New street vending carts being designed to cope with recent challenges due to COVID-19

New Delhi, Mar 13: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in collaboration with National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, has organised a competition for Covid19 Street Vending Cart Designfor designing a new and cost effective cart models. The NIDs students in Ahmedabad, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana and Madhya Pradeshtook part in it from 22.12.2020 to 05.02.2021.

National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad coordinated with other NIDs and conducted a Design Hackathon for designing new carts to cope with the recent challenges emerging due to COVID-19.After selection, it is also proposed to offer these models in mass scale to street vendors.

The objective of the competition was to design a new and cost-effective solution for a modern vending cart to cope with the recent challenges emerging due to COVID-19. The cart should also provide better business prospects in the post COVID-19 world. Design should also consider issues and opportunities for street vendors so that they can sell better with improved efficiency and pride. It should address the needs of all segments of society.

As Street vendor uses conventional vending carts but, in the post COVID-19 era, the requirements from a cart have evolved in terms of packaging of goods, display, billing, hygiene, foldability, compactness, mobility, accessories like dustbin, seat etc., provision for shade, lighting, power supply etc. Indian Street Vendors are going through a tough phase due to COVID -19 scenario. Loss ofcustomers and demand, restriction of mobility, hygiene issues, and competitive challenges aredominant in the present time.

Post COVID-19 time, there are new emerging scenarios in street vending. There lies an opportunity for street vendors to innovate their businesses and attract customersadapting to these changes.These Street carts could become a turning point for product, storage, mobility and branding point of view.