E-commerce firms await advisories from states to resume full service

E-commerce firms such as Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal are gearing up to resume delivery of non-essentials across the country including red zones except in the containment areas. The companies, however, are awaiting advisories from different states.

On Sunday, the ministry of home affairs allowed e-commerce firms to deliver essential and non-essential items in red zones. However, the relaxations won't be applicable to containment zones, where only essential services will be allowed, the MHA said.

"Post the government of India's guidelines last evening, we are awaiting the advisories from different states. We will continue to work in accordance with the directives from the government and local authorities while serving customers, sellers through our safe supply chain," Flipkart said.

Till now, the e-commerce firms were allowed to sell non-essential items in green and orange zones only. It had allowed delivery of essential goods in red zones.

"We are working with lakhs of MSMEs and sellers across India to provide them with constant counsel and help their business readiness. Our seller support team is providing on-ground support to sellers and helping them resume operations swiftly," Flipkart spokesperson said.

“As a marketplace e-commerce player, we believe that the new guidelines also give us an opportunity to boost the MSME community and help them to restore their businesses faster and support livelihood in the country,” Flipkart said.

The company will continue to follow the safety and health procedures at its facilities for its supply chain and delivery staff, thereby supporting the central and state governments in their battle against the pandemic, Flipkart said.

Snapdeal said it is ready and equipped to start serving customers all across India -- in red, green, and orange zones -- by providing them access to the entire selection of millions of products. "We welcome the guidelines announced by the MHA, which pave the way for a broader resumption of economic activities across most parts of India. Our sellers and delivery partners have worked extensively to meet these requirements while exercising strict safety measures," a Snapdeal spokesperson said.

A recent study by e-commerce focused supply chain SaaS platform Unicommerce eSolutions revealed that the overall e-commerce sector showed a good sign of recovery in the first week of lockdown 3.0 and made up for the steep decline of 40 days due to lockdown. The overall industry has reached 30 per cent of its pre-lockdown order volumes.

With e-commerce players being permitted to resume operations in the green and orange zones, the business will continue to take a major hit as over 40 per cent of the e-tailers are based in metropolitan cities which are currently in the red zone.