Kirana stores still going strong

by Deepak Sharma on Monday, June 11, 2007

According to a new study published in Economic times, Indian consumers are still visiting local kirana stores (mom n' pop stores in India) while they still love the shopping experience of malls.

Besides, the bulk shopping that they do at these modern retails stores, there are the weekly top-ups to do at the local grocery, and the perishables that have to be bought daily.

A survey commissioned by SundayET to global market research company Synovate, has found that a sizeable 63% of the total respondents prefer to straddle both worlds: that of the mall as well as the local grocer. Only 26% talked about a marked preference for the mall alone, while there’s still another 11% that’s completely unmoved by modern retail and prefer their good ol’ mom and pop store.

Another trend that has been discovered is, the entry of retail chain stores in India has changed the way Indians are spending their weekends.

According to the survey, the entry of the modern retail chain seems to have even changed the way weekends are spent: 53% of the people interviewed said their weekend shopping behaviour had changed. What’s more, a whopping 69% agree that shopping at malls were treated as weekend outings for the family.