Flipkart stands up for sellers, takes THESE measures amid COVID-19

New Delhi: On Friday, Flipkart said that the company has introduced a slew of measures aimed at helping its sellers, which have been facing difficulties in shipping orders due to movement restrictions, thereby incurring losses. 

The Walmart-owned company has waived various fees paid by sellers to help small and medium businesses thrive amid the second Covid-19 wave, which is proving to be way more drastic and deadlier than the first time. 

Secondly, Flipkart isn’t going to charge storage fees to mitigate the impact that any seller may have on their inventory that is fulfilled through Flipkart's fulfilment centres, the e-commerce major said in a statement.

Moreover, all cancellation fee till May 31, 2021, has been waived off for orders that may have been cancelled due to lockdowns in various states. The ecommerce major is bearing all the costs of COVID insurance of its sellers. The insurance covers hospitalisation and consultation charges between Rs 50,000 and Rs 3 lakhs. 

Flipkart Senior Director and Head - Marketplace Jagjeet Harode said, “Through these testing times, it is our constant effort to support our seller partners who face immense operational challenges as a result of the pandemic. As a democratic marketplace, we want to ensure that our lakhs of seller partners are able to continue operations and keep the economic engine running." 

The ecommerce major has also extended the window for the Seller Protection Fund (SPF). The fund allows sellers to claim SPF on returned products, from the regular 14 days to now 30 days. If the situation doesn’t get smoother in the coming times, then Flipkart might introduce more measure to help its seller-partners, the company said.