LAHORE: The online sale of groceries, fresh fruit and vegetables and personal hygiene products like hand sanitisers and soaps has grown rapidly amid lockdown restrictions enforced across the country to slow down the spread of the Covid-19.

A report on Pakistan’s ecommerce industry shows that the online orders for hand sanitisers, soaps and liquid hand wash increased 18 times, and for fresh vegetables and fruit nine times during the month of March as people prefer to stay home, especially since the implementation of the lockdown restrictions by the government as part of social distancing measure.

Similarly, the sales of the fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) from the ecommerce platforms have doubled, according to the e-commerce index report prepared by Daraz, the country’s largest e-commerce company, in collaboration with Neilson, a global measurement and data analytics firm.

The study reveals that online shoppers are now spending more on the purchase of personal protective gear, hygiene products, indoor games, gym equipment and so on, in addition to essential items of everyday use, as well as fruit and vegetables as they practice social distancing and turn to indoor activities for entertainment.

The government has barred e-commerce companies from delivering anything other than essential items, which is a major reason for the rapid increase in the share of such products in their daily turnover. The restrictions on online sales of non-essentials means more than 20,000 active small to medium sized sellers from across the country, whose monthly online turnover used to be up to Rs50,000, are now unable to carry on their business as many of them depend on their online business to survive.

“At present we are barred from delivering anything but the essentials, which is why FMCGs share has grown to 70 per cent of our total daily sales since the government put restrictions on online sellers as part of the coronavirus lockdown,” an executive of Daraz, that has almost 85 per cent of the total market share, told Dawn on Thursday.

“The government guidelines don’t allow us to sell non-essentials. So we cannot comment on the demand shift but our search trends show that non-essentials like electronics and mobiles are still in demand. Most countries practicing extreme social distancing are encouraging sales through online platforms. Our government should also lift Covid-19 restrictions on e-commerce firms so that the consumers get what they want without having to visit crowded shops and markets. Besides, it will help thousands of small suppliers resume their business and earn livelihoods,” he said.

The Covid-19 is likely to impact the country’s business ecosystem and encourage the people to turn to online shopping. The report says Pakistan’s e-commerce industry has grown swiftly over the past few years, transforming shopping patterns. The industry’s footprint has expanded beyond the three major metropolises – Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad – into cities such as Gujranwala, Sialkot, Hyderabad and Multan.

Currently, the report shows, Punjab constitutes 55pc of online market share followed by Sindh with 36pc, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 5pc, and Balochistan and Azad Kashmir with 2pc each. The last year saw a significant growth in online shopping with Karachi leading with 24pc share followed by Lahore with 17pc and Islamabad/Rawalpindi with 10pc.

In 2019, electronics and appliances, mobiles and tablets, and fashion constituted top three categories ordered by online shoppers. The report further shows that the trend to pay digitally has also grown with digital payments forming 32pc of total online customer spending.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2020