It can be said without any doubt that the COVID19 pandemic has led the world into unforeseen health and economic crisis. People are dealing with altering lifestyles and preferences. The habits of consumers are changing as well.
People are looking for a more convenient, safe, and hygienic medium of shopping. Here is where the online shopping facility comes in. The e-commerce sector is capable of meeting all these requirements of the consumers.
With the continuing global growth in the e-commerce sector, it will also solidify its foothold in the Indian marketplace as well. The lockdown restrictions have pushed the technology-averse consumers to use technology for food delivery and online shopping of essentials.
This has resulted in more consumers shifting towards online shopping for essential and non-essential products. Considering the benefits of hygiene, the habit of buying online has propelled the growth of e-commerce in India.
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A drastic increase in online shopping
With the opportunities of traditional offline street-side businesses completely shut down, most of the businesses are taking it online. The sales in multiple sectors have gone up. The sudden increase in the demand for multiple products has led to a shortage.
Also, with the declaration of lockdown, panic-buying among people has also increased as well. It has become more of a trend. People have already shifted from malls and supermarkets to online e-commerce stores to buy everyday commodities.
This is why the sales of e-commerce stores like BigBasket and Grofers have increased. It will continue to grow up in the near future as well.
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Online shopping increases efficiency saves time and it is here to stay
Online shopping offers the benefit that you will not have to waste time looking through different retail stores or supermarkets. You get everything delivered at your doorstep. The best part is, even the small stores are offering home delivery. In the coming time, people will prefer buying online rather than the stores offline.
Also, this COVID19 pandemic has shown the worst side of everything till now. Since people are unwilling to go out due to the fear of getting sick, there has been a shortage of manpower. Even though online stores are receiving a lot of orders, the issue of insufficient manpower to deliver still persists.
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Increase in the corona virus-related e-commerce store
The shopping preferences and habits of consumers are evolving. To stay competitive under the changing circumstances, a lot of businesses have started selling the essentials online. These essentials include soaps, hand sanitizers, gloves, face shields, masks, and all other hygienic products to meet consumer requirements.
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Retailers are shifting towards selling essential commodities
At present, the inclination of consumers towards buying non-essentials has reduced. This is why the retailers selling commodities like garments, footwear, jewelry, and other non-essentials are incurring a loss.
To deal with this, retailers have started selling essential commodities. They are utilizing technology to get back on the game. It might seem to be a bit tough but there is an abundance of opportunities on the internet. The attitude of buyers is changing.
Thus, the retail industry is expecting a change in the near future.
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Digital transformation in the local Kirana shops
The Kirana shops have played a vital role in tough times. The Kirana shops have been the life and blood for a lot of people. Due to the outbreak of the virus, people are already looking for contactless alternatives.
Since the Kirana shops have started digitizing and delivering online, it has become more convenient for people to get everything with one click. Local shops are already delivering to a radius of a few kilometers where they can. They are also offering contactless delivery with sanitized goods.
It not only helps in stopping the virus transmission but also eradicates fear from people. With the digital transformation of the local Kirana stores, both the consumers and retailers have benefitted. The future of e-commerce is evolving with COVID19 forcing a lot of people in the online transactions who used to rely on offline stores.
Some additional information on the momentum of e-commerce in India
Internet mogul Amazon started to block the shipments of all the non-essential products to the warehouses. The reason was the significant increase in the order of essentials due to the COVID19 pandemic.
Amazon prioritized the products of six categories. These include baby product, health & household, beauty & personal hygiene, grocery, industrial & scientific products, and pet supplies. If Amazon is riding the wave to ensure all the essentials are stocked up. Things are not different for India.
E-commerce platforms have seen a hike of 15-20% in the gross merchandise value in the first 15 days of March. Also, there has been a massive growth of 50% in the GMV categories like grocery, health, and wellness.
Along with the increase in the use of e-commerce platforms, there has been a huge strain on the e-commerce supply chain. This has resulted in shipment delays, technical issues, and labor shortages. For e-commerce firms, logistics has become important now more than ever.
With the increase in demand, e-commerce platforms need to use the right technology to ensure same-day delivery for important essentials. A right tech-platform can help in creating a seamless route plan and optimization.
It can also help in creating an optimal fleet of transports to match the increase in demand while considering the traffic and route restrictions. Also, it is a good idea to club the orders based on the factors like preferred time slots, priority orders location preferences and other order specifications.
More importantly, it is now important to keep a close track of the data to garner insights and make changes if needed. This is the time for e-commerce, logistics, and digital marketing firms to step up and be counted in these testing times.
