It is happening everywhere: the shops have a physical presence as well as a footprint over the online sphere. They not only sell their goods offline but do it in a better way online by putting them up with big e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, and many more. But the business community in Kashmir hasn’t explored this wide-open window so far. It is not like we lag in adopting the technology, but somewhere, the road map isn’t there when it comes to having an online presence.
The shopkeepers, who sell handicraft items, commodities indigenous to Kashmir, or any other thing available anywhere across the country, can do it differently for the customer base across the country, giving them wider choice, and by that, they can ensure a transition in their economy. There is a way that needs to be shown by the stakeholders who are, for sure, finding ‘just offline’ hard to sustain and are looking eagerly for other options to appear. The options are very-well there, but they need to try at least, to begin with.
Earlier, J&K had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Amazon for selling the indigenous and J&K-specific products online, however, that went dormant and could not really create a trend to follow. It seems that the business community, especially the vendors spread across Kashmir, now needs to get up on their own. They need to execute the idea of having their presence online and doing the business in real-time: because that is the only way through and those who want to sustain in current times, want to have a monetary push to grow more, do their bit in employment generation, would not prefer to be left behind, side-lined and ultimately perish. In ensuring that the shopkeepers across Kashmir get another address, online, the Government could also jump in and do its part, however, it is going be the stakeholders who have got a larger role to play. They should better get going!
