Ease of doing business for MSMEs: E-commerce marketplace Bharat eMart by Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) will be launched soon across the country to get traders set up their e-shop on the portal, traders’ body said on Sunday. Importantly, the marketplace was first announced back in May 2020 by CAIT and was expected to be launched in a month’s time to battle e-commerce incumbents Flipkart, Amazon and others. However, the launch was impacted due to Covid.
CAIT National President BC Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said in a statement that since data is the most important asset, traders will also be taught about data management and usage of artificial intelligence and machine learning in their business. Around 8 crore traders represented by around 40,000 trade associations under CAIT are expected to benefit from the upcoming marketplace.
The confederation also urged traders to focus on digital payments as a channel for growth in the backdrop of the Reserve Bank of India
“After the release of digital currency, it seems that the time is not far when the era of chequebook will end in the country and gradually cash will be replaced. That’s why the CAIT is launching an eight-point programme in its national campaign,” said Bhartia and Khandelwal.
This includes setting up of e-shop on e-commerce, adopting digital payments in place of cash, using computer technology in the business, timely payment of taxes, good behaviour with the customer, converting shops into showrooms, better product display and strengthening local trade associations,” they added.
India’s online retail market over the next five years is expected to grow by 25-30 per cent annually to $150–170 billion, according to a report How India Shops Online 2022 by Bain & Company and Flipkart