The changing face of retail in India

It’s with sound reason that many pundits say retail is a course in human psychology. Successful, not-so-successful and even stumped retailers would vouch blindly for that.

Consumer behaviour plays a key role in this slice of business. And that’s one of the reasons why Damodar Mall’s Super Marketwala should grab your attention.

It is said that the world has changed more in the last 10-15 years than in the previous 100 years or more. This phenomenon is far more pronounced when it comes to India. Higher disposable income, connectivity to the world and being part of a fast-growing economy make Indians feel proud.

But the very same situation has become a nightmare for one fraternity — the consumer marketer. Rapidly changing demographics and psychographics of the Indian population is opening up new opportunities and posing new challenges for the marketer. One area where we see the effect of this change is in retail.

There is no longer one solution for all and it has become imperative to get to know consumers at close quarters to be able to talk to them meaningfully. Super Marketwala takes a good peek into consumer psyche as well as modern trade practices.

That said, it is not a manual on modern retail but a treatise on the philosophy of consumer behaviour — and is a good read not only for seasoned marketing professionals but also for anyone who is interested in understanding the mind of the consumer. Easy to comprehend and equally easy to relate to, the book doesn’t hand you a fish, but it helps you learn to fish in the changing consumer scenario.

The book could not have come at a better time. But if you are expecting a readymade guide to your next supermarket chain, that is not what Damodar Mall offers. He has carefully chosen not to provide readymade solutions. Rather, he has opened up unusual ways of looking at the consumer, insights he used duringhis long years at the helm of Big Bazaar and now Reliance Value Retail.

The book gives you a peek into the changing roles and ways of the modern consumer. Each character could be a man or woman you know yourself. But you have possibly not looked at their consumer side consciously. The book touches upon those little aspects of behaviour that define a person’s attitude to retail.

Damodar Mall’s language is extremely simple, not meant to test your vocabulary, but it touches the right chord. Super Marketwala is a compendium of small observations beautifully personified by characters that lend credence to the points that the author is making.

It is obvious from the 32 short chapters dealing with different aspects of consumers, that the author is deeply aware of the various cultures and practices across the country. Whether he is talking about culinary delicacies such as the puran polis of western India, or nolen gur of the east or the pesarattus of the south, all find the right context.

Though each chapter does not lead on to the other, the book loosely strings together a single theme: the changing character of the consumer and her/his habits. However, in some places the change of context is too sudden. While talking about consumer behaviour in one chapter, you are transported to the positive influence of modern retail on the lives of its employees in the next and you almost feel you have started reading a different book.

The fact that there are no obvious action points at the end of each chapter also leaves you feeling somewhat dissatisfied.But the points are communicated effectively. No earth-shattering findings are being discussed. You intuitively know what the book has to say, but that is what is impressive. The examples are apt and thankfully do not read like typical marketing case studies.

With some reference to changing lifestyles at the beginning of the book, the author tries to deal with very diverse areas. He goes from true liberation of the consumer through modern retail to how modern retail touches more lives than one can imagine, while also dealing with recycling and inherent green lifestyles.

Four sections essentially deal with observations of retail and consumption habits in anecdotal fashion, and makes for compelling reading.

Take this passage, for instance: “Ritu Agarwal, a banker in Delhi, was on her way to London for an extended training trip. At the swanky new airport in Delhi, she stood in the check-in queue of the airline, and found something pushing against the back of her legs. When she looked back, she found the passenger behind her gesturing her to move forward, his baggage trolley nudging her ahead. Ritu found that there was a gap between her and the person in front, and the passenger behind her was urging her to close the gap. She moved ahead and all was well yet again. No more prodding.”

These sections illustrate the physical change in buying behaviour and the need for the consumer to be in command. Accordingly it touches upon the need for the modern marketer to look at buying behaviour as a ‘daily swayamvar ’. The consumer of today is ready to accept options that save time, but not at the cost of completely giving up tradition. Be it the need to serve fresh food to the family or the shift to salads from samosa or take help from the local aunty to serve up festival delicacies. Convenience is welcome, but not complete change of food habits. The consumer is more ready to experiment with cuisines of different regions thanks to the availability of ready-to-cook recipes. The fact that, given the same ambience, a Haldiram’s beats a McDonald’s hands down on foot falls, is testimony to India’s readiness to try what is western, but still prefer what is Indian.

The author also has sections on what trends the modern retailers should watch out for and what they could do about these trends to their benefit.

Not really illustrative of the section heading, are a set of case studies of brands that have done well against odds. While there are some insights on how some brands have been successful, these case studies do not drive home a specific learning or theme and seem disjointed.

The reviewer is the founder-director of Brand Vectors

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