The graph of being covid19 affected goes up abruptly. Meanwhile, the novel coronavirus has crippled the world economy. Indian finance has been suffering since the beginning as all other third world countries. RBI also refused to give the projection. Small businesses like street shops have been closed due to worldwide lockdown. Standing in such a miserable condition, e-commerce can be a new hope in economical arena.
WHAT IS E-COMMERCE?
E-commerce is derived from electronic commerce which refers to the purchasing and selling of products or transferring data and money by using the electronic network, primarily the internet. E-commerce markets are growing at noticeable rates. The online market is expected to grow by 56% in the last 5 years.
IMPACT OF COVID19 IN E-COMMERCE SYSTEM
Coronavirus has disrupted the supply chain management system globally. E-commerce services are also facing troubles due to lockdown and they are not able to deliver products. Security issues forced some companies to reduce the number of employees which called for horrible unemployment.
Gyms, shopping malls, cinema halls, restaurants in many cities are shutting until further notice.
As people have maintained social distancing as a way to slow down the rapid spread of coronavirus, there would be an increase in online shopping as they turn to e-commerce to purchase the items.
A survey by Engine found that people are spending on 10-30% more online.
Devanshu Dutta, Chief Executive of Third Eyesight, said, “The lockdown has certainly provided e-commerce a unique environment to expand its footprint, but the first several weeks saw them falter due to lack of product availability as well as breaks in supply chain.”
Source: Common thread collective
The development comes even as Amazon said last month that they saw the “biggest impact” of the coronavirus outbreak in India amongst the international markets for the world wide lockdown. The volume of online transactions compared to the same period last year increased by 74%.
E-COMMERCE AS A TOOL OF ECONOMIC GROWTH IN COVI19 PANDEMIC
The strong and steady growth of internet users and spreading awareness regarding online shopping, low price due to bulk purchase, and so on. Besides, buying medical products like surgical masks, hand sanitizers are being purchased far faster than before pandemic.
According to data from Nielsen, items like hygienic and medical mask sales are up by more than 30%. Pandemic has also changed the entire scenario in other e-commerce services like grocery and subscription services. Apart from all these essentials, digital streaming like Netflix, Amazon is gaining enormous subscribers in this lockdown.
Moreover, social distancing and lockdown are further expected to make ahead way towards online shopping which contributes to the growth of global e-commerce.
E-COMMERCE IN POST PANDEMIC ERA
While brick and mortar retail is challenged under a new practice consumer behavior, the outbreak is fetching a new mass to e-commerce. It should boost the market across the region for a prolonged period, with strong development through 2025 providing several opportunities for new entrepreneurs and business leaders to launch new products and services.
But nothing is flawless. There are lots of online sites that have originated during this time and people are using as these are fulfilling their needs without a complication. But there is still a question about the authenticity of these sites. The services would be better in the near future if the hazards like app or site crashes can be mitigated.
-SaswatiChattopadhyay