The E-commerce channel, which accounted for about 7 percent of national FMCG sales in the June quarter, reflects its impact on India’s retail ecosystem, according to estimates by NielsenIQ.
This comes at a time when leading FMCG players are aiming to witness strong growth in the online channel led by fast-paced commerce.
In terms of the share of channels to FMCG sales, in the June quarter, the share of e-commerce channels was 7 percent, which was up 3 percent, the modern trade channel was 12 percent, up 1 percent and the share of traditional trade was 81 percent, down 4 percent.
The report states that 68 percent of e-commerce channel contribution still comes from metros but non-metros are the next growth drivers for e-commerce. Non-metros are growing 3x faster than metros in e-commerce, NIQ added.
“E-Commerce continues to outpace the market, led by Southern metros. The personal care category, impulses and habits make adoption, making online the main source of additional FMCG growth,” NielsenIQ FMCG Quarterly Snapshot for April-June 2026 (AMJ ’26) states.
Leading FMCG players point to growth in the contribution of the online shopping channel especially the fast trade channel to overall sales. Nestle India recently said that the e-commerce channel’s contribution to sales has doubled by 2021.
For Marico, all digital channels including e-commerce contribute more than 20 percent to the revenue of the India business.
Meanwhile, NielsenIQ pointed out that in the top eight metros, e-commerce channels for FMCG sales increased to nearly 21 percent in the June quarter compared to 19 percent in the March quarter.
Across the top 52 metros, the online channel’s share stood at 17.4 percent in June from 15.8 percent in the March quarter. In the southern metros, which include Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai, the e-commerce channel’s share of FMCG sales stood at 25 percent in the June quarter compared to 22.5 percent in the March quarter.
E-commerce channel volume growth in urban areas was determined at 34.8 percent and value growth was 58 percent in the quarter under review, the report revealed.
Meanwhile, research and insight companies point to moderation in overall FMCG growth led by a slowdown in consumption in traditional trade channels.
All India Omni’s value growth stood at 0.8 percent in the June quarter on the back of price growth of 2.8 percent and volume loss of 2 percent.
“Traditional trade drags rural FMCG down while organized trade continues urban growth. Modern trade remains tenacious fueled by non-metro expansion, while price-led growth in e-commerce is made by strong consumption,” It added.
Published on September 27, 2026