Ecommerce Vs Kirana Stores : Neighborhood Stores to thrive even as eCommerce giants give tough fight
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In anticipationof a shift in consumer behaviour following the coronavirus disease (Covid-19),offline retail is emerging as the new battleground for e-commerce giants suchas Amazon, Flipkart, and trade associations, which are stepping up theirefforts to court small businesses in an effort to lure them to sell their stuffonline.
Furthermore, thetraditional Kirana stores, which canbe found in every nook and cranny of the neighbourhood, serve as the backboneof Indian retail, contributing for around 88 percent of the country's entireretail sector. “India has a total of 12 million Kirana stores, which equates to approximately 10 stores per 1,000 Indians,”according to the research. Apart from convenience, the Kirana stores also provide a compelling value proposition and aslew of other benefits that e-commerce has yet to match.
News report thatpublished recently states that some of the features that customers look forinclude proximity to them, the availability of free home delivery in less thanan hour, the ability to extend credit to customers by accepting delayedpayments, flexible conditions for product returns and exchange, and the abilityto offer personalised items based on consumption patterns in the localcommunity as well as ordering specific items based on special requests arestrategies used by Kirana stores tosustain.
Customers arealso accustomed to purchasing in the traditional manner. Offline shoppingtypically accounts for a sizable portion of the whole economy, as the majorityof consumers shop at stores they trust. People who shop in real stores, on theother hand, like people who love physically touching directly or handlingthings in stores. As time passes, customers develop a pleasant relationshipwith offline stores, which includes easy access, free consultation, and speedyreturn of defective items. Numerous factors exist for why individuals continueto shop at their neighbourhood store.
Now, whenmultinational corporations (MNCs) have come to establish businesses in India,they are mostly targeting offline buyers. They simplified, convenient, andaffordable shopping, but at what cost?
Due to hiddencosts, many customers may not be aware of the complete expenses of a product orservice. In certain cases, there have been attempts to sell products that areduplicates, ones that are not on the product list, and occasionally theincorrect product bought. This is because shoppers can't see the product inreal life before buying it through an eCommerce site. Such immoral acts arecarried out on a broad scale, affecting the end customer directly.
Orderhood'sobjective is to help local stores bygiving them a platform where they can be dedicated and have a focused approachselling their items online. Consumers are given the same price for purchasingfrom an offline store as they pay the localstores owner directly and receive the product to the client immediately.
Orderhood is anandroid-based application that allows users to explore local store and place orders with such businesses. Customers whouse the Orderhood app to make a purchase from a nearby store can now pay thestore directly using any preferred method. You may buy groceries, medicalequipment, and medicines. You can also buy veggies and meats from local stores. Orderhood looks up allof the nearby businesses on Google Maps so that customers can reach out andorder products & services.
Orderhood offersfeature-rich order management solutions that are comparable to those offered byeCommerce giants, but with a clutter-free layout and a simple user interface.Orderhood works with any shop, regardless of billing method or payment wallet.