If you still haven't checked my previous post on Supermarkets, please take some time to. But it will help you to gain 'nothing'!!!

I want to run a pole here. Tell me honestly, when was the last time you went to a Supermarket. This pole is restricted to the people in India. You don't have to vote here, its just for your recollection. Our brain is programmed in such a way that once we hear a word, there are other things which comes into picture. Lets take supermarkets here, then we start to view the signboards (it may be Nilgiris or Food World or anything else), the staff who work there, the kind of shelf decoration they have, the kind of stuff that's available or sometimes may be even what's there in which aisle, since you are so used to going there or you are a good observer. Trust me most of us are good observers and we observe change very well.

Why did I ask this question? For a variety of reason. To begin with, I wanted to make sure people remember the things I want them to remember. I would like to say, people have their own choices in this front. Some may choose to go down to a Supermarket, pick up a trolley or a basket, pick & choose out of aisles what they want to buy, stand in the queue to get their items billed, pay the bucks(read as 'ripped off!') and get off. Or there may be others (like my mom!), who makes a clean list of items to buy for the month (she would forget most of them), decorate it & give it to a local grocery store, who in turn would get it delivered on the very day.

There may be reasons for both these ways. I haven't come across many who fall out of this category. The reason my mom does this is because she works. This is may be the case with all the employee class of people in India (which is sooper high!). Atleast most of them would prefer this, due to the non-availability of time. Some of them, treat grocery shopping as pain too. How many instances has your dad forgotten to bring home some 'Toor dal', which was asked for by your mom. Its not that he forgot or may be he did, its mainly that its not a pleasent shopping experience for him to get around doing it. I am not trying to convey that, by making Supermarket shopping pleasurable they can increase the sales, rather I am saying there is also some other basic funda behind this equation.

How many times have you walked out of the supermarket carrying out triple the amount of stuff you intended to buy? I would say it always happens with all customers. More than 20,000 new items fight for a shelf space every single year apart from the existing old items. Its a great Marketing funda that someone thought about this idea to do the same. "All that you want under one space with the best prices in town" is the funda. I sat down once with my mom during the fag time Supermarkets where the "in" thing & asked her why don't we shop at Food world. This was sometime back. Guess what, she gave me the very answer.

The majority of the Indian population falls under the middle class and they face the same problem with Supermarkets. Apart from being overcrowded and providing worst shopping experiences sometimes, I don't see any big reason apart from a "fag" to shop with them. May be there are good supermarkets providing the best customer service. But if you are arguing about the sustainability, then I am sure the pop & mom shops will survive in spite of the likes of Walmart & Woolworths(going to be called as Dick Smith) entering India. But these biggies can do so many other things which is much needed for the economy.

So in short, Why supermarkets in India may not succeed are- A. Due to the consumer belief of overspending, B. Not a pleasant shopping experience, C.Sometimes overwhelmed with choices to decide amoung alternatives & D.Most importantly accessibility to Pop & Mom stores.

May be I can write more after I finish my 'Buyer Behaviour & Economentrics of buyers' subject next Autumn semester!

Filtered by sambhar.....