Local kirana shop owners turn to online selling

Who wouldn’t want to take benefit of the ongoing online shopping surge? Right from investors, startups, big etailers, online sellers and customers, everyone wants to ride the wave. Now add local kirana owners too in the list, who are popping online stores with an aim to reach more customers.

Is it beneficial?

First it was supermarkets and then online grocery stores which ate up local kirana’s business and forced many of them to put the shutter down permanently. Venturing into the online space is a positive step to overcome the hurdle laid in front of small grocery sellers, adapt to change in business models and turn the tables.

Ravi Singhal owner of two kirana stores in Delhi NCR said,

“The response to our online entry has not been that great. But we see it as a medium of the future.”

Speaking about this trend, Arvind Singhal, Managing director at Technopak said,

“I see this trend of big retail shops located in affluent areas making their significant online presence catching up all across the country.”

What works in the local stores favour is that they already have a loyal customer base and people trust e-grocery shops that have physical stores. Like Sandeep Agrawal, Founder- PinkCityKirana said, “You need physical presence to have credibility in the neighbourhood.”

Challenges

Online grocery market is growing, but still is a niche segment and highly scattered with low profit margins. Mode of payment, slow growth rate and delivery can be challenging for some to handle if not prepared. Local grocery stores still carry out financial transactions through cash whereas online buyers expect card payment options.

Keeping aside the challenges and handicaps, established ecommerce players identify the strength of kirana stores too. This is why etailers like Amazon and BigBasket has tied up with these brick-and-mortar grocery stores in the past. Amazon not only launched Kirana Now, an express delivery platform by partnering with the local grocery stores, but also made them pick up points for Amazon deliveries. Right after Amazon, BigBasket too tied with local kiranas for quicker delivery.

Small and medium retailers can benefit a lot by becoming an etailer. Instead of resisting the idea of an online business, embracing it will open more avenues for offline retailers and bring in more customers. Bridging the gap between offline and online is a great way to move forward and do profitable business.

Are you one of these shop owners who have turned to online selling? How has your experience been? Write to us and share your ecommerce journey at [email protected]. Or just drop in a line and we’ll get in touch with you.