What does the RBI have to do with your ecommerce business? And what does the GST Council have to do with your growth strategy?

More than you might think.

In this episode of eCommerce, Clearly, we step back from CAC, ROAS and conversion rates to look at the forces outside your business that can shape what happens inside it.

We break down the recent RBI repo rate hike, the latest GST reforms, and what they can mean for ecommerce sellers — from cost of capital and working capital to inventory, margins, consumer spending and expansion.

But this episode isn't really about the repo rate or GST.

It’s about understanding that your ecommerce business operates inside a much bigger economic system — and when that system changes, your strategy may need to change with it.

Because sometimes, the biggest decision affecting your ecommerce business is being made by someone who has never even heard of your brand.

RBI Repo Rate / October 2026 Monetary Policy:
RBI repo rate hike — October 2026

The RBI raised the repo rate by 25 bps to 5.50% and shifted its stance to calibrated tightening. Reuters

57th GST Council Meeting — October 2026:
GST Council Meeting — Economic Times live updates

The meeting focused on GST administration and compliance reforms, including simplified registration for small ecommerce sellers, faster refunds and other compliance changes, while GST rates remained unchanged. The Economic Times

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Nearly 80% of Indian home shoppers discover products through social media. But does that really mean social media is becoming the new storefront?

In this episode of eCommerce, Clearly, we dig deeper into what this shift actually means for ecommerce — and why the headline is only the starting point.

The discussion is inspired by an ET Retail report on Deloitte’s research into India’s home and household market, which found that nearly 80% of Indian home shoppers discover products through social media, while 60% use ecommerce apps even while shopping in physical stores to research products, compare prices and access offers.

We go beyond the numbers to explore how social media, creators, marketplaces, D2C websites, physical retail and AI are increasingly becoming different touchpoints in the same customer journey.

Why does discovery matter if the purchase happens somewhere else?
Is social media actually becoming a storefront — or is it becoming something more important: the place where purchase intent is created?
And what does this mean for ecommerce brands trying to understand where their customers actually come from?

The episode draws on insights from Deloitte’s “The Home Reset: How India is redefining the way homes are designed, upgraded and experienced” report, as covered by ET Retail, and looks at the broader implications for Indian ecommerce.

Because maybe the biggest change isn't that social media is becoming a storefront.

Maybe it's that the storefront itself is no longer one place.

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