Online shopping flourishes in Vizag amid pandemic blues

Second wave surge forcing people to switch to safer ways for making purchases

May 06, 2021 11:47 pm | Updated May 07, 2021 12:45 pm IST - B. Madhu Gopal

An RTC bus driver helping a passenger sanitise her hands, in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.

An RTC bus driver helping a passenger sanitise her hands, in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.

All the five members of a family tested positive for COVID-19 and isolated themselves in their home. They called their relatives living in the city and advised them not to visit them. The relatives were worried as to how they would fend for themselves in the pandemic situation.

One of the relatives, a techie living in Bengaluru, ordered for their needs online. The order was safely delivered at their doorstep. Online shopping for medicines, groceries and vegetables has once again seen a spurt in the demand.

The demand for door delivery is so high that the innumerable online stores in the city are unable to cater to the needs of customers on time. The COVID second wave surge has once again forced the consumers to switch to the safe online mode. Those who are working abroad and have their parents living in India are also finding it convenient to order groceries, fruits and vegetables online for delivery to their parents.

Citizens are worried about going to the vegetable markets and rythu bazaars to choose fresh vegetables.

Long waiting period

All that the consumers have to do is to place the list of their needs on the WhatsApp number or on the website of the online supplier concerned, in advance and get the vegetables and groceries delivered at their doorstep. It’s better to place the order sufficiently early as the waiting lists for delivery of orders are getting long.

“We placed an order with an online company for provisions on May 1 and were informed that the order would be delivered on May 8. We can book provisions, fruits and vegetables at this store,” says Nageswara Rao of Marripalem VUDA Colony.

“We are finding it difficult to deliver on time as delivery boys are getting infected and we are finding it difficult to recruit new staff in their place. Customers living 15 to 20 km away are also not willing to pay ₹200 towards transportation cost, despite the pandemic situation,” says A. Neeraj Kumar, a website developer, who owns VizagShop.com

Cancellation woes

“We have partners at multiple locations in different corners of the city to deliver the orders, based on the location of the customer to ensure speedy delivery. At times customers are cancelling the orders at the eleventh hour, wasting our time and energy,” he says listing the woes of online suppliers.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.