Women to Account for 50 Percent of Seller Base by Year-End: Snapdeal

Focused on expanding its seller base, online marketplace Snapdeal plans to bring in more women to its platform and expects them to account for about half of its merchant base by the end of this year.

Currently, about 30 percent of Snapdeal's sellers are women entrepreneurs.

"A big focus for us this year would be to bring more women on board our platform. The online medium offers flexibility of working from home and also working hours. Many of these entrepreneurs are balancing their businesses and family life easily," Snapdeal co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl told PTI.

He added that women sellers are operating across categories like jewellery, apparel and home decoration and furnishing.

"Currently, about 30 percent of our base is women entrepreneurs. We would want this number to grow to about half (of the total base) by the end of the year," he said.

Snapdeal has over 60,000 sellers on board and expects to cross the one lakh mark soon.

The firm currently houses over 5 million products across 500 diverse categories. Snapdeal reached more than 40 million people.

One of the biggest online marketplaces in the country, its competitors includes homegrown firm Flipkart and global giant Amazon.

E-commerce has taken India by storm and has shown potential to grow further with the Indian government, firms and investors trying to capitalise on its popularity.

A report by consulting firm Technopak pegs the $2.3 billion online retail market to reach $32 billion by 2020.

Another report by consultancy firm PwC and industry body Assocham suggests that e-commerce firms are expected to spend up to $1.9 billion by 2017-2020 on infrastructure, logistics and warehousing.