Grocery Consumers Purchase Preferences for Buying from Traditional and Modern Shops

Abstract The Traditional Grocery market consists mainly of Kirana, Wholesalers, Grahak Panchayat, and KiranaSupermarket. Kirana shops are generally situated close to or within residential areas often in the ground floors of residential buildings. Wholesalers are situated in areas which conventionally are in designated wholesale market areas. Mumbai Grahak Panchayat is the largest voluntary consumer organization in Asia, having distribution centers in Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, and Raigad. KiranaSupermarkets were traditionally Kirana shops now converted into mini supermarkets with self-service and trolleys to move around in isles within the shops. With the opening of Modern Shops Traditional retailers have lost a share of the customers purchasing basket. Food is a basic requirement of all people irrespective of their class or status in society. Groceries are required for daily life. Increasing inflation and the increase in prices of goods makes the purchase of groceries a sensitive area for consumers who require purchasing day in and day out. With an increase in competition amongst retail formats, consumers have wider choices from where they can shop. A Quota Sample of 559 Households of Low, Medium, and High income groups was studied through the Survey method, in Thane City, Maharashtra, India. This paper attempts to study where consumers purchase their groceries from amongst formats such as Kirana, Wholesalers, KiranaSupermarkets, and Modern shops. An analysis of the Input, Throughput, and Output shows three areas of Procurement, Value Addition, and Marketing & Selling that present strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for traditional and modern retailers. Keywords: Grocery Retail India, Kirana, Wholesalers, Kiranasupermarkets, Modern Shops