Online Shopping: The Silent Killer of India's Unorganized Sector

Deal Cadet
newton_baba

Disclaimer: before making any comment read full post.


We've all been lured by the convenience and discounts offered by online shopping platforms. But have we ever stopped to think about the impact it's having on the backbone of our economy - the unorganized sector?

Take the example of a local cloth seller whose business has dwindled as more customers choose to buy clothes online instead of visiting his shop. "No one wants to buy cloth from me anymore because they can get the same products at heavy discounts from online retailers," he laments. The story is similar for a shoe seller who has seen his customer base shrink as they opt to purchase footwear from e-commerce platforms.

The unorganized retail sector thrives on small margins and a long chain of interdependent businesses. From manufacturers to distributors, wholesalers and finally retailers, each entity gets a small commission that sustains their livelihood. This ecosystem is being disrupted by the e-commerce model that cuts out the middlemen and sells directly to consumers.
 

Moreover, the overheads for small retailers are much higher compared to online sellers. They have to pay rent, employee salaries, electricity bills and other operating costs. E-commerce companies can offset these expenses through economies of scale and innovative inventory management.

 

While online shopping provides unmatched convenience and value to consumers, it is exacting a heavy toll on India's traditional retail businesses that provide employment to millions. Small sellers are finding it impossible to match the pricing, supply chain efficiencies and technology capabilities of e-commerce giants. As customers get accustomed to the e-commerce experience, the future looks very bleak.

 

It's time we recognize the detrimental impact of unchecked online shopping. We need to support our local businesses, not just for the products they offer but for the livelihoods they sustain. Every purchase we make has a consequence. Let's make conscious choices to support the unorganized sector and ensure a thriving, balanced economy.


Now you can write your comments.

TL;DR

The rise of online shopping and e-commerce platforms is severely impacting traditional unorganized retail businesses in India. Local sellers are struggling as customers prefer the convenience and discounts offered by e-commerce giants. This is disrupting the entire supply chain ecosystem that sustains livelihoods of millions. While online shopping benefits consumers, it is exacting a heavy toll on small retailers who cannot match the pricing and efficiencies of e-tailers.


Top Comments
Deal Subedar Deal Subedar
Link Copied

Bro only 25-30 crore people buy online and from that merely 10 crore must be buying everything online. 

So yes there is impact of online e-commerce but not so much. 

You can compare this with western countries where inspite of having on-line ecommerce platform from many years still there are offline platforms working perfectly. 

Everything have some benifits and loss. 

People want best service at affordable price which ecommerce provides. 

Last year government put 1% extra tax on ecommerce still they are growing. 

Samay ke sath sabko badalna padta hai nahi to insan badalne layak nahi rahta.

53 Comments  |  
16 Dimers
  • Sort By
Deal Subedar Deal Subedar
Link Copied

Bro only 25-30 crore people buy online and from that merely 10 crore must be buying everything online. 

So yes there is impact of online e-commerce but not so much. 

You can compare this with western countries where inspite of having on-line ecommerce platform from many years still there are offline platforms working perfectly. 

Everything have some benifits and loss. 

People want best service at affordable price which ecommerce provides. 

Last year government put 1% extra tax on ecommerce still they are growing. 

Samay ke sath sabko badalna padta hai nahi to insan badalne layak nahi rahta.

Deal Subedar Deal Subedar
Link Copied

Online has become the first choice of all who can spend any money, remaining are the people like farmers or labourers from rural are who seldom spend money on anything other than fundamental needs. weakening of unorganised sector will show it effects in long term.Once all the local shops are gone these giant retailers will start raising prices. I live in Australia, there is no unorganised sector here. In last two years I have seen only 1 or 2 local grocery shops that too in very rural areas everything else is large scale online/offline retailers. Even though gst is only 10% here, prices of everything are way higher than India, a big packet of lays which might be ₹80-100 in India is sold for $7 here, tomatoes are $12/kg, green chillies $30-50/kg, Other day i bought a 600 ml water bottle for $6 from a fuel station. Unorganised sector is a big plus point India has and like everything else there are some good and bad people in it but its survival is of utmost importance.

View 3 more replies
Wishlist Champion Wishlist Champion
Link Copied

How can you support a local vendor? when we ask even for a Rs 10 discount He or she says, "Isse kaam mila toh mein apna dukaan bhej dunga."

