New Delhi [India], June 26: India’s 7.4 crore-plus MSMEs registered on the Udyam and Udyam Assist platforms form the backbone of the economy, generating employment for over 32 crore people and contributing around 31% of GDP, 35.4% of manufacturing output and nearly half of the country’s exports. For these businesses — manufacturers, traders, retailers, service firms and millions of micro-entrepreneurs — procurement of raw materials, inventory, packaging, IT and office supplies remains one of the largest operating expenses and a critical daily activity.

– Key drivers for rising adoption of digital procurement are wide selection of products, ease of comparison across suppliers, centralised spend visibility and GST compliant invoicing

– 8 in 10 Indian MSMEs surveyed expect increased use of B2B digital marketplaces in the next 2 years

– Over 16,000 MSMEs across 137 districts of India share detailed insights on how they procure and are adopting digital procurement

For decades, MSME procurement has been overwhelmingly offline and relationship driven, carrying persistent friction — limited price discovery, missing or non-GST-compliant invoices and long cycles. With challenges like managing multiple suppliers, non-compliant invoices, payment/credit constraints and price volatility, it has been a difficult journey for the majority. That is changing fast. The Indian B2B e-commerce opportunity is widely regarded as one of the country’s largest digital commerce segments, estimated at around USD 200 billion by 2030. Public digital rails have made the shift viable down to the smallest business: GST collections touched a record INR2.43 lakh crore in April 2026, the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has crossed INR18.4 lakh crore in cumulative procurement, ONDC clocked around 218 million transactions in FY26, and Union Budget 2026-27 backs the sector with a dedicated INR10,000 crore SME Growth Fund.

The World MSME Day, observed every year on June 27th is a day that was designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 2017 to raise awareness of the contribution that micro, small and medium enterprises make to sustainable, inclusive economic growth, decent work and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It is in this context that LocalCircles conducted this national study, with responses from over 16,000 MSMEs across 137 districts. The findings show the MSME procurement landscape, the challenges associated and how an increasing number of MSMEs are taking to digital procurement.

7 in 10 MSME businesses surveyed have 10 or less employees

The survey first asked MSME respondents, “What is the size of your business?” Of the 4,540 respondents, 34% said they are a “one-person business”; 35% reported “2-10 employees”; 18% “11-50 employees”; 7% “51-200 employees”; and 6% “200+ employees”. To sum up, 7 in 10 MSMEs surveyed have 10 or fewer employees, confirming that the bulk of India’s MSME base is made up of micro businesses with very lean teams — precisely the segment for which friction-free, low-minimum digital procurement is most consequential.

6 in 10 MSME businesses in the survey were represented by Founders/Co-Founders/Owners

To gauge how close respondents are to procurement decisions, the survey asked, “What is your role in the business?” Of the 4,620 respondents, 46% identified as “Owner/Founder”; 13% as “Partner/Co-founder”; 21% as “Procurement/Purchase Manager”; 7% as “Office/Operations Manager”; and 13% selected “Other”. To sum up, 6 in 10 MSMEs in the survey were represented by Founders, Co-Founders or Owners, which means the views captured here largely reflect the people who actually sign off on procurement spend, not intermediaries.

Manufacturing, Business Services, Retail & Trading/Wholesale constitute 70% of MSMEs in India

The survey next asked, “Which sector does your business operate in?” Of the 4,619 respondents, 28% were in “Business Services (technology, financial, creative services etc.)”; 21% in “Manufacturing”; 21% in “Retail & Trading/Wholesale”; 8% each in “Hospitality & Restaurants”, “Education” and “Automotive”; 7% in “Healthcare”; and the balance in “Real Estate & Construction” and “Others”. To sum up, Business Services, Manufacturing and Retail & Trading/Wholesale together constitute roughly 70% of MSMEs in India, in line with the Udyam-registered base. Given their combined weight, this release presents dedicated sector cuts for Business Services and Manufacturing.

