Lockdown to cause US$1 bn in online retail: Study

Market research firm Forrester estimates that 21-day nationwide shutdown to cease the proliferation of Coronavirus is going to hurt the e-commerce companies, pulling down their robust growth rate to a single-digit. As a domino effect of the subdued online sales (- which are primarily dominated by non-essential goods ), the loss will filter down to the sellers on their platforms too.

“Due to the ongoing lockdown, non-essential goods including smartphones, consumer electronics, fashion and appliances will face supply chain disruption from manufacturers this year. At the same time, consumer spending will take a hit due to the uncertainty in the market,” said Satish Meena, senior forecast analyst at Forrester.

Online retail sale in India stood at US$ 32 bn in 2019 and was expected to grow by 26% in 2020. The lockdown has been disrupting the operations of e-commerce companies including Amazon and Flipkart, according to industry insiders. It has been reported that several e-tailers across segments, including Myntra and Firstcry, are not taking any new orders. In the wake of the countrywide lockdown growth rate is now expected to slow in 2020 to around 5%.