Indian shoppers are very smart; many especially middle class, know the values of each thing 

just for eg as soon online food delivery became costly, many already started buying from offline and just recent case as Jio / airtel increased the prices lakhs of people switched to BSNL

As per me regarding clothing now many people wants to buy top brands clothes 

Deal Cadet Deal Cadet
Link Copied
supporting local businesses isn't just about getting the lowest price. It's about maintaining the economic ecosystem of our communities, preserving jobs, and ensuring we have diverse shopping options in the future. 
paying a little extra locally can have far-reaching benefits for our society and economy.
View 1 more reply
Deal Lieutenant Deal Lieutenant
Link Copied

supply demand plays

online platform can't kill offline

not possible because of supply demand and pricing matters based onthat.. the moment online tries to take over.. more cheaper product will appear in offline and vice versa:) 

its just everything is just mode of purchase the offline stores wont vanish:)

Deal Cadet Deal Cadet
Link Copied
eco ke ye 2 word ke aage aago, real market me ye sab vaise nahi hota.
View 3 more replies
Spearhead Spearhead
Link Copied

Sb se jyada nuksaan aur dard door to door sellers ko hota h, bechare dhoop garmi sardi me itna ghumte h aur log unse bhi chindi giri krte h, jbki malls me jake bina discount ke bhi mrp pe saaman le aate h, i hate that kind of indian mentality...


Indians ka koi imaan dharam nh h, jaha sasta aur free milega wha jayenge, unhe kisi relation ki nh padi, gobhar ko bhi sone ka pani lga ke discount me doge na to le lenge....

Helpful Helpful
Link Copied
well ye baat tum sab ke liye nahin keh sakte, aur jis imaan dharam ki baat tum kar rahe ho, wahi bechara local seller jab buyer banta hai toh wahi imaan dharam bech deta hai, poori community ko gaali dena ka kya matlab, aur jahan tak local vendors ki baat hai wo koi doodh ke dhule toh hai nahin
1) chawal mein kankad pathar milana
2) sabzi masala mein brick powder and kuch mein toh animal excretion milana
3) jeera mein jhadu milana
4) aur product mein margin hone pe bhi MRP pe product bechana
5) 10 rs ka cooldrink 5rs extra cooling charge karke dena
6) badtamiji / attitude se baat karna 
7) online payment pe saman wapas rakh lena/nahin dena
8) old electronic product ko naya batake bechana

and the list continues......
I have faced lots of issues from the same bechara local vendor. toh main online kyun nahin luin saman
View 12 more replies
Deal Subedar Deal Subedar
Link Copied

Lets break it down.

  1. Has local shops, grocery, fruits & vegetable shops vanished in your locality? -- My answer is NO, in fact increased.
  2. Do people by online in your area? -- My answer is, Yes. 
  3. What type of shops/sellers impacted in your locality? -- Mostly Brand owned electronics stores.
  4. Locality wise, do you see impact of Online shopping on Offline shops? -- No. Not something that is evident.

Note : Baring few items, I do see local stores selling items at same or lover price then the online stores.

  

Deal Lieutenant Deal Lieutenant
Link Copied

online shopping will be a silent killer when online shopping experience shows above 90% success rate

Heart of Gold Heart of Gold
Link Copied

With time they should also change becoming an online seller is not too much hard or doesn't need too much efforts

And the reason im saying this is each and every house or let's say family has atleast one educated member who can understand English

And being educated means they can handle the seller account easily

Deal Cadet Deal Cadet
Link Copied
Look, you're oversimplifying a complex issue.

These online marketplaces aren't charities. They take significant cuts from each sale. many families have an educated member, but running an online business requires much more than basic English and computer skills.

