Before the ecommerce boom in India, traditional artisans had to depend on tourists, trade fairs and exhibitions to sell their wares. But with ecommerce, Indian handicrafts and handlooms have made way in every nook & corner of the country and found appreciative buyers.
According to this article in The Hindu, in the last three months sales of State handicrafts have grown considerably. The credit goes to the rise of ecommerce, the current festive environment and sharp artisans who are churning out traditional products with a contemporary touch. These modern handicrafts such as hand-spun khadi, Iikal sarees and wooden toys from Channapatna are selling like hotcakes on online marketplaces.
Amazon India revealed, “We have been engaging with cooperatives (like Khadi Nation). Consumers from cities as far as Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Kullu (Himachal Pradesh), Guwahati (Assam) and Chhatarpur (Madhya Pradesh) are shopping for products such as Ilkal saris. There is still plenty of potential that can be unlocked from artisans and craftsmen across the country.”
Government also realizes the potential of the online retail industry. Hence, they have time and again teamed up with major online marketplaces to increase the sales of Indian handicrafts and handlooms. Last year, the Ministry of Textiles had collaborated with Flipkart to benefit handloom weavers.
This year, the ministry is looking forward to use eBay and Amazon as a platform to help Indian artisans and the handicraft industry, ET reports. The plan is to display registered products of ministry’s official brand ‘India Handloom’. While with eBay the deal has already been inked, the talks about pilot project with Amazon are still on.
“eBay India will make priority display of handloom products on its platform, leading to an exclusive section for certified branded handloom products which either have ‘India Handloom’ brand or ‘Handloom’ mark”, eBay India’s spokesperson confirmed.
Government’s cap of 8% commission seems to be the only point of disagreement between the ministry and Amazon, eBay. But all the parties involved are trying to find a possible solution.
Previous handicraft endeavors where ecommerce played a major role like Flipkart’s Art House or Social marketplace GoCoop has successfully benefitted thousand of artisans and weavers. We hope that many such ecommerce deals continue to promote the Indian handloom and handicrafts industry.
Editor team is specialized in introducing the marketplace content targeting the Indian online sellers. They plan and coordinate to bring the appealing content for the small businesses on how to partner with the e-commerce sites like Amazon and Flipkart and strategies for improving their online business.
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