Now is the best time for Indian MSMEs to go online
The pandemic because of COVID-19 has hit us hard. The resulting lockdowns during the pandemic caused 114 million people across the world to lose their jobs over 2020. The unemployment rate in India alone had touched a record high of 23.5 percent in May 2020 because of the national lockdowns. During this time the daily wage workers, street vendors, medium and small enterprises, and local retailers were the ones who had suffered the most.
During the initial lockdowns, the survival of Medium and Small Enterprises (MSMEs) was tremendously challenging. There were thousands of them who lost their hope despite that, there were many whose extraordinary stories of innovation and creativity helped them sail through in this darkness. When the world was shutting down many small and medium enterprises took their business games to the next level through the digital medium.
Today the eCommerce industry has brought the world closer together. With the increasing smartphone penetration, the digital bazaar has spread its wings to Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns of Indian Cities as well. From Facebook’s marketplace to Instagram’s movement to go #VocalForLocal is creating opportunities for hundreds of small enterprises in this contactless mode of purchasing. According to a Crisil survey published in December 2020, the adoption of digital channels such as online aggregators or marketplaces, social media, and mobile marketing has increased from 29 percent of micro-enterprises using them before COVID to 47 percent as of November 2020. The eCommerce industry is no longer limited to those old-style websites. Today we have local home-grown brands in front of the customer right in front of their mobile screens with the most sophisticated pictures that include all the details and descriptions of the product. Let’s take a thorough analysis in understanding how small businesses are benefitting from the eCommerce revolution.
