That the offline retailers are in dismay due to the increasing popularity of online retailers and marketplaces is no surprise to anyone now. Every other day, there are reports about shops and malls being empty and losing out on customers. The recent Flipkart Big Billion Day fiasco seems to have added fuel to the fire and now they are even more agitated.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has said that a nationwide movement will be launched in the country from October 31st to find solutions for their concerns. It feels that it’s high time now for the government to create a regulator and regulations to handle the online retail market.
The body convened its national governing council meeting today to discuss the practices and policies of the online retailers now and the deep and direct implications of the same on the offline retailers.
“The unrealistic prices, unfair competition, unhealthy business practices, predatory pricing have damaged the business of offline market to the tune of 35 per cent in various segments. Therefore CAIT will launch a nationwide movement demanding the government to form a regulator and laws and rules to govern the eCommerce business in India,” it said in a statement.
Apparently the traders body had sounded their concerns about the ill practices of online retailers to the Department of Industry Policy and Planning (DIPP) in November last year itself. However, the industry seems to have shown a deaf ear to their woes as no actions have been taken or no parameters have been set to rectify the situation.
So the upcoming nationwide movement is meant to be a ‘dharna’ and not a protest, to draw the government’s attention to the seriousness of the issue and implications on offline trade. CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said, “We just met the Commerce Minister last week and she has assured us that the government will seriously look into the matter. We are also taking legal opinion on this issue.”
The CAIT has already threatened to approach the Supreme Court and Competition Commission of India (CCI) by the end of October if the government doesn’t take adequate action to curb predatory pricing and unfair trade practices followed by ecommerce giants like Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon.
After dwindling with her family business, into travel and hospitality, for more than 3 years, Pooja Vishant found her true love in writing. Happy-go-lucky and cheerful, she loves pink; so pink is the way to go if you want to get into her good books. The Associate Editor keeps track of even a leaf that has moved in the ecommerce world!
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