FUTURE TREND : SCOPE OF 24hr RETAILING

The concept of 24hr. retailing in India has been present only in very limited formats like the pharmaceuticals (Apollo) and fuel retail outlets (H.P, Reliance etc.) and the other retail formats used to operate only till the early hours of the night. But because of the changing lifestyles and the buying habits of the consumers the retailers have been extending their operating hours till late nights.

Most of the Indian retail formats though capable of operating their formats round the clock do not choose to do so because of the non feasibility of the idea at present taking in conjunction the customers’ readiness. For instance if any of the hyper market or supermarket is functioning during the night the retailer has to bear the extra costs of electricity, labor and maintenance if the number of footfalls are less very low during the late nights which otherwise would be profitable to him. Anyways, the shopping time of the consumer is considerably increasing. Moreover, in India most of the retailing is all about food and groceries. It might not be a rational prediction that all the consumers will step into the retail outlet at midnights to buy food and groceries.

This problem can be overcome by implementing the idea in places which have a floating population even during the nights like railway stations and bus stations. However with the upcoming culture of malls and the changing lifestyles of the people one can design a small part of the store or a mall for a new 24/7 retail format which consists of the essential products like medicines, fruits and vegetables, groceries and some other FMCG products and test market it. Once if the sales start showing some consistent positive figures and if the crowd increases then the store can come in a bigger way to reach out to their customers.

The other option for trying the concept of 24hr retailing is that the retailer can have a mobile outlet which can place itself in the areas which have substantial night traffic for the sales to happen. And once the people are to the 24hr shopping then the retail plans can be altered accordingly.