E-commerce companies will have to deal with the twin challenges of delivering on time with an increasing number of orders from customers and keeping their employees safe in the coming weeks, as the number of COVID cases nationwide continues to rise, according to industry executives. Various state governments have announced weekend curfews and lockdowns to rein in the second wave of pandemic, which sees a record number of reported cases daily. Many states have allowed the delivery of important items via e-commerce. Delhi, for example, announced lockdown from 10 pm on April 19 which will end at 5 am the following Monday. The movement of people involved in “the delivery of essential goods including food, medicine, and medical equipment through e-commerce” is allowed. The total number of COVID-19 cases in India has exceeded 1.50 crore with a one-day increase of 2,73,810 new coronavirus infections, while active cases exceeded the 19-lakh mark, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.
A spokesperson of Amazon India said, it is enabling for the delivery of key products in line with the new guidelines set by the government. “However, we learned from customers one year ago that urgent needs vary from family to family and it is a challenge to define a list of priorities. We request the Delhi government to allow the delivery and movement of inter/intra state in all products to help people adhere to social distancing.” E-commerce is the safest way to meet consumer needs while supporting the livelihoods of lakhs of small and medium businesses including local stores, the spokesperson added.
In the last few weeks, demand for categories such as grocery, essential items such as sanitizers and masks, books, consumer electronics and appliances, has skyrocketed in various parts of the country. While players step up efforts to deliver these larger orders on time, they expect some delays too. “Due to the COVID-19-related restrictions on city travel by local administration, your delivery may be delayed,” said a note on the BigBasket’s app. A senior executive at a leading e-commerce company said the industry could face tough times ahead due to the continued increase in COVID-19 cases seen over the past few days in major cities. Although, the situation is being monitored and steps are being taken to deal with the situation, there is more pressure as more workers and their families are now unwell, the executive said. Leadership teams have intensified their efforts and reached out to workers to keep their morale high during these difficult times, the executive said.
Grofers, another e-grocery delivery platform, said, it has built deeper partnerships with its manufacturers, retailers, and brand partners to meet growing demand and prevent supply disruptions, and expressed confidence that there are enough stocks. “With some governments already announcing stricter closure policies, we are also stepping up our efforts to provide more consumers with security and safety,” said in a blogpost. Grofers also noted that whenever there is a conflict in the cases of COVID-19 in a given city, some delivery partners log off as they intend to return to their cities. “Regardless of these urban-to-rural movements, we ensure that all our current colleagues entering the service carry a valid RT PCR / Antigen report at the time of delivery, as safety – theirs and yours, remains our top priority,” it said. Grofers said that due to the unpredictable nature of the distribution of COVID-19, it was facing (temporary) closure of retail outlets.
“Whenever a merchant partner or staff member/employees are tested positive for the virus, we have taken great care to reduce the spread of the virus – by isolating infected people and getting a perimeter in addition”, added the E commerce company. The platform noted that in order to solve the problem of ‘panic buying’ and ‘hoarding’ of essentials, the company introduced ‘surge’ from time to time, managing inventory limits without disturbing consumer experience.
