E-grocery deliveries delayed in Covid-19 second wave too

E-commerce giants delivering food and groceries have failed to live up to consumers’ expectations yet again as goods are taking weeks to reach homes even in cities where online delivery of daily essentials is allowed. While top players, including Bigbasket, Flipkart, Amazon and Grofers put the blame squarely on supply chain disruptions last year, a combination of factors caught these online delivery majors unawares during the current lockdowns prompted by the second wave of Covid.

Facing postponed deliveries and unavailable stock, consumers who made the shift online during the pandemic for their daily essentials said these companies have been unable to meet the spike in demand.

“Just one single reason — people falling sick. Huge absenteeism. That’s the single biggest reason,” Hari Menon, founder at BigBasket told TOI. Industry insiders, however, said there is a reluctance among these online retailers to hire new people to tackle spike in demand. “What will they do with the new staff when the demand subsides,” said the CEO at a large multinational retailer. While Menon said Bigbasket will sell 20% more goods in May than it sold in July last year, a testimony to the company’s preparedness, a Grofers spokesperson said, “Grofers has scaled up its supply chain and manpower by more than 100% over the same time last year.” Despite claims of scaling up, the inability to deliver when it matters the most, has reflected in the numbers, as disappointed consumers have returned to their tried-and-tested kirana stores.