India, Nov. 20 -- Unboxing is joy. But, the excitement fizzles out the moment you discover that it is not what you had seen on the screen.

The disconnect between what was promised and what was delivered has led to recurrent retail fatigue among modern-day consumers. For today's consumers, spoiled by choice but stripped of touch, online shopping has lost its joy, becoming more gamble than gratification.

Yet, India's $138 Bn ecommerce goes full throttle to breach the $400 Bn mark by 2030. What's the catch? Approximately 90% of India's retail market which is surging to scale $2.2 Tn by the same year is still offline, even though a major portion of purchases are influenced online.

This presents a curious paradox: shoppers want that persona...