The Hindu Business Line : Indians prefer to `discover and converse'

Bangalore April 10 `Discount and value' are not the only key words to woo Indian consumers. Add to that `discover and converse.' Global retailers would do better if they knew that the Rajans and the Kapurs and half-a-billion other Indian shoppers hate linear spaces, like clusters, like discovering things on their own, and hold your breath, more crowds in their favourite retail store.

Designers and retailers in India are now convinced that the Indian retailing experience is not like any other and international players will have to reinvent the wheel if they like healthy bottomlines.

Mr Girish Raj, Director, Idiom, a design company owned by Kishore Biyani's Future Group, said, "Indian consumers need to be talked to throughout their shopping process, not by the salespeople, but by the sheer design of the place." For instance, while stores in Western countries have to be instructional, there should be a thread of emotion in Indian stores. Therefore, stores have to be spacious and lead consumers on a discovery path. At HyperCity for instance, the retail environment, the store atmospherics and planning have all been anchored around the brand positioning of `there is more to discover.'

Mr Andrew Levermore, CEO, HyperCity Retail India Ltd, says that Western visitors are surprised at the amount of customer space they have created. "Western retail tends to `sweat the space' and drive up trading densities by overloading the sales floors with product."

Another surprise for Western retailers is the positioning of a hypermarket format targeted specifically at the upper income consumer. This is unusual to the Western world where hypermarkets are generally targeted at mass market consumers.

Therefore, while for the average American or the European, shopping is more a money- and time-saving process, for desi shoppers, it's about `using their money and time in an enjoyable manner,' says Mr Raj. Of course, the adage "rich people love low prices, the poor need them" is equally true in India, says Mr Levermore.