Lock-down & Look- up – Why I reinvented the goodness of our neighborhood retailers!

Lock-down has made me to look-up to our neighborhood retailers with a fresh & positive perspective. It is not that I have no knowledge about them earlier. We have all grown with them.  If we re-wind the clock some 30 years back, these friends had helped us with everything we want, mostly within 500m from our home. In a very remote & rural village where I used to stay, we had the presence of these retailers, mostly identified with their personal name rather than the shop name (as we now identify the large format stores) and they lived among us. We used to call these shops with different and some time jovial name like – new shop / only shop / color shop (for the soft drink they used to sell) etc., They used to sell all the products under the sun like sweets, bubble gum, papers , note books, bill board games, vegetables, crackers during Deepavali and all the other sundry items required for the children to the grandparents.  In a way, they were the original all-in-all multipurpose stores.  And they used to survive & flourish during toughest period of our economic growth (or no growth).  Over a period of time, their shops used to become the “location identification register” for the travelers and public.  And they used to be relatively hygienic as well as it never used to be an air conditioned shop, products & other goods never used to be touched by general public (only the shop owner delivers) and generally well ventilated. And there was a social distancing without the threat of virus! Just like adding a cherry to the ice-cream, the owner used to be friendly and even extend soft credit facilities. He used to smile, play with the kids and occasionally offer free toffees! If he does not have a product, he used to make an effort to go to the nearest town and deliver us. We were very comfortable with them.

So, what happened in between??  In the last two decades or so, as the economy moved up, our lifestyle also got changed. With these lifestyle changes, our outlook also had become more upwards or westward. We moved to large format stores with air conditioned environment, self-help displays, providing touch & feel experience (!), motivating products, enticing offers, electronic billings, great car parks and above all the visible display of all the powerful brands for recall (more to the neighboring flats). We started seeing people coming out of with a huge branded shopping bags, most often buying the things which they never intended to buy!   To top this, children used to get the fun of having healthy snacks like pizzas, etc., as a top-up (in the eatery’s which is normally a value added service by the stores)! It is not the end, if we recall.  Once, we return home, we used to feel thoroughly exhausted but we called it as a retail therapy.  There is nothing wrong about this, it is an alternate lifestyle!  Meanwhile, all through these BIG changes, our local, neighborhood friends, remained where they were, with the same smile they had earlier.   He was sincere about his service as he lived out of proceedings.   In-between, I had forgotten them, often feeling uncomfortable to go there. If I go there, I need to turn my so-called social status clock by 30 years! – Why should I do it – at least I thought like that.

During the lock down, we felt the need of basic household supplies like vegetables, fruits & basic groceries, more than what we used to consume before - since we are spending more time at home!  That is time, which made me to realize the power of our good friends – neighborhood retailers.  They responded the calls (as there was a human – human approach which was established), delivered all the goods, what we needed at our home.  They have not charged more than the product value, since, they valued our continued relationship (rather than making it a transactional agenda).  But for them, fulfilling the needs during the lock down would have been tough task.  Post to the lock down relaxation, when we had the clearance to move out for essential purchases, we found the neighborhood retailers, greetings us (once again ) with the same smile which he displayed before, with all the products, without escalating the price, having a relatively hygienic purchase process, maintaining social distancing, ventilated & non-air conditioned shops and most importantly recognizing me as his esteemed customer. I found it good & respectful, when at a time, we were worried to venture out & even if we do so, would like to conclude the transaction at a very fast pace.  When I looked back to my younger days, these offerings from the neighborhood stores were always present, which is now getting magnified due to the new world order after this virus.  It is a re-invention of them! 

All through my career, I have dealt, sold, serviced & developed both the format stores. I see a distinct advantage of both of them in serving the public. However, I see a greater comeback opportunity for the neighborhood stores, considering the consistent & continued service they offered during the big crisis. A sort of re-emergence & a re-discovery of business model! It makes a good business sense for a larger organization in the retail space or an even a startup in offering innovative solutions to these friendly & customer centric retail stores. The areas are not restricted in providing technology solutions using business analytics, AI / ML & even affordable social robotics, or socializing last mile, connecting the customers through B2C applications, Online-Offline door deliveries but many more. More & more public have gone through the experience which we have gone through or going through. They may be willing to re-look their purchase behavior during the upcoming times. We can anticipate many destructive digital transformations lead by technological interventions in the retail space in the upcoming times. This situation makes me to forecast a significant re-emergence of neighborhood format stores & it is going play a crucial role in our economic bounce back.