How Many Ecommerce Sites Are in India? 2025 Stats & Platform Breakdown

When we talk about ecommerce sites in India online retail stores that either use a .in domain or primarily serve Indian shoppers, the first question most people ask is: how many are there? The answer isn’t a single static number; it’s a moving target that reflects rapid internet adoption, changing regulations, and the rise of low‑code storefront builders. In this article you’ll get the latest 2025 count, see why the figure matters, and learn which platforms dominate the market.

Key Takeaways

• As of September 2025, India hosts roughly 2.6 million active ecommerce sites.
• The growth rate has averaged 18 % year‑over‑year since 2020, driven by mobile penetration and digital payments.
• Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento together power about 42 % of all sites, while native marketplaces like Amazon India and Flipkart account for another 28 %.
• Compliance with GST and RBI’s payment rules is now a baseline requirement for any new storefront.
• Choosing the right platform depends on business size, budget, and integration needs - the table below makes the trade‑offs crystal clear.

How the 2.6 Million Figure Was Calculated

The number comes from a blend of three reliable data sources:

1. Domain‑level scans performed by Statista that identified over 3.1 million registered .in ecommerce‑related domains.
2. Traffic‑analysis reports from SimilarWeb, which filtered out dormant sites and left roughly 2.8 million with at least 500 monthly visitors.
3. GST registration data released by India’s Ministry of Finance, showing 2.6 million unique merchants that have filed e‑commerce‑specific GST returns in FY 2024‑25.

When you intersect the three lists, the overlap - the sites that are live, visited, and tax‑registered - settles at about 2.6 million. That’s the figure we’ll use throughout the guide.

Growth Drivers Behind the Surge

Three macro trends explain why the count keeps climbing:

• Smartphone boom: India crossed 900 million smartphone users in early 2025, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Mobile‑first shoppers push even micro‑entrepreneurs to open storefronts.
• Digital payments adoption: The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processed over 9 billion transactions in Q2 2025, making checkout frictionless for small sellers.
• Platform democratization: Low‑cost SaaS builders now let anyone launch a store for under ₹500 per month, removing the technical barrier that once limited online retail.

Top Platforms Powering Indian Stores

Not all ecommerce sites are built the same way. Below is a quick snapshot of the six platforms that together host more than 70 % of the market.

Why Platform Choice Matters for Growth

Choosing the right platform isn’t just a tech decision; it directly affects how fast you can scale, the cost of acquiring customers, and compliance risk. For example, a Shopify store automatically supports GST invoicing and UPI payments, cutting the setup time from weeks to a few days. In contrast, a self‑hosted Magento site demands a dedicated dev team to stay compliant with RBI’s recent KYC‑for‑payment‑gateways rule.

If you’re a solo entrepreneur with a budget under ₹1,000 per month, Dukaan or a basic WooCommerce setup will let you start selling within 24 hours. If you aim to sell 10,000+ SKUs across multiple brands, Shopify Plus or Magento Enterprise will give the performance and API flexibility you need.

Regional Variations: Metro vs. Tier‑2 Cities

Data from the Ministry of Commerce shows that 62 % of ecommerce sites are headquartered in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. However, the surge in Tier‑2 and Tier‑3 cities is evident: the number of newly registered businesses in Jaipur, Coimbatore, and Bhubaneswar grew by 28 % YoY in 2024‑25. This shift matters because payment preferences differ - UPI dominates metros, while cash‑on‑delivery (CoD) still accounts for 18 % of orders in smaller towns.

Platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce have built‑in support for multiple payment methods, but local marketplace apps (e.g., Paytm for merchants) are essential for Tier‑2 sellers. Knowing where your customers live helps you pick the right plugins from the start.

How to Verify Whether a Site Is Actively Selling

Not every registered domain translates into a live store. Here’s a quick 3‑step checklist you can run in under a minute:

1. Visit the URL and look for a functional product catalog or “Add to Cart” button.
2. Check for a valid SSL certificate (HTTPS) - most serious sellers have it.
3. Search the site on Google Shopping; if products appear, the feed is active.

Applying this test to the 2.6 million figure filters out roughly 5‑10 % of ghost sites, leaving a clean active pool.

Future Outlook: What to Expect by 2030

Analysts at Deloitte predict that India’s ecommerce site count will breach 4 million by 2030, fueled by two key forces:

• AI‑driven store builders that generate product listings automatically from supplier feeds.
• Regulatory incentives such as lower GST rates for digital‑only businesses, encouraging more brick‑and‑mortar owners to go online.

For entrepreneurs today, the takeaway is clear: get online now, and build on a platform that can grow with you.

Next Steps for Aspiring Store Owners

• Pick a platform based on the table above and your budget.
• Register for GST within 30 days of launch to avoid penalties.
• Integrate UPI and Paytm for faster checkout - they cover over 80 % of Indian digital transactions.
• Run a simple SEO audit (meta titles, schema markup, mobile speed) before you start advertising.
• Monitor your traffic with Google Analytics and set a KPI of at least 500 monthly visitors before scaling ad spend.

How many ecommerce sites does India actually have in 2025?

The latest combined data from Statista, SimilarWeb and GST filings puts the active count at roughly 2.6 million sites as of September 2025.

Which platform is the most popular for new Indian sellers?

Shopify India leads among new entrants, capturing about 22 % of the market thanks to its hosted solution and easy UPI integration.

Do I need to register for GST to run an ecommerce store?

Yes. Any business with annual turnover over ₹40 lakhs (or ₹20 lakhs for NE states) must file GST, and the government now requires ecommerce sellers to have a GSTIN before they can list on major marketplaces.

Is WooCommerce still a good choice in 2025?

Absolutely for small‑to‑medium shops that already run WordPress. It remains free, highly extensible, and with the right plugins can handle GST invoicing and UPI payments.

How can I tell if an ecommerce site listed in the count is actually active?

Use the 3‑step checklist: (1) check for a product catalog, (2) verify HTTPS, (3) look for the site in Google Shopping. If all three pass, the store is likely active.