesses can ensure that every product, whether INR 500 book or INR 50,000 smartphone, is presented with the same clarity and accuracy.
This also makes it easier to expand into new categories or marketplaces, as the data backbone is already in place. For retailers eyeing rapid growth in India’s Tier II and III cities, or even global expansion, this scalability is a game-changer.
Beyond visibility and trust, structured data drives real business impact by boosting efficiency and profitability. Customers with complete, accurate information are more likely to purchase, while correctly set expectations reduce returns and cut costly logistics and restocking.
Consistency across websites, marketplaces, and social platforms ensures shoppers always see reliable, high-quality details, strengthening confidence at every touchpoint. In a sector where margins are tight, these efficiencies quickly add up, giving retailers measurable growth advantages and a sharper competitive edge in the marketplace.
The largest obstacle facing Indian retail for many years was distribution, getting to every part of this enormous nation. That challenge has mostly been removed. Between omnichannel models, hyper-logistics, and digital commerce, products today are available everywhere.
Product data will be the next frontier. Structured data is the key that will distinguish leaders from laggards as the retail battlefield changes from “Where will we sell?” to “What exactly are we selling, and how well is it presented?”
Global markets have already demonstrated this. The success of digitally native brands often stems not just from their products, but from how seamlessly they present them online. India is now well-positioned to spearhead the next wave of structured product data adoption due to its size, diversity, and tech-savvy populace.
The retail sector in India is undergoing a sea change. There is a lot of opportunity, but there is also a lot of competition too, as 500-600 million people are expected to shop online by 2030. The real differentiator will be structured, high-quality product data. Beyond search engine optimisation or conversions, it provides the consistency, clarity, and trust that modern consumers demand, ensuring a flawless experience from search to purchase.
The winners of India's retail revolution in the subsequent ten years will not only be those with reach or scale, but also those who take advantage of structured product data – the unseen force propelling growth, confidence, and discovery.
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