For years, e-commerce was largely associated with large companies, major marketplaces and brands with significant technology and marketing budgets. But the next phase of India's digital-commerce growth could look very different. Small businesses, local retailers, manufacturers, artisans and individual entrepreneurs are increasingly becoming part of the online economy.
India’s e-commerce market is projected to grow substantially over the coming years. A Google and Deloitte report projects India’s e-commerce ecosystem to reach $250 billion by 2030, up from around $90 billion in 2025. The report also highlights the growing importance of digital discovery, creators and consumers outside traditional urban markets.
This growth is creating a larger opportunity for India's MSMEs. According to McKinsey's 2026 research, India has nearly 60 million MSMEs, which collectively contribute close to $1 trillion in value to the economy each year. McKinsey also found that direct-to-consumer e-commerce is growing faster than marketplace e-commerce, as smaller businesses look for more flexible and direct ways to reach customers.
For a small retailer, this shift can be significant. A business that previously depended primarily on customers from its neighbourhood can use digital commerce to reach consumers in other cities and regions. A local clothing store, handicraft business, food producer or home-based entrepreneur can potentially turn an existing product range into an online business.
Government initiatives are also supporting this transition. The Ministry of MSME's TEAM Initiative is designed to help micro and small enterprises participate in digital commerce through onboarding, cataloguing, packaging, logistics and customer management. The government has highlighted examples of enterprises from regions such as Jammu & Kashmir and Manipur using digital commerce to expand their customer base beyond their local markets.
The numbers show that digital participation among smaller businesses is already growing. In March 2026, the government reported that approximately 206,000 merchants had completed at least one transaction on the ONDC Network as of December 31, 2025.
The opportunity is not only about selling products. E-commerce can also allow small businesses to build their own identity, develop direct customer relationships and compete through specialised products or regional expertise.
ICRIER's survey of 2,007 MSMEs found that e-commerce platforms can help MSMEs overcome the geographical limitations of traditional markets by opening new sales channels and providing access to wider markets.
This is where simpler e-commerce infrastructure becomes important. Small businesses may not have developers, large marketing teams or the resources to build every part of an online operation independently. Platforms such as factori.com aim to reduce these barriers by bringing essential elements of online selling together.
Through retailing.factori.com, aspiring entrepreneurs can create their own online store without coding and access products, payment capabilities and fulfilment support. This can allow someone who has never operated an online business to explore e-commerce without having to build the entire technology and operational infrastructure from scratch.
The future of Indian e-commerce, therefore, may not belong exclusively to the biggest brands. It could increasingly belong to thousands of smaller businesses that understand their customers, specialise in specific products and use digital tools to reach markets that were previously difficult to access.
India's next e-commerce success story could be a large brand — but it could just as easily be a local retailer, a home-based entrepreneur or a small business from a town that most customers have never heard of.