Demand for non-essential goods skyrocket on e-commerce platforms; Paytm Mall sees lakhs of requests

As the country remains under a lockdown till 3rd May, the demand for non-essential goods have sky-rocketed with e-commerce platforms such as Paytm Mall witnessing requests for items such as academic material, mobile phones, trimmers, and laptops. “Citizens who are currently adjusting to life under lockdown, working from home, continuing education, as well as carrying on day to day activities, are running short of supplies that do not fall in the essential category of products,” Paytm Mall said in a statement on Wednesday. Among the most desired items are mobile phones and laptops as most of the employees are working from their homes. Other items include charging cords, phone chargers, headphones, and desktop computers.

Paytm Mall has received over two lakh emails and 3.5 lakh requests in the comments section for items such as laptops, mobile phones, headphones, trimmers, etc as well as white goods since the lockdown, Paytm Mall said. The Paytm subsidiary now seeks government intervention to expand the list of essential items. “The ambit of essential goods should be increased. India is mostly working from home at the moment but many are finding it difficult as they are running low on certain items necessary to effectively operate under lockdown,” Srinivas Mothey, Senior Vice President, Paytm Mall, said.