States like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Haryana, which have restricted their activities to contain the spread of Covid-19, have allowed online retailers to ship only essential items.
However, only Tamil Nadu has declared that delivery of groceries, groceries, vegetables, meat and fish by e-commerce businesses is allowed from 6am to 12pm. The other states have not specified essential elements.
Pundits and e-commerce executives told ET that it’s not really necessary as spending is modest.
“Demand for discretionary products is already declining. Most consumers only order what they need,” said an executive at a major e-commerce company, who asked not to be identified.
Another e-commerce executive said that consumer needs vary by person and household and “it’s difficult to define what is essential and what isn’t.”
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Elicited inquiries to Amazon, Flipkart and no response.
The Haryana government said in its lockdown guidelines: “All establishments in (the) supply chain of essential goods, whether they are involved in manufacturing, wholesale or retail of such goods through local stores, large brick-and-mortar stores or e-commerce Companies involved should be allowed to do so.”
Karnataka, which flipped its e-commerce policy when it extended its lockdown from May 10-24, said “delivery of only essential items via e-commerce and home delivery” will be allowed.
Consumers seem to want access to a wide range of products and not just the so-called essentials that the Home Office defined in its guidelines last year.
A survey by community platform LocalCircles found that 48% of respondents in Delhi said they would buy laptops, mobile phones or similar devices to work from home in the next three months, while in Maharashtra the figure was 60% .
In addition, 45% of respondents from Delhi and 26% from Maharashtra said they would buy air conditioners, coolers, fans or similar household appliances.
The surveys were conducted from late April to early May and included 6,221 respondents from Delhi and 5,355 respondents from Maharashtra. LocalCircles noted that while there would be less demand for such products on an all-India level, the numbers are indicative of what type of products people want to buy.
“In general, a lot of the spending that we see is non-discretionary. Most of what people buy is because they need it, be it a laptop or an air conditioner,” said Ankur Pahwa, national head, e-commerce and consumer internet, at EY India. “There are some categories that might have discretion, like luxury products and high-end electronics, but that would be a relatively small part of total spend.”
E-commerce companies have called on the government to remove the distinction between essential and non-essential items, calling it subjective. They said such labeling of products often causes problems as local authorities have different definitions of what constitutes essential and non-essential goods.
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