BENGALURU, Aug 23 Reuters India39;s ecommerce companies are adding delivery personnel at a rapid pace, fearing a labour shortage might cause them to lose out in one of the biggest annual shopping seasons that begins in earnest next month.

The moves come amid a tightening job market India39;s unemployment rate fell below 7 in July for the first time since January and persistently high inflation, complicating the outlook for the industry which has long battled chronically high employee turnover.

Overall demand for the gig workforce has seen a sharp increase and that is not completely supported by the increase in pool size of delivery people… It is not a free flowing pool, TK Balakumar, chief operating officer at online grocery seller BigBasket, told Reuters.

The company, backed by the Tata group conglomerate, has ramped up the number of delivery partners in its instant delivery segment BB Now to 2,200 in the quarter ended June, from just 500 in the March quarter. It aims to further raise the number to about 6,000 by March 2023.

BigBasket and other ecommerce firms such as Dunzo have their own personnel for delivery, while others such as cosmeticstofashion retailer Nykaa rely on third parties for providing the service.

Gig work employment, of which delivery workers and salespersons form a large chunk, is expected to reach 9.9 million in India in 202223, up about 45 from 201920, according to a report in June by think tank NITI Aayog.

People… look at a delivery…