Super marketwala

Damodar Mall

Growing consumer income, aspiration and explosion of choice in the market has given rise to continuously changing purchase behavior. From food to furniture , we are using very different things from a decade ago.

There is a new game in town – the game of freedom of ‘ shoptainment’ of open brand flirting and of savings as a participative sport.

Men and women shop differently. For example if a man takes a shirt to the trial room, there is a 66 % chance he will buy some shirt at the store. With a woman it is less than 25 % chance that she will buy.

The conversion is highest when two women shop together, followed by a woman alone and then a man and woman together. A man alone is the worst.

A man alone is best in an electronics store.

People like to be respected for who they are and not what they should be. The democratic ethos of modern trade ensures that.

A grocer is a ‘shopkeeper in law’ to the family. Young people and young daughter in laws don’t like this. They don’t like the loss of freedom.

Waste and modernity are synonymous. Modernity is accompanied by convenience, which is almost always derived from habits that are wasteful.

In India there is a elbow push factor, every queue has room for a maximum distance from your elbow to the tips of your finger.

Before self service stores, consumers relied on an expert to help them take decisions, get the best deals and follow the latest fashion trends.

Modern retail provides an environment and opportunity for getting close and personal with the consumer.

The biggest change in a refrigerator is the fact that it now contains polybags of milk, bought at one go at the local super market.

In India Foods and Festivals are inseparable.

Urban kitchens are changing, with women seeking convenience and tastes that are most suited to modern lifestyles and palates.

There are thirty varieties of dhoklas in Indian stores today and the fancy new variants are priced 30 % above the normal.

Despite the advent of western food, the traditional Indian food as basic and with twists is still the favorite.

Indians love two things – their festivals and their growing economic status.

With rising incomes, Indians are also becoming assertive consumers.

While incomes have grown, the wardrobe size has remained the same. Only 10-15 % of consumers have bought new houses and redesigned their home with a larger wardrobe. So apparel brands have to sell higher value products if they want a place in the wardrobe now.

Social media is influencing fashion choices. Real time posting of pictures, comparisons and commenting is driving this.

Clothes can give an indication of a man’s profession. The American TV show SUITS , as the title indicates all about lawyers.

Professionals in India, especially Multinational executives dress to show that they belong to a club. A manager is one who while leading also wants to show he conforms.

The Indian entrepreneur needs his own statement of power. This he derives from his clothes, his accessories, phones, cars, pens and so on – he uses these to signal his distinctive taste, influence and power. ( early brands were Double bull and Charagh Din)

The modern departmental store hasn’t understood this difference between professional and self employed.

Most small and medium businesses in India are official capital starved.

Global brands like Pizza Hut and Mc Donald's have made their menu available from rs 50 to Rs 500. This has allowed the Indian food like the humble idli, paratha etc. to be priced up and hence we see a lot of innovation to go up in Indian food.

Indians need computers to organize themselves but they also want the reassurance of a human interface to guide us through every transaction.

DIY or do it yourself is a western concept, Indians are more DIFM – Do It For Me.

If you need to show real Indian imagery and stories, you need to stay sensitive to cultural boundaries of behavior.

The Indian consumer is intuitively frugal and traditionally underserved.

When it comes to gyms, it is curious that das do not bring their kids to a gym, moms do in India.

Modern retail delivers a significantly more involved consumer to the brands, in a positive environment of abundant choice.