PremiumNew Delhi: As covid-19 cases surge and states impose localized curbs, consumers complained of patchy supplies and rise in prices of some essentials, despite better availability of necessary items compared to last year.
Localized lockdowns in large states and cities and a general sense of anxiety and fear among consumers are driving up demand for products such as cooking oils, pulses, sanitizers, masks and oximeters. Several consumers Mint spoke to, who have recently switched to ordering supplies online, said they were experiencing a lag in deliveries as demand is overwhelming.
Ashmit Dalal, who lives in Mumbai’s Andheri, said staff and labour crunch at small kirana stores is leading to delays and cancellations of orders and deliveries. Maharashtra is under a strict curfew and store timings have been restricted to 7-11 am in the state. Home delivery is allowed only till 8 pm. Priyanka Singh from Mulund said BigBasket was delivering only every two days in her area though hyperlocal e-commerce platforms like Frazzo and Suprr Daily.
In New Delhi and its neighbouring cities, prices of fruits and vegetables have risen in the last few days. Neha Grover, a marketing professional, has been relying on HalloBasket, an online marketplace for fruits and vegetables, to get deliveries for her large family. Grover, who lives in Greater Noida, said finding tender coconut water, considered good for immunity, was tough.
Across markets, price of tender coconut has risen significantly over the last few days to ₹80 per piece from ₹35-40, said vendors.
Customers reported delays in online delivery orders across platforms such as Grofers, BigBasket and Amazon, especially in cities such as Delhi-NCR and Mumbai. Vaishali Choudhury from Noida complained about not finding stocks in her neighbourhood modern trade store. “Online grocery platform Milkbasket is also taking two-three days to deliver essential goods," she said.
“The second wave of the pandemic has led to a huge surge in orders across all cities on our platform. In view of the pandemic situation, we had worked on increasing our capacity and building infrastructure throughout last year and also in early 2021. As a result, BigBasket is making deliveries in all our operating cities, albeit with extended timelines in some cities due to unexpectedly high demand and movement restrictions," a companyspokesperson said.
Indians aren’t stockpiling unlike last year when supplies and distribution systems were both disrupted. Though large companies are ensuring supplies of goods, consumers are facing intermittent challenges in areas under lockdowns as mobility is restricted and demand for essentials is up.
Premium Premium In parts of Delhi and Chandigarh, distributors and wholesalers said prices of mustard oil surged 10-15%, while that of pulses and rice jumped 8-10% over the last few days. Certain brands of cooking oils are in short supply, said a wholesaler.
“Edible oils have been seeing price hikes over the last two quarters. Some increase in milk and wheat happened earlier too. On the fresh produce side, price hikes are very local, and not a pan-India phenomenon. Localized enhanced demand has come up and is creating some opportunistic approach from some suppliers," said Akshay D’Souza, chief marketing officer, Bizom, a retail intelligence platform. Bizom tracks grocery sales across thousands of retail stores.
At Narang Chemist in New Delhi supplies of sanitizers are normal, but the owner fears essential supplies could be delayed over the coming days. On e-commerce platforms, the price of some oximeters models went up in the last five days from ₹1,999 to ₹2,499.
“There are supply disruptions, but not like what we saw the last time," said Prem Kumar, founder and CEO Snapbizz that provides last mile connectivity to kirana stores.
“The problem of last mile delivery is from the distributor to the retailer. If the driver doesn’t turn up for work, or the shop is not open or the window of opening the shop is just three hours or four hours… So the problem is not across the supply chain," he said.
Demand is up for sanitizers, soaps, and disinfectants apart from biscuits and basic essentials, he added.
In Kolkata, that is currently not under any curfew, availability of supplies and movement of goods is relatively smooth. “Things in Kolkata are okay so far. People aren’t stocking up on essentials unlike this time last year. We went to a supermarket (Spencer’s) on Sunday to buy stuff and it was fully stocked. Ordered some things from their online store and everything was available and got delivered quickly. Nothing is marked up either," said 29-year-old Swati Bhasin, writer with a web portal.
(Lata Jha contributed to this story)
Click here to read the Mint ePaperMint is now on Telegram. Join Mint channel in your Telegram and stay updated with the latest business news.