7 in 10 MSMEs regularly procure IT equipment, office stationery & supplies, packaging materials for their business

Moving to procurement itself, the survey asked, “In what all categories do you primarily procure for your business?” Some of the 4,465 respondents chose more than one option. 49% indicated “Electronics/IT equipment”; 40% “Office supplies”; 40% “Packaging materials”; 30% each “Industrial supplies”, “Housekeeping supplies” and “Others”; and 9% each “Pantry items” and “Office furniture & decor”. In addition, if we look at sectoral data, we find that the Manufacturing MSMEs buy more tools and industrial supplies while the MSMEs operating in Business Services sector buy more housekeeping supplies. To sum up, 7 in 10 MSMEs regularly procure IT equipment, office stationery and supplies, packaging, pantry and housekeeping items.

Over 3 in 10 MSMEs surveyed are spending over INR 2 lakhs in monthly procurement; 1 in 10 of them spend over INR 10 lakhs monthly

On ticket size, the survey asked, “What is your average monthly procurement spend in the above categories?” Of the 4,605 respondents, 44% reported spending “< INR 50,000” a month; 15% “INR 50,000 – 2 lakh”; 24% “INR 2 lakh – 10 lakh”; 9% “INR 10 lakh+”; and 8% could not say. To sum up, over 3 in 10 MSMEs are spending over INR 2 lakhs a month on procurement and roughly 1 in 10 over INR 10 lakhs — a meaningful spend pool whose routing, offline or digital, becomes the next critical theme of the study.

Managing multiple suppliers, non-compliant invoices, payment/credit constraints and price volatility are challenges over 5 in 10 MSMEs regularly face

The survey next asked, “What are all the challenges your business faces in procurement today?” Some of the 4,877 respondents chose more than one option. 67% indicated “Managing multiple suppliers”; 56% each “Non-compliant invoices”, “Price volatility” and “Payment/credit constraints”; 44% each “Limited product availability” and “Difficulty in comparing options”; 33% each “Poor spend visibility”, “Poor quality of goods” and “Delayed delivery”; and only 11% reported “No major challenges”. To sum up, over 5 in 10 MSMEs regularly face these frictions — precisely the kind that digital procurement marketplaces are now built to reduce — and only about 1 in 10 report no major challenges at all, confirming that procurement friction is near-universal.

7 in 10 MSMEs surveyed who use B2B digital marketplaces say their reliance on them has increased in the last 2 years

The survey then probed whether their reliance on digital procurement marketplaces has increased in recent years, asking, “Over the past 2 years, how has your reliance on B2B digital marketplaces changed?” Of the 4,822 respondents, 10% said their reliance “Increased by 300% or more”; 20% “Increased by 200-300%”; 30% “Increased by 100-200%”; 10% “Increased by 50-100%”; 20% “Decreased”; and 10% could not say. To sum up, 7 in 10 MSMEs who use digital procurement marketplaces say their reliance has materially increased over the last 2 years, with a meaningful 1 in 10 saying their usage has more than tripled.

8 in 10 MSMEs who use B2B digital marketplaces say they use them for wide selection of products and ease of comparison across suppliers; GST compliant invoicing and centralised spend visibility also key reasons for usage

Asked, “What are the key reasons for your business choosing B2B digital marketplaces?”, some of the 5,117 respondents chose more than one option. 88% indicated “Wider selection of products”; 76% each “Better pricing/discounts”, “Convenience (ease of ordering/delivery)” and “Ease of supplier comparison”; 62% “GST-compliant invoicing”; 50% “Faster delivery”; 38% “Spend reports/dashboards”; and 12% “Other reasons”. To sum up, 8 in 10 MSMEs cite wider selection of products, ease of comparison, better discounts and convenience of ordering/delivery for using B2B digital marketplaces; Sizeable number of MSMEs also cite GST compliant invoicing and centralised spend visibility as some of the key reasons for their usage.

8 in 10 MSMEs using B2B digital marketplace channels close their procurement cycle within a week, against only 6 in 10 MSMEs using traditional channels

To quantify the speed gap, the survey first asked about traditional channels: “On average, how long does your procurement cycle take when using traditional procurement channels?” Of the 5,365 respondents, 20% reported “<1 day”; 20% “1-3 days”; 21% “3-7 days”; 9% “1-2 weeks”; and 30% “Over 2 weeks”. To sum up, 6 in 10 MSMEs complete their traditional procurement cycle within a week, while for 4 in 10 it takes over a week — and for 3 in 10 it stretches beyond two weeks, a long lead time that directly affects working capital, inventory holding and the ability to respond to customer demand. The mirror question was put to MSMEs using digital marketplaces: “On average, how long does your procurement cycle take when using digital marketplaces?” Of the 5,243 respondents, 28% reported “<1 day”; 19% “1-3 days”; 36% “3-7 days”; 9% “1-2 weeks”; and 8% could not say — notably, no respondent reported a digital cycle of over 2 weeks. To sum up, 8 in 10 MSMEs using digital marketplace channels close their procurement cycle within a week, against only 6 in 10 using traditional procurement channels, indicating that digital adoption compresses procurement cycles.

