Chinese e-commerce players in India like Club Factory, Shein, AliExpress have some way to go. For one, they may be charged a combination of customs duties and GST of up to 50 per cent on orders from China. As a result, these players are analysing whether they want to import versus procuring locally. And the issue will boil down to cost.

As most of these players have a strong presence in the value-conscious Tier II and beyond markets, figuring out a way to retain their current costs would be vital. But even sourcing locally may not be a long-term answer to the problem. These companies might not be able to source locally a very high quality of products at a lower cost and that might throw up a challenge. Further, since the products on these platforms are being sourced from China, they are unique in their designs and quality; therefore, e-tailers may lose their edge and face issues maintaining their erstwhile standard while sourcing from India.

Fierce competition is another roadblock as they look to establish themselves in the market. Competition is going to get more and more difficult as Indian players scale up. In such a scenario, it may prove crucial to figure out logistics and offer a better delivery experience to customers.