Walmart expects India to become largest international market

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Mar 9, 2023

Walmart expects India to overtake China as its largest international market this year. The US-based retail giant sees the country as representing a strong opportunity for growth. 

“I believe India is going to be the largest market in the world this year, surpassing China,” said Walmart’s chief financial officer John David Rainey at the business’ recent annual investor conference call, ET Tech reported. “It’s a really promising opportunity in the future.”
 
According to Rainey, Walmart-owned e-commerce platform Flipkart and online payments app PhonePe are both market leaders in India and both have strong potential for growth as markets remain untapped. E-commerce adoption is continuing to increase across rural India and this is opening up a large pool of potential customers to businesses such as Flipkart. 

This growth is already underway as Flipkart has seen its positive contribution margin improve, according to Rainey. In the December 2022 quarter, Walmart International, which includes the Flipkart business, reported 2% year-on-year growth to reach net sales of $27.6 billion for the quarter. 
 
The Indian economy’s growth is creating a growing middle class which has more discretionary income and more inclination to shop online. This, coupled with a growing demand for branded fashion and beauty products, is good news for multi-brand e-commerce platforms like Walmart’s Flipkart.