Description
E-commerce and online shopping are growing at a steroidal pace in India. So much so that many feel the online channel will soon emerge as the preferred shopping medium and will outsprint offline by a wide distance.
But here’s a sobering statistic for those who think that physical retail and grocery retail, in particular, is fast moving towards its sunset date. According to market intelligence tracker IBEF, the FMCG market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.9% to reach $220 billion by 2025, from $110 billion in 2020. But only a thin slice of this market — 3% — will be taken up by e-commerce, leaving about 97% of the FMCG market in the offline domain. So, any apocalyptic prophecy about the future of offline retail is grossly exaggerated and overblown.
In order to capture the huge offline FMCG market, retailers need to build both their online presence and offline footprint. This strategy is best exemplified by The NEW Shop, our cover story retailer (pages 26-37), which has emerged as India’s fastest-growing 24/7 omnichannel, convenience quick commerce company.
Setting up a sizzling pace of growth with 70 stores located across India’s residential clusters and transit hubs like highways, railways, and airports since debuting in December 2020, The New Shop is leveraging both its brick- and- mortar stores and its instant delivery mobile App to serve and reach customers round the clock, 24/7.
As TNS’ growth journey reveals, it has never been a battle between online and offline. Rather, it has always been about coexistence because online and offline are like husband and wife in a marriage. Offline powers the online and online amplifies the offline — that’s the axiomatic truth for the retail industry today.
