A survey conducted by a leading community social media platform has found 84 per cent of residents favour continuation of the Covid-19 lockdown in Tamil Nadu till May 31, but many want home delivery of all products through the day with no restrictions on time.
The survey conducted by LocalCircles also said small businesses that operate in Tamil Nadu say they need to have a model that enables them to operate safely despite COVID-19. The new DMK government in the state imposed a lockdown on May 10 which will be in force till May 24. Indications are that the lockdown will be extended by two weeks.
The survey found consumers want home delivery of all goods – not just essentials that are allowed now – through the day so that they can buy whatever they want. Many small businesses are keen that they be allowed to function in home delivery mode only during the lockdown, the survey said.
The survey received more than 20,000 responses from citizens residing across 32 districts of the state. While 62 per cent respondents were men, 38% respondents were women. It found 84 per cent residents of Tamil Nadu support continuing lockdown till May 31st, while one in three surveyed in favour of permitting businesses to do home deliveries any time.
“They are of the view that e-commerce deliveries should be permitted all day and retail stores should also be permitted to operate in home delivery mode all day. This question in the survey received 4,080 responses,” LocalCircles said.
The survey said 74 per cent of them believed home delivery of goods should be the primary model that should be used during lockdown/curfew in districts/cities, while 69 per cent said “school books, stationery & equipment for online classes”, and 32 per cent “children apparel, footwear, raincoats, etc.”.
LocalCircles said gadgets is the top category in which households in Tamil Nadu will have a need to purchase in the next 3 months. Also, over 550 retail businesses located in Tamil Nadu have expressed the need for the Government to enable them to at least operate in a contact-less or home delivery mode only till the Covid-19 situation improves considerably.