E-Retailing and Its Impact on Rural Agricultural Markets with Opportunities and Challenges for Sustainable Agribusiness

E-retailing is transforming rural agricultural markets by expanding market access, improving supply chain efficiency and fostering transparency between producers and consumers. Based on secondary data, this paper reviews opportunities and challenges in adopting e-retailing for sustainable agribusiness in India. Recent evidence highlights rapid digital growth: India had over 825 million broadband subscribers in 2023 and 151 million smartphones were shipped in 2024, laying the foundation for rural e-commerce expansion. Government initiatives such as the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) have already integrated 1,522 mandis across 23 states, enrolling 1.79 crore farmers and 4,518 farmer producer organizations and facilitating trade worth ₹4.39 lakh crore. Similarly, the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) has capped commissions at 3.00 percent, compared to 20.00 – 30.00 percent on conventional platforms, to support smallholder participation. Studies suggest that direct farmer-to-consumer e-retailing can increase producer profit margins by 15.00 – 25.00 percent, while digital logistics can reduce post-harvest losses, which are estimated at ₹92,651 crore annually in India. Despite these opportunities, challenges remain, including the digital divide (with only 19.00 percent of rural populations in developing countries having internet access compared to 66.00 percent in urban areas), weak cold-chain logistics and limited digital literacy among rural farmers. The findings suggest that with appropriate policy support, technological innovation and inclusive capacity-building, eretailing can serve as a catalyst for rural economic growth, food system resilience and sustainable agriculture.