Industry Reactions to Lockdown 4.0 Guidelines: Lockdown Exit Strategy

As per the government’s latest guidelines on the lockdown 4.0, the e-commerce platform will now be able to deliver both essential and non-essential products in the red zones as well. Everyone now living in green, orange, and red zones except containment zones will be able to essentials and non-essentials from e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, etc.   

Snapdeal saw an increase in the orders on Monday by 3 pm that crossed 2.4 times the average of the previous 15 days. The company reported that users simply checked out their pre-loaded carts that have been accumulating over the last 4-6 weeks. Also, on an average user bought 2-3 products in one go, the company reported. Amidst lockdown with people forced to stay at home, the pent up requirements to make the work from home experience better have long been held due to restrictions.   

E-commerce firms like Flipkart are calling the guidelines 4.0 – a ‘lockdown exit strategy’. A Flipkart spokesperson commented: “We welcome the efforts by the governments at Center and States in progressively charting out a lockdown exit plan and allowing e-commerce to serve the consumers with their varied product needs in all the classified zones, except containment zones.” Similarly, e-commerce platform Shopclues has immediately reported after the restrictions were relaxed to have been seeing a huge surge in demand for non-essentials especially in categories such as mobiles & accessories, summer fashion including dresses, cotton trousers, footwear, home fitness essentials, grooming appliances.  

Earlier, the government had allowed non-essential delivery only in the green and orange zones. Even now, containment zones – areas with a higher number of coronavirus cases – will be closely monitored and except for the necessary supply of essentials and medical emergencies, no movement is being allowed.  

Specifically, for an instance, in containment zones (reportedly, in Mumbai), Amazon India is working in collaboration with Local Municipal Corporation to deliver essentials. Amazon is delivering these orders to a designated delivery point in the vicinity of the containment zone, from where volunteers are further delivering the packages to the customers.

Long, industry bodies like IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India) had been appealing to the government to provide level playing field to e-commerce companies in the red zones. Arguable, in the red zones ‘standalone shops’ selling all items had been allowed to open, while e-commerce firms were still limited to deliver only essential items, which put them in a disadvantaged position. This point could possible been in consideration in government’s allowing greater relaxations in the lockdown 4.0. 

Noted.Create reply with Noted.Noted with thanks.Create reply with Noted with thanks.Will do.Create reply with Will do.

Are the suggestions above helpful?