Your Amazon and Flipkart deliveries will continue during the lockdown, though there might be delays

• E-commerce comes under the essential services umbrella, this means that delivery agents from Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, Swiggy, Bigbasket, Grofers and others would be able to continue with work.
• Amazon and Flipkart have both seen their order numbers increasing as people stay indoors.
• However, a delay in services is also possible.

With a lockdown in place in 75 districts due to Coronavirus, only essential services will be plying on the roads. And that includes your orders from Amazon.

According to an order from the government, e-commerce comes under the essential services umbrella, this means that delivery agents from Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, Swiggy, Bigbasket, Grofers and others would be able to continue with work.

More so, as people are stuck in their homes, the number of online orders are actually going up. Many have also noticed that a number of items are unavailable, while deliveries are taking longer than usual.

“We are watching this situation closely with a focus on the safety of our teams and ensuring we can meet customer promises. We are closely following guidance from local authority and international organizations as this situation progresses,” an Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider.

Globally, Amazon set up a $25 million fund to help its delivery partners during the time of crisis.

However, in the light of the Coronavirus spread, Amazon had earlier said that there might be a delay in services.

“As COVID-19 has spread, we've recently seen an increase in people shopping online. In the short term, this is having an impact on how we serve our customers. In particular, you will notice that we are currently out of stock on some popular brands and items, especially in household staples categories. You will also notice that some of our delivery promises are longer than usual. We are working around the clock with our selling partners to ensure availability on all of our products, and bring on additional capacity to deliver all of your orders,” Amazon said in a statement on March 14.

Amazon’s rival in India Flipkart too is readying itself in a similar manner. Both the companies have offered insurance as well as leave with full pay and benefits if an employee is affected by coronavirus.

"We see demand in some categories increase and our teams are working relentlessly in partnership with our sellers to meet customer demand as people are increasingly following social distancing and are not stepping out of their homes," Flipkart said in a statement.

Flipkart also said that it is keeping a thorough and regular track of the affected areas through its centralized security team to avoid exposure of its employees in those regions.

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