E-tailers are reporting a sudden surge in sales volumes in the last two weeks, after a large number of shoppers took to online shopping to avoid stepping into malls, super markets and crowded open bazaars.
Redseer Management Consulting, a firm which tracks consumer internet space, said there had been a clear 20% spike in e-tailing with grocery sales alone witnessing a huge uptick at 50% in the last weekend.
Sanjay Kothari, engagement manager at Redseer said, “As a Covid-19 precautionary measure people are actively avoiding high footfall areas such as malls and super markets. There is a lot of focus on personal hygiene and home sanitation. E-tailers have reported a positive impact, a 20% spurt in sales in the last few weeks.”
Although large e-tailers Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart refused to share sales data for March, after the COVID-19 panic began, people who track the space say the e-tail giants have been witnessing spikes in sales in multiple categories and cities.
Snapdeal reported a 50% spurt in kitchen, bathroom floor cleaning products, bedsheets, towels, pillows, portable hair trimmers, manicure, pedicure and facial kits. LED bulbs, portable fans and 4G routers are also witnessing a sudden increase. As per Rajnish Wahi, official spokesperson at Snapdeal, till a fortnight ago it was mask, sanitisers and surface cleaning products. “Now people are buying more home linen, bed sheets, towels and pillows. Also personal care products, to avoid gym and saloon visits. T-shirts are also bought in large numbers. We see an early spurt in summer fashion products and open footwear, something that usually picks up only by end of March or beginning of April.''
Supr Daily, an online grocery store, said it has been witnessing over a 100% increase in demand, especially for fruits, vegetables and other perishable products that cannot be stocked for more days. The store has also taken several measures to cope with the increased customer demand amidst the COVID-19 crisis.“We are witnessing over a 100% increase in demand. We have taken proactive measures and all precautions possible to ensure the safety of all our customers, delivery partners and employees across our network,” said a Supr Daily spokesperson.
Grofers, India’s biggest online grocery retailer has reported up to 80% surge in sales. Albinder Dhindsa, co-founder & CEO, Grofers said,
“Over the last couple of days, we have seen customers buying items on our platform in large quantities across cities as well as categories. Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Ahmedabad have seen a higher surge with nearly 80% growth followed by Delhi NCR and Hyderabad at a 60% spike in business.”
Grofers reported rise in both the number of orders (45%) as well as order value (18%). Personal hygiene products, followed by floor cleaners have seen a surge in demand along with immunity boosting products such as chyawanprash and honey. Essential items such as atta, dal and rice are also being bought in large quantities, it said.
