“Our full focus will now be on scaling up our digital presence and app,” he said.Departmental store Lifestyle International MD Vasanth Kumar said with the government permitting e-commerce operations, it is an opportunity to drive omni-channel adoption. He said the retailer has a "robust plan" in place.Some of the large retailers are re-designing their own e-stores and apps, while looking to partner with marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart. The government has still not indicated when shopping malls and non-essential physical stores can open, while the lockdown has been extended till May 3.Madura Fashion and Lifestyle CEO Vishak Kumar said there is a fair amount of pent-up demand with customers. He said the large chains are already on e-commerce.Leading electronics store chain Vijay Sales director Nilesh Gupta said the centre guidelines on allowing e-commerce is a broad framework and will depend on the state governments on implementation. "We have to do our e--commerce business sensibly so that the clamp down is not again imposed," he said.Grofers head of supply chain Rohit Sharma said if retailers approach them it can set them with the strong logistics partner network it has.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 15, 2020 12:22 UTC