Retail Opportunities in India and China: What Drives the Key Differences Between Local Consumers

Executive Summary

India and China two are of the world’s largest economies, but China’s economy has strength in many areas India’s does not. We examine some of these in this report.

• China’s retail market dwarfs India’s significantly: In 2017, India’s retail sector was worth $672 billion, while China’s was $5.8 trillion.
• India’s luxury market was worth $30 billion, or 4% of India’s total retail market, while China’s was $1.4 trillion, or 23% of the total market, in 2017.
• India ranks lower, at 100, on the World Bank’s ease of doing business index. China ranks 78.
• Just 34% of India’s population is urban, compared to 60% of China’s.
• The reason for many of the discrepancies are due to difference in culture, political structure and planning mechanisms.