Organised retail gains ground in India

NEW DELHI: Over 20% of Indian urban shoppers now make regular purchases from stores in the organised retail sector, benefitting supermarkets, convenience stores and similar outlets.

In a new report, Nielsen, the insights provider, showed that 21% of consumers in the country's cities frequently visit branches run by established bricks and mortar retailers.

Moreover, some 66% of buyers in these metropolitan centres engage in this activity at least "occasionally", a total which had increased from 54% last year.

In reflection of this shift, Nielsen reported that modern retail sales expanded by 28% last year, taking a 9.2% share of the entire retail category, up by one percentage point on an annual basis.

"A stabilisation of shoppers who spend a majority of their money within modern trade at this level indicates that this format is a part of the regular buying cycle for India's new breed of urban shoppers," Adrian Terron, executive director of Nielsen's retailer and shopper unit in India, told the Economic Times.

Among the other trends noted by the study were that 39% of customers at organised retail stores preferred purchasing items in bulk to make savings.

This figure fell to 29% for their counterparts buying lines from traditional stores, which often do not stock the larger pack sizes available from modern retailers.

Data sourced from Economic Times; additional content by Warc staff, 13 September 2012

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