India’s $130 billion lifestyle market, with fashion making up 80 per cent and the remainder being beauty and personal care is projected to grow at a 10–12 per cent CAGR, reaching $210 billion in the next five years, primarily driven by the organised segment. The e-lifestyle market is expected to expand from $16–$17 billion in 2023 to $40–$45 billion by 2028. These insights are from the recent released study, 'E-styling India: Decoding India’s Online Fashion and Lifestyle Shopping Trends,' by Bain & Company and Myntra.
The growth in India’s e-lifestyle market will be driven by easing short-term inflation, rising incomes, the growth of fashion-forward, digital-native Gen-Z shoppers and increased demand for organised and branded products. Additional factors include superior customer value propositions like trendy selections, faster delivery, easier returns, tech-enabled purchase journeys, social media-powered discovery and omni-access. This will help bridge the penetration gap with global markets such as the US, China and Germany, which have over 35 per cent e-lifestyle penetration. Consequently, e-lifestyle penetration in India is expected to rise from 13 per cent to 18–22 per cent between 2023 and 2028.
"India’s e-lifestyle market has come of age in the last few years, with a diverse shopper base – 2 in 3 online shoppers are from beyond top 50 cities, 1 in 2 are from non-affluent segments, and 1 in 3 are Gen-Z. There still exists massive penetration headroom. 1 in 5 dollars spent on lifestyle will be online”, said Shyam Unnikrishnan, Partner at Bain & Company.
Currently, fashion dominates the e-lifestyle market, making up about 75 per cent with accessories and women’s apparel expected to grow the fastest. Beauty and personal care (BPC) have gained mainstream traction with around 16 per cent penetration in 2023 and are projected to grow slightly faster over the next five years.
A trend driven by online platforms is the rise of the trend-first fashion market in India. With a wide assortment and faster refresh cycles, this market is expected to grow eightfold, reaching $4–5 billion by 2028. As a result, the online share of trend-first fashion is projected to increase from the current 30–35 per cent to 50–55 per cent.
In 2023, over 175 million customers in India shopped for lifestyle products online, averaging 6–7 transactions annually. For 40–45 per cent of first-time ecommerce shoppers, lifestyle is their initial purchase, making it a key entry category for e-retail. Online shoppers are visiting more platforms more frequently and completing purchases faster. Deeply entrenched shoppers (spending over Rs 50,000 annually) visit their preferred platforms daily and purchase over 25 times per year, compared to the market average of 6–7. The 60 million Gen Z shoppers transact more frequently but spend less per order, contributing $4 billion to the e-lifestyle market, which is 25 per cent of the total. New-age insurgent brands have twice the adoption rate among Gen Z. To attract Gen Z, brands need to offer affordable and trendy products, emphasise authenticity, leverage tech-led shopping experiences and use active influencer endorsements.
India's manufacturing sector is capitalising on opportunities, evident in the increasing share of India-made products for global brands. Enhanced capabilities in both cotton and technical textiles along with brands collaborating with manufacturers for faster go-to-market strategies, controlled costs, agility and tech-driven sourcing are boosting India’s position as a fashion sourcing hub.
India is a crucial market for top global brands - 90 per cent of the top 50 global brands operate in India, with half generating over $30 million in revenue from their Indian operations. The nation's status as a key lifestyle market is highlighted by the opening or planned introduction of over 60 global brands in the past year, covering scale, niche, luxury and new-age fashion and beauty segments.
“Three in five global brands have entered India via the online channel in the past year and we are proud to have contributed to the launch of some of these global brands in the country. A well-rounded and high-decibel launch, facilitating easier discovery, access to intel about the needs of Indian fashion-forward consumers and Myntra’s reach to 99 per cent of serviceable pin codes are among the key factors enabling the scale-up of the global brands in the sub-continent”, said Nandita Sinha, CEO, Myntra.
