This writer realised that she now orders flowers (four-times-a-month subscription), hummus, candles, crystals, face cream, clothes, coffee and sourdough, home. And to go back to brick and mortar shopping even when we aren’t limited by lockdowns, seems like a waste. Has the explosion of e-commerce shopping and contactless home delivery induced a vital habit change? Are we now going to step out only for the special experiences and to socialise, and not for essentials? A survey by Local Circles, which is a community social media platform for small businesses, was conducted among 20,000 people across India. The results revealed that 66 per cent of households believe the top criterion for deciding their mode of buying will be availability of contactless home delivery. Around 13 per cent said it was because online shopping was convenient, and 15 per cent wanted to support small businesses. According to an April 2021 Bain & Company-PRICE survey of 3,000 households across income groups and geographies, 13 per cent of the respondents were buying online for the first time, while 40 per cent were buying more online than they did earlier. And, according to a Forbes research, 58 per cent of new customers had been added to the online grocery market during the pandemic, out of which 38 per cent expressed the intention to continue shopping online after the pandemic. Most of the buyers were women, and members of Gen Y, or those we call millennials. 

For Reetu Uday Kugaji, 45, the initial challenge was to find fresh vegetables online, which she is finicky about. As a professional chef, she wanted top quality  produce. She found it at Kisan Konnect, a platform that aggregates fresh produce sourced directly from farmers. “The veggies are packed well, and are of good quality.” But Kugaji hasn’t stopped at veggies. She buys incense sticks, sanitary napkins and banana leaves online. During the lockdown, she even bought a car without leaving home. “I try to shop with a purpose. The incense sticks are made from recycled flowers and employ underprivileged women. So I can make a difference too by choosing this particular brand. The only thing I miss is going to a bookshop. But I think I might [fight that urge] by buying a Kindle soon.”

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Itee Ghoslakar, who runs Resonance Candles, says sales have grown by 25 per cent during the pandemic for her aromatic candles

If you are a small business owner in India, then this is the time for you. Not only essentials are making it to people’s homes directly in boxes, even niche buys are, pointing to the reoriented focus towards the home, with consumers wanting to have an abode stocked with the best of supplies and amenities. “The sale of flowers used to be driven by the marriage industry, but now, we want it to be a part of our everyday ambience,” says Nidhi Gupta, founder of Shades of Spring. The online platform allows subscribers to book a flower box that comes to their home, weekly or every month. “I used to be a part of the commerce industry, and now, when people know they are going to be at home a lot more, spending on flowers makes sense. Our subscription model [starts with once a week] allows you to book an arrangement, saving you the trouble of refreshing an order each time the flowers get stale.” 

Like Gupta, Itee Ghosalkar, who runs Resonance Candles, says business has grown 25 per cent during the pandemic. “I understand that for candles, people have this need to smell them before they make a purchase. I have addressed this need by sending across a box of complimentary samples when they first place an order, which matches their choice. This way, they are inspired to order another variety, the next time. Our reach has grown beyond individual customers to restaurants and corporates.”

Chef Reetu Uday Kugaji even orders agarbattis online from the sustainable brand, Phool. Pic/Sameer Markande

According to the Indian Brand Equity Foundation, the market opportunities for online commerce in India are expected to touch $200 billion by 2026 from $30 billion in 2017. The report also stated that the Indian e-commerce industry could overtake America by 2034 to become the second largest market for e-commerce in the world after China. 

For a brand like Suta, which launched with a collection of cotton sarees online in 2016, last year has been a good one, leading them to foray into lifestyle and even launch a nightwear collection. “We have seen a 100 per cent increase in users in the last year. The lockdown was a time when we had nothing to do, nothing new to look forward to. The package that arrived at our door was the only excitement,” says Sujata Biswas, its co-founder. 

Intra-city courier services like Dunzo have tied up with big brands like Foodhall and kirana stores to deliver groceries

This writer remembers once balking at the idea of buying a saree online, and ruing the fact that the brand didn’t have a proper shop to browse. Now, it’s a different story. Taniya Biswas, Suta’s co-founder, adds, “We launched a block-printed nightwear line during the pandemic as people want to be comfortable at home, but still look presentable. Our future plans include manning our backend more.”

Established e-commerce aside, what has added to the revolution, and our eventual decisions to be homebodies, is the advent of apps such as Dunzo, which have a wide representation of clients, including the neighbourhood kirana store. The Bengaluru headquartered delivery service operates in its home city, Delhi, Gurugram, Pune, Chennai, Jaipur, Mumbai and Hyderabad. A spokesperson for Dunzo told mid-day that their B2B vertical had also grown twofold by working with volunteers, NGOs, restaurants, businesses, and other organisations, to deliver groceries and essentials across neighbourhoods.

Tanya and Sujata Biswas of the brand Suta say WFH inspired them to launch a cotton lounge-in wear collection

“In the post-pandemic world, delivery services have changed user behaviour and pushed India to adopt a new world of on-demand at scale. Urban users are starting to rely on ultrafast, on-demand platforms to meet their needs, and this trend is here to stay.” 

Gupta agrees. “If I was browsing in a beautiful bookstore, or shopping for clothes in a gorgeous bungalow shop with a coffee place inside, I’d be game to go out. But that’s not always the case.”

100
Percentage by which saree brand Suta’s customer base has grown in the last year