Small Biz Takes Digital Highway

THERE HAS BEEN A SURGE IN SMALL AND MEDIUM FIRMS TURNING DIGITAL DURING THE PANDEMIC. A BOOMING ECOSYSTEM OF ENABLERS HAS BEEN A BIG HELP.

- ASMITA DEY

75% Small and medium businesses that are digital at present. The number was 55% before the pandemic.

HITESH KUMAR, 39, RUNS Shri Balaji Online Store, which makes sofa covers, chenille sofa fabrics and tissue curtains, from Panipat in Haryana. The former IT professional decided to digitise the business in 2019, and after looking at various options, took his store online with Walmart Vriddhi, a programme by the US-based retailer to digitally empower small and medium businesses. Now, he sells on Flipkart. Earlier, he was restricted to 8-10 cities. Now, he can sell in the entire country, with online accounting for 45-50% sales. “Online opens new markets,” says Kumar.

Like Kumar, Vandana Batra, who runs Fairy Tales Creation, a garment store in Noida in Uttar Pradesh, found hope on the web. Batra pivoted online by signing up for the Local Shops on Amazon programme after her business started struggling during the pandemic. Her order book soared 40 times. “Going online meant opening our store to the entire country. Now, we receive orders from all over India. We are competing with top brands,” she says.

Digitisation of business operations is not a novel concept. Big businesses have been at it for decades. Several small and medium businesses, too, started adopting digital technologies five-seven years ago. However, the trend turned into a wave after the pandemic as lockdowns disrupted work flow of companies, especially the smaller players.