All MSMEs surveyed that use a B2B digital marketplace say GST-compliant invoices are most critical; over 7 in 10 say downloadable invoice history is also critical

The survey next asked MSMEs using B2B digital marketplaces, “What all invoicing features in a B2B digital marketplace are critical for your business?”, some of the 5,363 respondents chose more than one option. 100% indicated “GST-compliant invoices”; 74% “Downloadable invoice history”; 55% “Integration with accounting tools”; 45% “Credit notes”; 34% “Bulk invoicing”; and 11% “Other features”. To sum up, all MSMEs using a B2B digital marketplace say GST-compliant invoices are most critical for their business, and over 7 in 10 say downloadable invoice history is critical too — a clear signal that compliance and audit-readiness are now central to marketplace choice. 7 in 10 MSMEs in a related question which received 4,478 responses also said that the availability of GST compliant invoicing influences their choice of the marketplace.

8 in 10 MSMEs surveyed expect increased use of B2B digital marketplaces over the next 1-2 years; 6 in 10 expect increased usage of AI tools/agents

Finally, the survey looked ahead, asking, “What all changes do you expect in your business procurement over the next 1-2 years?” Some of the 4,379 respondents chose more than one option. 81% indicated “Increased use of digital marketplaces”; 61% each “AI tools/agents” and “Increased automation/integration with software”; 50% “More supplier diversification”; 31% “Greater use of credit/pay-later options”; and 21% “No major changes expected”. To sum up, 8 in 10 MSMEs expect increased use of digital procurement marketplaces over the next 1-2 years, with AI tools and deeper automation/software integration emerging as the next clear vectors of change.

MSME ratings of B2B digital marketplaces

Beyond how MSMEs use B2B digital marketplaces, LocalCircles conducted a separate rating exercise to capture how satisfied they actually are with the marketplaces they use. Eight of the most-used marketplaces — OfBusiness, IndiaMART, Amazon Business, Flipkart Wholesale, Udaan, Moglix, Zoffco and Industrybuying.com — were rated by MSMEs on a 1-5 scale across eight service categories: Selection, Convenience, Ease of Business Compliance, Features & Additional Services, Customer Service, Ease of Usage, Value and Delivery Speed, where a higher rating indicates higher satisfaction. An average score was then computed across all eight categories for each marketplace.

On overall average, Amazon Business emerged as the top-rated B2B digital marketplace for MSMEs with 4.38 out of 5, followed by OfBusiness (3.63), Flipkart Wholesale (3.50), Udaan (3.38), Zoffco (3.19), Moglix (3.06), IndiaMART (2.94) and Industrybuying.com (2.88). Amazon Business led on Selection (a perfect 5.0), Convenience, Ease of Business Compliance, Ease of Usage and Delivery Speed, while OfBusiness led on Value.

Across every marketplace, Customer Service and Delivery Speed were the lowest-rated categories. Customer Service comprises of ability of customers to register a grievance, receive acknowledgement, get timely resolution of return and refund requests, get supplier information in case of dispute and have the ability to speak to someone if necessary. Delivery Times comprises of ability to deliver products fast, an area that is seeing transformation with the arrival of Quick Commerce. Improvement in both these areas by B2B digital marketplaces will drive up retention, adoption and volume growth over the next 1-2 years.

