Ecommerce Sector’s Role In The Year Of Turbulence

The e-commerce sector played a crucial role in keeping a critical degree of economic activities going in 2020 when the pandemic was crippling a number of sectors. 

Throughout 2020, e-commerce giants like Amazon India, Walmart India were focused on finding ways for manufacturers whose manufacturing units were shut. Amazon India had extended its global USD 25 million relief fund to its delivery partners who had taken a hit due to the coronavirus pandemic.  

“Not only did it facilitate the distribution of good and services but also played a critical role in generating employment for small businesses, delivery boys and other displaced sections of the Indian economy,” stated Anand Ramanathan, Partner, Deloitte India. 

Reports shared by the e-commerce firms showed a huge number of first time buyers with many from tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart Group, said, “Flipkart’s purpose has been elevated this past year, as we continue to play an important role in ensuring the safe delivery of products to consumers’ doorsteps through a safe and sanitized supply chain. This past year, we have strived to expand our offerings across categories to ensure our consumers are well equipped with everything that they need. We have consistently worked towards creating an ecosystem that serves consumers’ growing needs and also helping Indian sellers and MSMEs access the pan-India market more effectively & efficiently.” 

Need For Fintech

The success story of e-commerce could have been incomplete without the role of fintech companies. As per a report, this year, 48.02 per cent transactions in online shopping are happening through UPI, 37.84 per cent from card. UPI adoption on the Flipkart platform increased nationally by 4.5X from January 2020 to August 2020. 

Mumbai-based fintech firm Kissht which works with over 200 online partners like Flipkart, Amazon, Pepperfry, etc. got major traction during this covid-19 period. Manmeet Singh, CMO of Kissht said: “During the sale days offered by leading e-commerce players, we saw an almost 80 per cent surge in volume for shopping vouchers and credit lines from our customers. We see this as a huge pent up demand owing to the lockdown phase that helped us and all leading e-commerce players rebound during the last 3 months.” 

Mandar Agashe, Founder, MD & Vice Chairman, Sarvatra Technologies said, “By providing seamless access to financial services, our company has played a critical role in the rise of e-commerce during Covid-19, especially in the rural areas. Through our UPI and IMPS switches, we are facilitating the penetration of digital payments in the hinterlands of India."