From ecommerce platforms to online grocery stores, have witnessed a surge in the sales of daily essentials including packaged foods, soaps and hygiene products have surged on ecommerce platforms in the past seven days as states have imposed several curbs to check Covid-19 infections.
Limited operating hours at brick and mortar stores and other Covid curbs are keeping consumers indoors following the surge in cases has also contributed to higher online sales. There has been a 10-15% increase across categories while online sales have doubled for items such as chocolates and beverages, ET reported.
FMCG companies said they were prepared to meet the surge in demand and expect this momentum to continue till the third wave is on.
Consumers stocking up, in anticipation of further covid restrictions such as lockdowns, are also adding to the demand. “Ecommerce channels for our categories are growing ahead of general trade as consumers continue to be cautious and avoid unnecessary visits to the retailer,” said Anil Chugh, president, consumer care business, Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting, which makes Santoor soap and Maxkleen household disinfectants told ET.
India’s Covid count has surged in the last fortnight. India registered a single-day rise of 90,928 fresh COVID-19 cases, and 325 deaths in a span of 24 hours, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday. The Omicron tally has also climbed to 2,630 with a daily positivity rate of 6.43 per cent.
In order to restrict further spread of the infection, states have responded with night curfews, restrictions on markets, and curbs on assembly. The demand for hygiene products such as handwashes, sanitisers, face masks, disinfectant sprays and immunity boosters have also rebounded with the increase in infections across the country, online retailers told ET.
A spokesperson for online grocery platform Blinkit told ET that the 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.
“There is some jump in ecommerce offtake, primarily on grocery formats,” said Sunil Kataria, chief executive, India and Saarc, Godrej Consumer Products, maker of Cinthol soap and Protekt sanitisers, the news outlet reported.
Further, makers of impulse category items such as chocolates and soft drinks said they have seen ecommerce business doubling. Executives said they are increasing both supplies and consumer promotions for ecommerce platforms in response to the sudden spike in consumer demand.
On the personal hygine products front, companies that had eased up on sanitisers and other hygiene products after the second wave subsided said they are now ramping up supplies and consumer outreach.
