The Maharashtra government’s decision to restrict working of grocery shops from 7 am to 11 am will impact small outlets, especially those that are not offering home delivery through an online platform.

Vipul Chedda of Chedda Grain store in Andheri, Mumbai said that the reduction in working hours was the last nail in the coffin for small retailers like himself. According to him, “The wholesale rates of FMCG products and grains have gone up, but the MRP is the same. On the other hand, the customers’ purchasing power has reduced.”

“Also, the shops don’t open so early and the distributors, too, do not get the products at that time. The adverse impact will start showing in the next 10 days for sure,” he added.

The Maharashtra government said that the decision to restrict the hours was taken because many citizens were using the excuse to go shopping to stay outdoor which was leading to higher Covid cases.

But Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India (RAI), said that the move could be counter-productive. “Restricting working hours of stores may lead to crowding, which is a risk and is detrimental to social distancing. It may result in operational challenges, supply chain issues, panic buying and hoarding of essentials commodities. Furthermore, it is grossly inconvenient to customers. “

“We have also appealed to the State government to permit all sizes and formats of non-food retail to take orders over phone and other electronic means for home deliveries. The non-food store premises can be allowed to be opened to the limited extent of fulfilling home delivery orders while being closed for walk-in customers. This ensures social distancing and convenience to customers,” Rajagopalan added.

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