Upgrade, the need of the hour

Fast growth of organised sector is one of the most prominent features of Indian retail industry, which is still dominated by traditional retail with around 12 million mom and pop stores. The fierce competition in retail industry today spells out that  kiryana stores or mom ‘n’ pop shops can no longer afford staying unchanged. They need to renovate and upgrade. Shopkeepers have to do away with those traditional looks of shops. Time demands application of innovation, better customer relations, and to be smarter, more efficient than before in order to grow in today’s market where big retail players are expanding their retail empire very fast. Mr Arvind K Singhal, Chairman KSA Technopak Advisors Pvt. Ltd, says, “I would not call kiryana stores unorganised or traditional or mom n pops stores any longer for many of them are modernising themselves and trying to reinvent themselves.” However, investment in store upgradation, without focus on service and customer relationships is unlikely to yield any sustainable results. Renovation of a kiryana store can make it look fresher, brighter, cleaner and, in general, more contemporary and less cluttered from inside and appealing from outside. Mr Rohit Nalwade, CEO, Consumer Vision, observes, “There should be product mix in store - one really needs to look carefully at the changing buying patterns of customers and adjust the product mix accordingly and this has to be an ongoing process.” A recent study of SEC AB consumers in South Delhi, arguably one of the prime catchment area in the country, revealed that about half of them shop for grocery within a 10 minute-commute of their homes, and about 40 per cent households would still shop at their regular grocers even if they were offered better prices or a wider range elsewhere.

Steps to be taken

All the old trends and activities such as making customers stand and wait at the counter, a hand made payment bill and over crowded or cluster of products need to be done away with.

Innovation: New ideas should be applied and brought into effect to improve the business. One such innovative idea is the use of computerised weighing and billing machines, personnel computers and also radio frequency identification technology (RFID). Mr Nalwade says, “Point of Sale system and software enables better inventory management, better credit management for customer accounts and reduces time spent by customers on cross-checking hand written bills.”

Interiors: Rather than having same old classic furniture, cabins and shelves shopkeepers should opt for new and trendy style of furniture. Consulting interior designers and taking their help is not a bad idea at all. According to Mr Singhal, “Wherever possible, invest in making customer-friendly shelving and displays so that customers can walk around, touch and feel the product wherever desired and can self-serve themselves.”

Joint promotions: The kirana stores of a particular category or zone can come out with joint promotions. Try to stay in touch with customers through sms, e-mails or by maintaining their record, do to let them know about new promotions and programmes to be launched.

Area-wise associations: The associations can pick up the stock together in bulk and passing on the discount benefit to the customers as done by big retailers. Free home delivery can do wonders as this saves the precious time of customers. Try to keep the market area and surroundings clean and green, as this would add to the charm of the whole market.

Improving services: Emphasis should be laid on providing quick, timely and multiple services to customers. Mr Nalwade states, “One should consider providing additional services to customers like bill payments, ticketing and mobile pre-paid recharge cards etc. These services provide customer convenience and bring in additional footfalls and revenues.”

Advantage ‘mom n pop’ shops

Mom n Pop shops enjoy various benefits in terms of location, operating hours, experience etc. that can further be used to attract customers and increase sales. Here are some of the advantages:

Easy accessibility: Mom n Pop stores are located within the locality or a particular area and easy to reach as compared to big retail stores, which are often in high-end areas of the market.

Vast experience: Kirana stores have more experience of their area as compared to global or domestic retail firms entering there. The shop owners know how to tap customers and make an impact upon them.

Understanding local customer needs: The shop owners of kirana stores are able to understand customer needs more easily as they have been dealing with customers for long time, may be from generations.

Credit facility: Customers can purchase the products from ‘mom n pop shops’ through credit without any hassle and can make payment later own.

Psychological factor: Mom n Pop stores have an edge over big retail chain stores. The relation between store owners and their customers is old enough and they treat each other as their friends and family members.

Annotation

Innovative ideas and customer satisfaction are going to be the key of success for kiryana stores in the long run. Support from organised retail players and government agencies for kiryana stores can also prove beneficial.