Survey finds 36% consumers are yet to place non-essential orders on ecomm platforms

With India easing some lockdown restrictions from May 17 which allowed e-commerce firms to operate across the country except in containment zones, a survey was conducted to know if consumers had started buying online. 

And it found that 36% of respondents have started using e-commerce platforms and are placing orders for products including gadgets, appliances, office supplies, fashion, and home supplies. 

Another 36% voted that they have not placed any orders yet while 23% mentioned that few orders have been placed by them and some are to be done. 5% of respondents in the survey did not have any opinion on it.

The survey was conducted by social media platform LocalCircles and the results were based on responses from 16,000 consumers from 231 districts of India.

Separately, the platform also asked the respondents in what category of products beyond essentials did they plan to order via e-commerce sites in the next 30 days. In response, 5% said gadgets like laptops and mobiles while 5% voted for office and school supplies. 

Around 6% said they were going to shop for white goods and 5% voted for home improvement and furnishings. While 8% said fashion, apparels, toys, gifts, other 17% voted for shopping items other than mentioned in the survey. 

Rest 54% said they are planning to place orders for more than one category mentioned above, the survey added.

A key reason why consumers have not started placing their orders was the financial uncertainties with job losses and falling income that have followed the pandemic. 

Since the gradual easing of the lockdown, e-commerce majors such as Amazon and Flipkart have reported a surge in orders. 

And with new peaks of positive cases reported every day and now closing in on the 10,000 mark, it is expected that the need to continue with social distancing, avoid crowded places like shops and malls, as well as the preference for digital transactions, is likely to drive more shoppers online resulting in even more orders for e-commerce platforms. 

According to data analytics firm GlobalData, the Covid-19 pandemic will accelerate the growth of India’s e-commerce market taking it to about Rs 700,000 crore by 2023.