BENGALURU: E-commerce firms have been witnessing a surge in demand from smaller towns and cities, for groceries, essentials and non-essentials, prompting them to add more pincodes to their delivery network.
Amazon Pantry, which offers grocery and everyday essentials to value-seeking customers, has seen a 2 times increase in demand from tier 2 and 3 cities, said an Amazon India spokesperson.
“...Demand from cities such as Ambala, Ananthapur, Bijapur, Cuddapah, Erode saw a 5X increase in demand. In May, we expanded Amazon Pantry to more than 200 cities and towns, adding towns like Eluru, Prakasm, Kurnool among others," said the spokesperson.
Amazon Pantry also offers a curated grocery and essentials selection that comes with a guarantee of lowest price, and there are incentives for customers when they stock up. The orders are shipped from Amazon fulfilment centres near the cities and delivered within two days.
As unlocking gains momentum, large e-commerce firms are resuming services across categories given demand revival.
Amazon and Flipkart have been stepping up to provide increased support to their seller ecosystem to ensure business continuity after the lockdowns hit operations of small and medium-sized businesses.
Abhishek Rajan, COO, Paytm Mall, said since the government allowed delivery of non-essential items, it has witnessed 2 times increase in demand from tier 2 and 3 locations and other cities.
Paytm Mall has witnessed a surge in searches and sale of mobiles, masks, trimmers, laptops and other consumer electronics. With people mostly staying at home during the lockdown, there has been a surge in the sale of footwear especially slip-ons and comfortable innerwear as compared to sneakers, formal shoes as well as fashion apparel.
“....While there is a pent up demand due to the on-going lockdown, we believe that the overall trend of ordering online is going to remain strong due to social distancing norms. Many of our users are from tier-III and Bharat cities who are now ordering groceries as well as non-essentials routinely on our platform," Rajan said.
For Snapdeal, demand in Bharat or non-metros has recovered faster compared with metros where curbs remain in place given the large number of cases.
“In non-metro markets, the sales volumes are now 80% of pre-covid levels, up nearly 10%. More than 80% of the orders come from non-metros. The demand is highest from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh," a Snapdeal spokesperson said.
Overall, online sales have seen a boost as both essential and non-essential items are now allowed for deliveries.
Amazon India sellers have been receiving orders for consumer electronics, home study essentials, kitchen & home appliances, smart devices, laptops, mobile phones, phone accessories, personal grooming products, apparel besides groceries and essential products.
“Work from home and online schooling enablers continue to see a surge in search for products such as 1.7X increase in headphones & earphones, over 2X increase for laptops & tablets, nearly 1.2X increase for stationery, 2X increase for mouse & keyboards, 1.3X increase for printers, over 3X increase for routers and 2.5X increase for study tables," the Amazon spokesperson said.
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