All Ecommerce Deliveries Allowed For All Zones: Order Anything From Amazon, Flipkart & Other Portals

From Monday, the E-commerce companies such as Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal, as well as vertical etailers including Lenskart, Nykaa, and Firstcry, are expected to resume full operations after the central government removed all restrictions on online retail as part of its plan for Lockdown 4.0.

How Did This Happen?

So far, these platforms were restricted to selling non-essential goods like smartphones and electronics in government designated green and orange zones.

They were only allowed to sell essential items such as food and grocery nationally.

Although, in the latest guidelines, the Ministry of Home Affairs said that all activities, except those specifically prohibited, will now be opened up. 

The guidelines added that the states would still take the final call on allowing businesses to function based on their local needs and situations. 

According to the latest MHA directives, online sales will continue to be restricted in containment zones across the country, where only essential activities will be permitted.

What Does The Vendors Say?

A Snapdeal spokesperson said “We are ready and equipped to now start serving customers all across India – in red, green and orange zones – by providing them access to the entire selection of millions of products,”. 

“This is also the moment that will enable lakhs of medium and small online sellers to start rebuilding their businesses as they serve the needs of users in cities and towns across India,” he further added.

As per the new guidelines released on Sunday evening, cab-hailing services Uber and Ola are also not in the current list of prohibited activities. 

Both ride-hailing apps have been shut for the last two months, barring some essential travel activities which constitute less than 2-3% of their overall business as usual numbers, according to analysts.

It is expected that the move to reopen e-commerce will deliver a major boost to companies that were allowed to sell only essential goods since the lockdown was announced on March 24. 

Although, the opening up for non-essential sales had seen low demand from areas outside of red zones.

So far, Flipkart and Amazon have been able to recover only 20% of their sales a week after the May 4 order that allowed them to resume business in green and orange zones.

A senior executive of a leading e-commerce marketplace on the condition of anonymity said, “We don’t expect states to restrict e-commerce activity in any way and we should start accepting orders from tomorrow (Monday),”.

He added, “Moreover, offline stores are open in most locations, so it shouldn’t be a problem for us (e-commerce) as well.”