According to the trader’s body, Bharat eMart, an E-commerce marketplace by Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) is set to launch soon across the country where traders can set up their e-shop on the company’s portal. The first announcement of the marketplace was first made back in May 2020 by CAIT and the launch was highly anticipated to happen in a month’s time to compete with e-commerce giants Flipkart, Amazon and others. However, the launch got delayed due to Covid.
On Sunday, it was reported that CAIT National President BC Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said that since data is the most essential asset, traders will be tutored on data management, machine learning and operation of artificial intelligence in their business.
About 8 crore traders represented by approximately 40,000 trade associations registered under CAIT are expected to take advantage from the launch of this marketplace.
The confederation has also appealed to traders to lay emphasis on digital payments as a passage for growth, keeping in mind the recent launch of Digital Rupee’s pilot project by the Reserve Bank of India. CAIT said it will begin a national campaign from November 15 for traders to spread awareness for the use of technology and digital payments for the growth of business.
CAIT National President Bhartia and Secretary Khandelwal said, “After the release of digital currency, it seems that the time is not far when the era of chequebook will end in the country and gradually cash will be replaced. That’s why the CAIT is launching an eight-point programme in its national campaign.”
They further added, “This includes setting up of e-shop on e-commerce, adopting digital payments in place of cash, using computer technology in the business, timely payment of taxes, good behaviour with the customer, converting shops into showrooms, better product display and strengthening local trade associations.”
According to a report ‘How India Shops Online 2022’ published by Bain & Company and Flipkart in October this year, it is quite likely that India’s online retail market is expected to grow by 25-30 per cent annually to $150–170 billion in the next five years. Covid has accelerated the e-commerce adoption, causing a 12-month push in market penetration (approximately 5% in 2022) due to country wide lockdowns, expanding the market growth of 25 per cent, to $50 billion in 2022.
