The Confederation of West Bengal Trade Associations (CWBTA) on Monday expressed concern over the rising volume of online festive sales and the deep discounts offered by e-commerce platforms, saying the widening online-offline price gap was hurting traditional retailers.
E-commerce companies have reportedly clocked around Rs 24,000 crore in sales in the first two days of the festive season, it claimed.
The apex trade body said such a shift in consumer spending, coupled with aggressive price competition, was putting significant pressure on offline retailers and traditional markets.
CWBTA president Sushil Poddar said the issue was not the growth of e-commerce but the large difference in prices between online and offline sellers.
"Online sales of around Rs 24,000 crore in just two days clearly demonstrate the enormous scale of the shift in consumer purchasing. However, when such sales are driven by substantial price differences, the impact on offline traders cannot be ignored. Traditional retailers are losing business because they simply cannot match prices offered by large online platforms," he said.
Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), flagging the concern, also said it is not against digital trade, but that pricing policies which make it hard for traditional traders to survive are not acceptable. It wants rules applied fairly to both online and offline sellers.
Poddar pointed out that offline traders have to bear costs such as shop rent, salaries, electricity, taxation, transportation, inventory and maintenance, while working with relatively limited margins.
"Price competition is healthy, but when the price difference becomes too large, it creates an uneven playing field. The same product should not be available at dramatically different prices simply because it is being purchased online rather than from a local retailer," he said.
The CWBTA urged the government and concerned authorities to examine the growing disparity between online and offline prices and its long-term impact on traditional retail. It also called for greater price transparency and reasonable price parity between online and offline sellers, particularly for identical products and brands.
The festive season is traditionally the most important period for local traders, who invest heavily in inventory in anticipation of higher demand, the body said. When consumers are offered significantly lower prices online, footfall in traditional markets can decline, stocks can move slowly, and margins can come under severe pressure, it added.
Poddar said the Rs 24,000 crore figure should be seen as an important signal for policymakers, as a continued shift of this scale could significantly affect the country's traditional retail ecosystem.
"We are not against e-commerce. We welcome technology, digital commerce and healthy competition. But the survival of millions of traditional traders cannot be ignored," he said.
The CWBTA clarified that it did not seek restrictions on e-commerce or consumer choice.
"Our objective is not to stop online commerce. Our objective is to protect fair competition. E-commerce and traditional retail must grow together. Price parity, transparency and a level playing field are essential if we want millions of small retailers and neighbourhood businesses to remain competitive," Poddar said.
He also appealed to consumers to support neighbourhood shops and traditional markets during the festive season.
"Our traditional markets are not merely places of business. They are an integral part of the economic and social fabric of Bengal," he said.
