The Diwali shopping rush has squeezed the e-tailers' logistical means dry, resulting in long delays for customers who have ordered goodies and gifts online. The e-commerce companies that sought to capitalise on the high festive demand have apparently failed to make sure that orders are delivered in time.
Giant e-retailers Amazon and Flipkart are unable to carry out quick deliveries in the middle of their annual festive battle. Further, even prime users on Amazon, who normally receive their deliveries within one day of ordering the product, have also reportedly faced delays for Diwali related purchases, The Times of India reported.
During the festive season in India, the electronic items and smartphone segments mostly drive the sales for the e-commerce sector as they provide heavy discounts to the customers during that period. However, to meet the demand rush, such big e-retailers take a significant time and make sure that the preparation is done to serve the customers in time.
According to recent reports, temporary recruitments in India have also gathered steam driven by strong demand for the e-commerce delivery requirements and retail stores this festive season. These temporary roles mostly involve delivery executives, shop floor managers and sales personnel among others.
Amazon had recently announced about 22,000 openings for seasonal jobs in India. Flipkart too had added about 20,000 temporary staff to its logistics workforce for its biggest annual event, Big Billion Days. These temporary workers are expected to help pick, pack, ship and deliver customer orders.
Despite these efforts to meet the surging customer demand, such giant e-commerce companies are not able to deliver the products to the customers in time.
"Many sellers are still shipping items placed during the last leg of the sale event and the additional demand of sending time-bound Diwali products is taking a toll on the delivery timeline," a seller said.
Last week, a report by e-commerce advisory firm RedSeer Consulting also found that delivery time has increased for e-tailers in the festive period. The report came at a time when e-commerce majors are claiming record speed in delivery during festivals.
The RedSeer report had also stressed that training the delivery boys is a key concern and should be taken seriously because it helps them increase the delivery rate through proper route planning and customer interaction which is a very important metric for the industry to grow.
