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The Indian retail industry is fast-paced and dynamic with several new players coming up almost every day, said Shashwat Goenka, Sector Head, Retail & FMCG, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group.
Goenka, who is also a National Council Member at RAI, was speaking as the keynote speaker at the fourth edition of the Kolkata Retail Summit that was held in the Park Hotel, Kolkata on November 18, 2022.
During a period where the rest of the world is showing looming recession, India has shown continuous growth. “One of the major drivers of this growth is continuous consumption that is fuelled by purchasing power that has only increased in a post-pandemic world,” Goenka added.
Goenka attributed this post-pandemic rise in purchasing to several policies put forth by the Government of India, as well as state governments. “Socio-economic development and an enabling environment characterised partially by the growth of e-commerce platforms, not to mention the enabling changes implanted by state and central governments have been the reason behind India’s retail sector’s success,” he added.
While Goenka mentioned all the positives around the growth of India’s retail sector, he also pointed out that appropriate action was needed to ensure sustainable and profitable growth. “We need to realise that retail is unique in India. Each consumer is diverse, and has taste. The thing about the retail industry in India is that it’s not a one-size-fits-all model. As a result, retailers need to be on the top of ever-evolving consumer behaviour. Further, India is a microcosm of several small Indias, which makes retail unique for each state. It’s not just each state, one part of a large city may opt to purchase something another part of the city isn’t interested. We need to be well-tuned around this hyperlocal behaviour pattern,” he added.
Goenka also added that the customer has evolved and in a post-pandemic world is better aware of what they like. “The pandemic changed the customer mindset. During the period between 2020 and 2021, there were a lot of purchases made around work-from-home things. However, when the curbs were lifted and the stores reopened, we went into ‘revenge buying’. We even saw a spike in online shopping sales, with 25 per cent of growth in organised grocery retail coming from e-commerce.”
Goenka added that while India looks to the future, the retail industry needs to be mindful that omnichannel is critical. Citing the difference between omnichannel and multichannel, Goenka further stressed that omnichannel is the perfect blend of offline and online retail, while multichannel could club both, but without the ideal balance required for retail to thrive. “We’re talking terms like customer experience and their convenience, and there is a reason for that. Today, we know that customers don’t have brand loyalty. They will opt for a product that provides them with the right experience and convenience at that given point in time. If you’re a retailer, and understand this, great; otherwise re-strategise and focus on your agility to survive in this ever-competitive industry,” he said.
The retail industry can also play a key role in reducing emissions, even though the industry isn’t that much of a contributor, Goenka added. “Sustainable retail is something we need to be mindful of. The retail industry links producers and consumers, and impacts the value chain, and therefore it’s critical that we play our role to make COP27 and the discussions around it a reality,” Goenka informed.
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