You're forgetting that a huge chunk of the unorganized sector includes people with limited formal education but excellent business acumen. They've been running successful local businesses for years based on personal relationships and local knowledge. Local businesses thrive on personal interactions.
View 1 more reply
Deal Cadet Deal Cadet
Link Copied

That local vendor selling at 50% margin and giving 0 respect when you ask discount or compare with other vendors

Generous Generous
Link Copied
aisa lagta tha ki humare upar ehsaan kar raha hai 😄
View 10 more replies
Generous Generous
Link Copied
MEANWHILE LOCAL VENDORSMEANWHILE LOCAL VENDORS C
Deal Cadet Deal Cadet
Link Copied

More than online these unorganized sector would be greatly affected by big corporate chain stores where people get everything. A lot of families that used to go to the neighborhood bazaar for shopping now go to BigBazaar and such. The more this multiplies it would be bigger disaster for a lot of small shop owners than online sales. Like in the case of the US. Walmart, Target, Kroger etc have pretty much wiped out most little privately held mom and pop stores. No wonder a lot of their big cities are even against Walmart opening a branch in their city.

But on the other hand India is also too vast a market and population. You should also take into account the upward mobility of population. So there will be an increase in the customer base for both offline and online stores. 

Some stores like the local grocery stores which caters to local population where you have people buying half kilo of sugar or dal will always be around. The local vegetables and fruit vendors will also be around. I still get the best deals at the local farmers market.

I thought electronics stores would be affected by online sales but I see electronics/household items chain stores opening new branches and even new mobile stores everywhere. There will be those who always prefer to make in store purchases when it comes to such big budget items. Also not everyone is actively shopping for the best deals - when they want to buy something they just go to the local store to get it.

Sorry for the TLDR reply!


Generous Generous
Link Copied

tum pehle chatgpt pe jaa ke apna essay likha karo ki aur ek summary ka output leke yha post kiya karo , ye short video , meme ka jamana hai itna time nahi h ki essay parhe

View 2 more replies
Deal Lieutenant Deal Lieutenant
Link Copied

One of the important reason for India's colonization was rapid technolgical changes that was happening in Europe like weapons --Navigation-transport -manufacturing - food processing & even capital markets .. Etc while India was steeped in medieval technologies 


By That logic if you jump to the conclusion that technology is bad and ecommerce being technology led you're going the wrong way because if we don't adapt tech & reap the benefits of technology we would once again will be left with unorganized -non growth led - exploitative -cocooned market with very less scope for value creation instead mncs Or others like East India Company would be Precipitated in the long run due to inherent market forces 

Now again I warn you not to jump to the conclusion that Indian ecommerce is already owned by foreign companies because this is still early days (2-5% of market is ecommerce) while even comparably china -Thailand - indonesia-korea  etc are higher in market share which share some similarities to Indian conscience & have significant local presence 


So the markets once mature would have more participants including domestic ones for ex Reliance retail - tata group  etc but it's not about to be Ecommerce vs offline it's about OMNI CHANNEL.... Where one can leverage each other models to reach consumers effectively & efficiently 


And Ecommerce is one of the ways of retail market place and at this stage of growth it may be growing fast but to become big enough it also needs a Omni channel strategy.... There would always be losers & winners in a market but choose the efficient & effective ways rather than just on one parameter . 

By out & out supporting small businesses we wouldn't have incentives to be productive - implement tech - lack options - economies of scale etc while if they're integrated in OMNI CHANNEL strategy they too can be part of the growth.



Deal Cadet Deal Cadet
Link Copied
Your argument sounds impressive on the surface, but it's riddled with oversimplifications and false equivalences.

Comparing e-commerce to colonial-era technological advances is a stretch. The East India Company didn't just bring "technology" - they brought exploitation and systemic oppression. Are you suggesting we should welcome potential economic colonization with open arms?

Nobody's arguing against technology itself. The concern is about the concentration of power in the hands of a few tech giants, not unlike the monopolies of the colonial era you seem so fond of referencing.

Your "early days" argument ignores the predatory pricing and anti-competitive practices already prevalent in e-commerce. Waiting for the market to "mature" might leave us with an oligopoly that's impossible to challenge.

The "omni-channel" buzzword sounds nice, but in reality, it often means big players dominating both online and offline spaces, further squeezing out small businesses.
*Your productivity argument is a false dichotomy. Supporting small businesses doesn't mean rejecting efficiency. It means creating a balanced ecosystem where businesses of all sizes can thrive.*

You're confusing "growth" with "sustainable development". Unchecked e-commerce growth might show good numbers on paper, but at what cost to local economies, employment, and economic diversity?
View 2 more replies
replyuser
Click here to reply
Reply