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E-commerce, the buying and selling of products and services over the internet and other networks, had evolved through several phases since the since the birth of the internet in 1973. At the beginning, the internet was seen as the realm of techno-savvy people. However, when the World Wide Web (www) and HTML were conceived in 1989, the sharing of unlimited data in a user-friendly way became possible. By 1993, entrepreneurs and consumers had come to realize the vast potential of the internet for retailing, publishing, and entertainment, and this resulted in an economic boom. Thousands of internet-based new businesses were established and stock markets soared. But with the collapse of NASDAQ in 2000, the industry entered a dreary phase.

However, by 2003, the sector recovered and e-commerce firms began to succeed. Businesses found that the internet created wider opportunities, increased operational efficiencies, and helped derive profits. Consumers also increasingly got used to online purchasing. The convenience of quick internet access (wired or unwired) at lower prices, improved infrastructure and laws, evolved consumer preferences, and decreased costs of mobile internet devices, fuelled the rapid growth of e-commerce.

With the rapid increase in the number of internet shoppers, the global internet retail sales (business to consumer sales) had grown to just over $1 trillion in 2012 (by 21.1% over 2011), with the US holding the top spot with $364 billion. Japan took second place with sales of $127 billion, followed by Britain ($124 billion), and China ($110 billion). Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG), a U.K. online retail trade organization, estimated that Global B2C e-commerce sales would pass the 1 trillion euro ($1.25 trillion) mark by 2013. eMarketer estimated that e-commerce would grow 18.3% in 2013 and that the Asia-Pacific region would grab the number one position with a growth of 30%.

As developed markets were growing saturated, retailers had begun seeking new paths for global expansion and online trade had become an easy and low-risk solution for them to expand globally and test new markets i.e., the developing countries. A.T. Kearney studied the top 30 countries of the 2012 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) and prepared the E-Commerce Index, which revealed the top countries where online growth would be the most. According to the index, A.T.Kearney assessed that China, Brazil, and Russia would be the top three countries with a strong growth in the online retailing sector in the near future ...

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