Orders for non-essential goods flood e-commerce firms amid lockdown

BENGALURU: Thousands of orders were placed with e-commerce firms such as Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal after the government lifted the ban on sale of non-essential goods by online marketplaces in orange and green zones across the country.

Baby care, electronics, apparels, personal hygiene and work-from-home products were the most-searched items on these e-commerce platforms on Day 1, with a definite shift in shopping trends amongst the homebound consumers. Non-essential commodities constitute 70 per cent of total e-commerce sales in India, which stood at nearly $30 billion in 2019, says a note by Forrester Research.

An Amazon spokesperson told TNIE that its sellers have received orders for smart devices, electronics, kitchen appliances, clothes and other work-and-study-from-home enablers from customers in orange and green zones. “As we support the economic revival of small and medium businesses, we urge the government to allow an expanded list of priority products in the red zone, which will not only serve urgent needs and spruce up economic activity, but will also ensure citizen safety in a high-risk area,” Amazon India said.

Flipkart said it has seen an increase in searches for consumer electronics products, particularly trimmers. With salons shut, search for trimmers increased 4.5 times, it said.

“We are seeing an increase in searches for laptops, consumer electronics (such as headphones), mobile phones, air conditioners, coolers, t-shirts and other essentials,” said Anil Goteti, senior vice-president at Flipkart.

For Snapdeal, 75 per cent of the orders on Day-1 of Lockdown 3.0 came from orange and green zones. With more MSMEs to restart operations in these zones, the e-tailer said its sellers have received thousands of orders.

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Baby care, electronics, apparels, personal hygiene and work-from-home products were the most-searched items on these e-commerce platforms on Day 1 after the lifting of ban on sale of non-essential goods, with a definite shift in shopping trends amongst homebound consumers.