Indian retailing perspective: challenges and opportunities

The market or the buyers are continuously changing the way they shop. Buying at the organized retail is an enjoyable experience for buyers. The shopping centers are becoming Family Entertainment centers. Some are enticing customers with taglines like “Shop, Eat and Celebrate”. Shopping centers with a number of cineplexes are now emerging which are called as “Hybrid centers”. Organized retailing in India accounts for less than two percent of the total retiling market. However with aggressive investments, organized retailing is set for expansion. The Indian government is also likely to spend USD 150 billion over the next few years to develop world class infrastructure, thereby, aiding growth in the retail sector. A common element of the expansion plans of different players appears to be the hypermarket. All leading Indian retail players are either already present or have plans for Hypermarkets. It will be foolhardy to adopt internationally successful retail formats to India conditions. One such factor could be the rural-urban difference. Hence, ITC is experimenting with a rural hypermarket through its Choupal Sagar format, which combines the grain procurement and storage centre with the mall. A key aspect of the model is to capture the farmer's visit to a mandi to sell his produce and offer a range of products and services to leverage the availability of cash with him/her post the sale.