Coronavirus lockdown – e-commerce sites suspend services

Flipkart has temporarily suspended its operations and services, including grocery items, as the 21-day lockdown period started across India. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that e-commerce platforms are allowed to provide essential goods and services during this period, many major e-commerce sites said they had decided to stop operations for the time being.

“Flipkart has temporarily suspended orders as we assess the possibilities of operating in the lockdown”, said Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart, in a statement. “We are prioritising the safety of our delivery executives and seeking the support of the local governments and police authorities to meet the needs of our customers as they stay home during this lockdown”.

Many people have been facing problems with online shopping since PM Modi’s Janta Curfew address to the nation last week. Several apps like Amazon, Grofers, and Big Basket have been showing products as out of stock or undeliverable.

After the countrywide lockdown announcement, e-commerce platforms have issued statements making their positions clear. Amazon is only prioritising deliveries of essential goods.

To serve customers’ most urgent needs while also ensuring safety of our associates, we are prioritising all our resources to serve products that are currently high priority for customers. Other products are temporarily unavailable for purchase.- Amazon India

Big Basket, the online grocery store, has also halted operations for now. Many users who placed orders previously are reporting of orders stuck in transit. Grofers, the online grocery platform is also reporting of operational challenges.

Big Bazaar is offering doorstep delivery in several cities across India, and has shared numbers of nearby retail stores for customers to place orders via phone calls. The store will then deliver these goods at the customer’s residence, and take cash for the delivery.

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