It’s Not a Lockdown if We Don’t Call it One

It’s business as usual. Kiranas and stores continue to flourish. Consumption rates haven’t been reduced. Categories maintain their growth trends. Everyone agrees. Just ask the khumb mela and election rallies attendees.

So that begs the question: What lockdown? 

Still, a lockdown is in effect. The government has imposed restrictions on what people can do outside of their homes. It expects civilians to follow the pandemic-related mandates and won’t hesitate to use force. Yet, on roads and in stores, it’s business as usual. While lockdown has limited several aspects of our lifestyle, it does not appear to have the same restrictive effect on businesses. How do we know that?

Bizom’s data shows no fall in the performance of categories. Consumption rates are following the summer trends for product categories like beverages. Categories that performed well during this period continue to do so. There seems to be little fear and paranoia among consumers, which was evident last year. The kirana stores, convenience stores and supermarkets are happy to comply with the unabated demand. 

Stores are also open due to the government’s more nuanced approach to dealing with the second wave of COVID-19. They haven’t initiated drastic measures to contain the spread of the virus, unlike last year.

Businesses are better prepared this time around. They have adopted various strategies, from automating their supply chains to launching apps to enable retailers to send their orders directly to the brand.

If you’re still unsure about your business’s capacity to withstand the pandemic-led disruptions, then read the articles from our Thrive & Survive collection below. Many of them are a year old, but they’re still as relevant as CRED coins.

5 Wicked Facts About FMCG Categories That Bucked The Trend During Lockdown

Despite the gloom of lockdowns and unavailability of SKUs, some categories did well despite the slowdown last year. Read More >>

Secure your business engagement during a lockdown

Businesses have to step up their communications with customers, partners and most importantly, their sales team. Here are a few tech hacks >> 

Become Value-Conscious, Not Cost-Conscious

Lalit Bhise, our CEO, says that “India is not cost-conscious. We are value-conscious”. It is an important differentiation to make while cost-cutting during a lockdown. Read More >>

Customer Spotlight

It’s been a busy March for us with over 130 training sessions for our customers. We have created client-specific training videos to drive usage, and it’s working! Our training has also focused on tracking proactive usage, and usage drive calls in the first month after go-live.