Lockdown Panic? Online Sales Increase By 15% In A Week, Sale Of Essentials, Chocolates, Beverages Increase

With the imposed curbs to check Covid-19 infections in several states, sales of daily essentials such as packaged foods, soaps and hygiene products have surged on eCommerce platforms in the past seven days.

Surge In Demand On Ecommerce Platforms

It has also got affected by the limited operating hours at stores and consumers staying indoors following the surge, according to executives. 

A visible increase of 10-15% has been noticed across the categories.

At the same time, online sales have doubled for items such as chocolates and beverages.

But this time, companies are already prepared as they said that they were prepared to meet the surge in demand.

The surge is expected to remain till the third wave is on.

Consumers Stocking Up 

In another view, consumers stocking up may also be adding to this growth in demand.

The president of the consumer care business, Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting, Anil Chugh said, “E-commerce channels for our categories are growing ahead of general trade as consumers continue to be cautious and avoid unnecessary visits to the retailer,”.

In the last 15 days, India’s Covid count has surged and states have responded with night curfews, restrictions on markets, and curbs on assembly. 

Surge In Demand For Hygiene Products

With this, the demand for hygiene products such as hand washes, sanitizers, face masks, disinfectant sprays and immunity boosters have also rebounded.

A spokesperson for online grocery platform Blinkit said, “Sales of packaged food and hygiene products have more than doubled over the last week. In particular, sales of N95 face masks have gone up five times during the last week,”.

The makers of impulse category items such as chocolates and soft drinks are also witnessing their eCommerce business doubling during this time.

Considering the sudden spike in consumer demand, executives are increasing both supplies and consumer promotions for eCommerce platforms.

The companies who had eased up on sanitizers and other hygiene products at the end of the second wave are now ramping up supplies and consumer outreach.

The eCommerce platform Amazon India said, “With lakhs of sellers and associates, we continue to serve customers while following stringent safety measures and government guidelines.”

Some of the eCommerce platforms said that they are pushing deliveries through their own apps while continuing to increase inventories on platforms to meet increased at-home demand.