Online retailers’ discounts diminish amid pandemic

NEW DELHI : Have you noticed the discounts that online retailers offered on essentials are diminishing? As more people are buying essentials online amid the covid-19 pandemic, online retailers have started selling more items at the maximum retail price (MRP), according to the State Bank of India’s (SBI) research note on the recent inflation numbers.

There are now fewer discounts as there is a supply and demand mismatch. “Interestingly, before the covid-19 (pandemic), the prices of e-commerce outlets were much lower than the MRP. However, due to the rise in demand and less supply, now there is no/less bulk discounts in e-commerce. So, the prices of e-commerce platforms and Kirana stores have converged,” stated the research note.