The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) will soon roll out Bharat eMart across the country, enabling traders to set up online stores. CAIT first announced the marketplace in May 2020, with plans to launch it within a month to compete with established e-commerce players such as Flipkart and Amazon. COVID-19, however, had an impact on the launch.
According to a statement from CAIT National President BC Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal, since data is the most valuable asset, traders will also be taught about data management and how to use artificial intelligence and machine learning in their business. The planned marketplace is expected to benefit the approximately 8 crore traders represented by the 40,000 trade associations affiliated with CAIT.
Need to focus on Digital payments for growth
Furthermore, in light of the Reserve Bank of India’s recent announcement of the Digital Rupee pilot project, the confederation recommended traders to focus on digital payments as a potential growth avenue. CAIT announced on November 15 that it will launch a national campaign for traders to raise awareness of digital payments and technology for business growth.
“Since the introduction of digital currency, it appears that the day is not far off when the use of chequebooks in the nation will come to an end, and cash will gradually take their place”. According to Bhartia and Khandelwal, the CAIT is launching an eight-point response programme as part of its nationwide campaign.
This includes setting up of e-shop on e-commerce, adopting digital payments in place of cash, the use of computer technology in the business, timely payment of taxes, good behaviour with the customer, converting shops into showrooms, better product display and the strengthening of local trade associations, they added.
E-commerce market increased in 2022
According to a report titled “How India Shops Online 2022”, published in October 2022 by Bain & Company and Flipkart, the country’s online retail business is expected to grow by 25%-30% per year to $150-170 billion over the next five years. The e-commerce market will reach $50 billion in 2022, as a result of COVID’s 5% market penetration increase over the next 12 months and 25% market growth.
