E-Commerce Impact on Employment: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal expressed concern over the business practices of e-commerce companies and said that the tendency of big and giant e-commerce companies to deliberately keep prices low (predatory pricing) can lead to employment crisis in the country. He said that due to this, people in the traditional retail sector may lose their jobs.
In an event related to the launch of the report on the impact of e-commerce on employment and consumer welfare in the country, Piyush Goyal said, we should not consider the rapid expansion of e-commerce firms as an achievement, rather it is a cause of concern for us. He has expressed concern about the possible social disruption in the society due to e-commerce. Piyush Goyal asked, are we not inviting social disruption on a large scale due to the rapid growth in e-commerce? He said, this is not a matter of pride for us because after 10 years from today, more than half of the market will be a part of the e-commerce network, which is a matter of concern for us.
Piyush Goyal said, there is a need to seriously think about the role of e-commerce in the country. He questioned the pricing strategy of e-commerce companies and said, is predatory pricing policy appropriate for the country? The Commerce Minister accepted that e-commerce is important but its advantages and disadvantages need to be considered.
The Commerce Minister said, the market share of e-commerce companies is growing at the rate of 27 percent annually. Due to this, 10 crore small retailers across the country may face crisis. Citing the report, he said that the market share of e-commerce has doubled in three years. In 2019, the market share of e-commerce was 4.7 percent, which has increased to 7.8 percent in 2022. Questioning the celebration of Amazon’s billion dollar investment, he said, we are celebrating Amazon’s one billion dollar investment but it needs to be understood that this one billion dollar is not coming to provide any big service or to help the Indian economy.
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