The rise and rise of e-commerce during corona -With Shrikant Singh, Amazon

Everyone is riding in the same boat, trying to grapple with the upheaval wrought by the Corona pandemic. And to analyze any such nuances of the e-commerce sector during the Corona crisis, we have with us Shrikant Singh, an IIT-ISB tag bearer and the survivor of the Great Recession, 2008.

On one hand, sectors like travel and hospitality are severely wrecked by the virus, but on the other hand sectors like e-commerce are fighting the battle with an unwavering spirit and determination. It has made a sudden rise amidst the economic crunch by taking calculated risks and making changes to their modus operandi. Shrikant Singh, who is currently heading the Personal Computers division of Appario Retail Private Limited, a joint venture between Amazon and the Patni Group has pulled through the same economic slump in 2008 as well. Let’s dive in to take notes of the 10 emerging trends of the e-commerce sector during the Corona crisis from his rich insights.

Demand for an external fleet of help

Smaller e-commerce chains involved in logistics and supply chain might end up getting severely affected. Being asset-heavy they need manpower, transportation, warehouses, and other such external help for efficient operations. But since the shutters of the entire nation are shut down, it will become difficult for the industry to create revenue. All of this will account for an ugly picture of cash burning because they still have a cost to pay.

The new trend of consolidation of models

A huge chunk of e-commerce players work on mix-models of execution, they have their online as well as offline-physical store presence. But with the prevailing coronavirus mayhem, the industry will bend towards online presence. This clearly indicates the need for waving goodbye to certain assets and resources which were earlier deployed for the offline sector. So, to iron out these wrinkles, the offline physical store presence has to seek out ways to be more online-friendly with smart execution of strategies.

Tier-II and tier-III cities soaring high with demand

Do you know that 70 percent of the e-commerce demand is generated from Tier I cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, and Hyderabad. But with all these top metropolitan cities falling under the category of red-zone, it is now the tier-II and tier-III cities that are driving the e-commerce sector during the Corona crisis. The daily run rate of giants like Amazon and Flipkart has witnessed an accelerated growth of 2x-3x and has raised the bar from 30 percent to 89 percent. This change in trend is likely to be a common sight in the coming days.

Increased penetration of e-commerce in India

With 28 percent of overall retails in China and 14 percent in the US, India lags behind with just 5 percent. The impact of the pandemic cannot be gainsaid but the overall scope of e-commerce in the country is gigantic, that in spite of low demand there is enough scope to keep expanding. Yes, the bar of discretionary spending has come down as everyone is on their saving mode, but still, their basic demand is enough for the sector to boom and gloom.

The two major driving forces of the sector

Think this way, once the lockdown is lifted everyone will rush after meeting their pent-up demands that we once wanted to fulfill but could not. Whether it's something that is required for basic household functioning or to make work-from-home operations smoother, this latent demand will definitely spike-up the e-commerce industry. Another driving factor is retail therapy, something that mentally gives us much-needed happiness during this prolonged lockdown. To this degree, when everything is done at or from home, people will run after gadgets or services to make the process easier.

Symbiotic association of the giants and local retailers

An e-commerce company cannot outgrow its online presence without the support of local players. They are the ‘pulse’ of the neighborhood. Amidst this lockdown, with delivery guys being beaten up and state borders sealed, the survival of e-commerce is pretty much dependent on the local Kirana stores for the grocery. The only solution is the integration of offline retailers and e-retailers. Down the line, the trend of building an ecosystem will continue where thousands of sellers can offer their services round the clock and make it as their primary source of business.

Ballooning of the concept of pre-paid orders

Considering e-commerce during the Corona crisis in a country like India, where we are still following a learning curve, people will be inclined to adapt to a lot of changes. For instance, the mode of payment. In order to promote contact-less delivery and social distancing, the consumers have started to accept cashless payment more openly. Moving to digital payments is for sure going to be the new normal for the industry.

Embracing and accepting e-commerce trends

People catering to tier-II and tier-III cities have always preferred the funda of trying and then buying. The trust factor and the look-and-feel angle of people are gradually converting into the new trend of buying things based on customer reviews and ratings. The Corona crisis has made people of even smaller cities embrace online shopping and openness towards the e-commerce sector.

Building new models to cope with the new normal

Online food delivering platforms like Swiggy and Zomato have faced a 70-80 percent reduction in their daily business orders. Even with such a heartbreaking loss, they did not fire the existing employees but rather came up with newly improvised models to survive. For instance, they opened up their services for grocery delivery to meet the demands and have also offered a proposal for ordering alcohol. Another model for coping the new normal is the e-commerce sector incorporating grocery, toiletries, kitchenware, and other such commodities in their lots, which earlier no one preferred shopping online.

Work from home as a long term scenario

With big companies announcing work from home as their major mode of operations in the coming years, it is still questionable whether it will be accepted as a new normal or not. This can be easily applicable for places that have hundreds of employees but it cannot be executed by every other player in the industry. Work from home can give a lot of flexibility but nothing can be equally effective as human interaction when it comes to business.

Believing that people should be more productive during these bleak times, while working-from-home shows a not-so-empathetic side of employers. Everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt, support, and flexibility to combat the downside of lockdown both personally and professionally.

Let’s not judge each other and survive together! Some other articles that can offer you more insights into the business world are mentioned below: