Internet Shutdowns, CAB Protests Lead To 30% Decline In Online Food Orders; Ecommerce Also Hit

We’ve all been surrounded by the utmost passage of the CAB and CAA, among all of which there’s a constant cloud of protests and aggressive measures taken by masses, leading to protective actions being thrusted by government and their undertaking forces.

In order to bring a relief to all the commotion going around on streets and on social media platforms, there is a periodic rise of internet shutdowns and worse so, road blocks, which are directly affecting the e-commerce business volumes.

Protests and Net Shutdowns Affects e-Commerce Biz

Naturally, for an industry whose whole business runs on internet and timely delivery of products, there will be a direct downfall on such companies with activities like aerobic protests and resultant road-blocks and internet shutdowns.

Among the many disruptions caused by the effect of agitations against the Citizenship Act, the ecommerce operators are the ones who are heavily being affected. Their deliveries are not being managed on time. While online food delivery business has suffered a hit of 25-30%, other online categories have seen a drop of 3-5%, said businesses. Past 3-4 days have been enough to thrash the delivery orders and business revenues generated by these companies.

Also, home delivery of food is a rapidly growing business. Zomato has recorded delivering 1.25 million orders a day, while Swiggy delivers 1.4-1.6 million orders in one day. Online-exclusive electronics brand BPL’s COO Manmohan Ganesh said there had been issues with deliveries and installations due to traffic disruptions. Restaurant chains thrive on timely delivery of food. Also, online grocers like BigBasket and Grofers are too facing disruption in some cities.

NRC Hits Unorganised Sector Hard

Among all the protests and agitations the NRC has built, it can hit the unorganized labor sector the most too, as expressed by trade union representatives and advocates.

The thing is, everyday wage workers do not hold permanent residential address, school or birth certificates, which makes it difficult for them to secure even voter IDs and Aadhaar cards.

With having to generate another proof of citizenship, their task would be more difficult. However, the government is yet to officially provide clarity on whether Aadhaar and voter IDs will suffice as proof of citizenship, while some believe these are adequate enough.