Summary

The study reveals that digital procurement is increasingly moving from the margins to the mainstream of how Indian MSMEs buy. With 7 in 10 MSMEs surveyed having 10 or fewer employees and 6 in 10 represented by their Founders, Co-Founders or Owners, the findings reflect the real, on-the-ground views of small-business decision-makers across business services, manufacturing and retail/trading — sectors that together make up roughly 70% of India’s MSME base. These businesses procure meaningful volumes: 7 in 10 regularly buy IT equipment, office supplies, packaging, pantry and housekeeping items with different sectors having some categories where they buy more like Manufacturing MSMEs in the tools and industrial supplies category. Over 3 in 10 MSMEs now spend over INR 2 lakhs a month, with roughly 1 in 10 spending over INR 10 lakhs monthly. This is no longer pin-money procurement; it is a serious cost line that deserves serious tooling. However, frictions remain — over 5 in 10 MSMEs still wrestle with managing multiple suppliers, non-compliant invoices, price volatility and payment/credit constraints.

7 in 10 MSMEs say their reliance on digital procurement has increased over the last 2 years — and the drivers are converging: 8 in 10 cite wider selection of products, ease of comparison across suppliers, better discounts and convenience of ordering/delivery for using B2B digital marketplaces; Sizeable number of MSMEs also cite GST compliant invoicing and centralised spend visibility as some of the key reasons for their usage.

The contrast in cycle times is equally telling: 8 in 10 MSMEs using digital channels close their procurement cycle within a week against 6 in 10 MSMEs on traditional channels, with not a single MSME with a digital cycle reported cycle closure time beyond two weeks.

Compliance is no longer optional for MSMEs, with all business digital marketplace users calling GST-compliant invoices critical and nearly 7 in 10 saying it shapes which marketplace they choose. Looking ahead, 8 in 10 MSMEs expect their use of digital procurement marketplaces to rise further over the next 1-2 years, with AI tools and deeper integration/automation emerging as the next vectors of change. The macro backdrop is firmly supportive: manufacturing PMI held at 55.0 in May 2026, GST collections are close to ₹2 lakh crore a month, GeM cumulative procurement has crossed ₹18.4 lakh crore (with micro and small enterprises making up 73% of active sellers and 68% of orders), and the Union Budget 2026-27 backs the sector with a dedicated ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund. With the country’s B2B e-commerce opportunity pegged at around USD 200 billion by 2030, the marketplaces that win MSMEs will be the ones that pair breadth of selection with rock-solid GST-compliant invoicing, transparent pricing, flexible credit and intelligent, AI-assisted automation — delivered as easily as a consumer app.

These findings land at a fitting moment. As the world marks World MSME Day 2026 on June 27th, this study shows that digital procurement has become a core part of the transformation underway across India’s small businesses — compressing procurement cycles, embedding GST-compliant invoicing and audit-readiness into everyday buying, and giving even one-person and sub-ten-employee businesses access to selection, pricing and credit once reserved for far larger buyers. Public digital rails — GST, UPI, GeM, ONDC and the MSME-TEAM onboarding push — have made this shift viable down to the smallest enterprises and the smaller districts, even as customer service, delivery speed and last-mile coverage in Tier 2-5 markets are areas where a lot still needs to happen. The message from India’s small businesses is clear: digital procurement is fast becoming mainstream, and the next phase will be about depth, intelligence and trust as much as adoption.

LocalCircles Study Demographics and Methodology

Over 62,000 responses were received from over 16,000 MSMEs located in 137 districts of India. 42% of the respondents were from metro or tier 1 districts, 33% from tier 2 districts and 25% were from tier 3, 4 and 5 districts. This study was conducted using the proprietary LocalCircles stratified sampling methodology. With a minimum target of 25% participation from three location groups (Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3-5 districts) on each poll, all polls were run until they achieved a steady state, after which the LocalCircles system used the bootstrapping technique to draw additional samples and test for the margin of error. All polls were found to have a margin of error under 4% and a confidence level of over 96%. In addition, LocalCircles conducted a separate digital procurement marketplace rating exercise among over 9,000 unique MSMEs between May 1 and June 5, 2026, with at least 500 ratings received for each of the eight marketplaces covered.

About LocalCircles

LocalCircles, India’s leading Community Social Media platform, enables citizens and small businesses to escalate issues for policy and enforcement interventions and enables the Government to make policies that are citizen and small business centric. LocalCircles is also India’s #1 pollster on issues of governance, public and consumer interest.

More about LocalCircles can be found on http://www.localcircles.com

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