Coronavirus Downturn: Amid Store Closures, Impact Of Lockdown On Online Shopping Behaviour

Soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on March 24, announced a complete lockdown in the country, several online retailers and grocers either shut their operations temporarily or limited their services.

Representative Image: Getty)

New Delhi: On the backdrop of 21-day lockdown announced by Central government and self-imposed quarantine in many homes in urban India, there has been a significant ups and downs in online shopping behaviour across the country. With Coronavirus rapidly crawling into the skin of humanity in India and across the globe, businesses are most likely to be severely impacted in the near term as government has ordered complete shutdown of malls, shops etc. However, in these times of a medical pandemic, e-commerce businesses in the country have witnessed some unprecedented shifts as some sectors of the online business saw a massive surge in demands, while some tanked upside down. According to a report by a media advertising company Group M, online sale of daily essentials and electronics (TVs, laptops, gaming  consoles etc) skyrocketed, while there massive plunge was seen in fashion items, beauty products and travel bookings due to the Coronavirus lockdown. Here are 4 key observations in online shopping trends due to Covid-19 outbreak: i. Daily essentials categories see a massive 200 per cent hike in searches driven by hygiene and heathcare needs. ii. Lifestyle categories sales witnessed a drop between 15 to 30 per cent with increase in consumer price sensitivity. iii. Purchase growth skewed to family vs individual purchases. iv. Increase in searches skewed to brand agnostics. ALSO WATCH | COVID-19: FM Sitharaman Announces Rs 1.7 Lakh Crore Relief Package For Poor The Group m report further highlighted that the online demand for essential items skyrocketed with 100 per cent increase in searches for hyperlocal apps such as Grofers and Big Basket. The study also observed that there was 80 per cent increase in daily essential e-commerce sales and a 20 per cent hike in average Cart value of such items. Overview of rising & falling trends:

Rising Trends	Falling Trends
Sanitizers & masks Staples Ready to eat Soaps Household disinfectants	Chocolates & snacks Hair & beard oil & styling Hair styling & colouring Beauty skin care Protein supplements

Lifestyle categories have taken a massive hit due to nationwide lockdown and Covid-19 pandemic over the last few weeks. According to the study, there has been a substantial decrease in fashion, beauty and home related e-commerce searches. However a rise in demand of fitness equipment, indoor games, toys etc have been noticed. Electronic categories, however, witnessed a mix bag with a 25 per cent hike in e-commerce searches for laptops, 100 per cent increase in DTH searches were observed. E-commerce search for Smart watches, on the other hand, saw a decrease of 30 per cent in the recent days. (Image: Group m study) Soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on March 24, announced a complete lockdown in the country, several online retailers and grocers either shut their operations temporarily or limited their services, citing lack of proper clarity and inadequate safety of their employees. Despite government's advisory exempting e-commerce deliveries of essential services such as food, medicines, grocery items etc, several such companies suspended their services. However, online retailers are expected to resume their services from Thursday following assurance from both State and Central governments on safety of their employees and allowing them to operate seamlessly. After temporarily suspending all of its operations and services, etailer Flipkart has resumed its grocery and essential services. Similarly, Grofers has too started accepting orders on its website and mobile application again.