Missing In Modern Retail: Convenience

Large number of retailers and consumers reacted positively to my last piece and it really encouraged me to start doing some realty check at the ground level. I am not sure if I call it being fortunate but I live in close vicinity of almost every brand, Food Bazaar, Spencer’s, More, Reliance Fresh and Subhiksha and it wasn’t very difficult to hop across all of them and spend some time observing holiday shopping as well as interacting with quite a few consumers as well as staff members.

For me parking is the first touch point and it is addressed very poorly by all brands. At least a sign board advising or guiding on parking can be big help. Convenient location of stacked trolleys or shopping baskets is desired whereas littered baskets and dusty trolleys are not only annoying but also raised questions of hygiene standards followed by the brand. Most of the shoppers across the brands were on a weekly or monthly shopping visit with a companion to push the trolley. Women actively going around and picking up the items adding to the trolley and occasionally she comes across some items, not in her shopping list, catching her fancy leading to a discussion of approval with the companion. Mr.Damodar Mal, Group Customer Director, Future Group observes that the truth is, from a woman shopper's point of view, modern trade takes out a "man's intrusion" in her decisions of choosing and buying personal things. Taking the shopkeeper out of the transaction is a huge service modern trade provides and women & simple families love the resulting empowerment. Allowing the shopper to talk to the companion in private at the store, allowing her to sit on the mattress before buying it, is new world of 'service'/’experience’ that simple urban customers flock for, away from the intrusive world of traditional trade.


Though a grocery shopper in a large format store comes with a shopping list but a large part of the basket is filled by impulse buying which is largely influenced attractive layout and new product displays and promotions. Mr.Andrew Levermore, CEO HyperCity rightly describes “Retailers who are providing a stimulating, interactive grocery experience with pleasing aromas and visual delights will always do better. Presenting food in an attractive and exciting way stimulates what we call the gastro-sino-occular reflex - what the eyes and nose loves, the stomach yearns for. Add a hygienic and orderly layout that induces trust and therefore stimulates experimentation. It is this that drives up the average basket value. Consumers are unlikely to experiment with a new food product from a chaotically laid out, unprofessional store”. On the other hand it is observed that in case the shoppers need any help or clarification on the product, price or promotion at this stage they are not able to find staff equipped with the desired information and this dampens the enthusiasm suddenly, especially the lady, and the sale is lost. This is a very crucial consumer touch point and often retailers fail to deliver this successfully. The store staff shall be trained and motivated to help shoppers locating the desired items, guide them to avail promotions and clarify doubts on the products if required. Most of shoppers I interacted with raised this as the key service requirement.

Once the shoppers have filled the basket now the most dreading phase of the shopping trip begins! The Check Out! During my association of over 14 years with Indian retail I have never seen any retailer operating all POS terminals at any point of time. I have failed to solve this mystery and I have always wondered if they don’t wish to use all of them then why they are wasting expensive real estate by occupying that floor space for additional tills. No shopper is willing to wait for more than couple of minutes in a small format grocery store and may be 5-6 minutes in a hyper format. Globally retailers, especially in a large format store, designate POS tills for different basket sizes and payment modes and this has proved to be useful in faster check outs. This can be supplemented by someone guiding the shoppers to the right queue during the high traffic periods. Indian consumers are not very demanding yet any of them don’t like waiting in long queues. Remember a great shopping experience can be ruined by delayed check out and this is what the consumer will remember as the last experience with the retailer!

With the beginning of the holidays shopping season consumers will be looking for destinations where they can shop comprehensively and save time. During my interaction with shoppers they rated shopping convenience higher than discounts for festival shopping since they don’t want to spend festival holidays only shopping. Large format stores will be expected to stock special festival merchandise as well apart from the regular range. In case retailers are giving festival offers please ensure your staff understands these offers very well and your inventories are managed properly to meet consumer expectations.

Finally I believe that apart from the brand the success of a retail store is largely controlled by the store manager. I have noticed not many store managers in Indian modern retail are seen on the floor or are in control of action in the store. He/she has to operate like a captain of the ship and maneuver all the resources, people, inventories and practices, based on the consumer flow and movement in the store. Store Manager’s visibility in the store not only raises the energy levels in the store but also instills great confidence in the consumers towards the brand.
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Published in DNA Money on 9th October 2008