Unorganised Retail Sector To Achieve Success Soon

With the unorganised retail sector set to touch $496 billion mark in 2011-12, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the sector can hope for a better future. According to a recently conducted survey by Delhi-based Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), the unorganised retail sector is projected to grow at about 10% per annum in the coming years. The growing unorganised retail market is expected to encourage new small scale players to venture into this space and carve a niche for themselves.

The study by ICRIER also indicates that despite the impressive growth of the organised sector, the unorganised sector, mostly dominated by SMEs, will continue to remain pertinent across the country. Even though ever-increasing shopping malls and branded retail outlets are making it difficult for small retail stores to survive, these outlets have continued to maintain their stronghold in the domestic market.

The high retail growth envisioned by industry experts and research firms has further prompted SMEs in the sector to embark on their expansion plans, and take advantage of the projected boom. Some of the unorganised retail players have already begun implementing their capacity building strategies in order to reap maximum benefits from the growth. A large number of mom-n-pop stores and kirana stores are planning to put into effect new strategies to gain a significant share of the market and beat competition from the organised players.

Despite the growth predicted for the unorganised sector, there is a need for small players to focus on developing innovative formats and introducing smart pricing policies to capitalise on the sectors growth. These stores should look for ways to create an efficient retail environment and come up with attractive promotional campaigns with the help of smart marketing tools to gain an edge over branded retail stores.