THE AFTER COVID EFFECT

Will the neighborhood kirana emerge stronger?

When I heard the news about Facebook investing in Jio, it was neither Zuckerberg nor Ambani who came to mind. It was the face of the person I have been interacting with for nearly 35 years, and whose name I do not know. He is my neighborhood kirana shop owner.

He was the first to set up shop near my residence in Mumbai. Gradually, more shops came up. Most of the new shopkeepers were familiar faces, as they used to work in the original shop.It was convenient

“That’s how it is,” he explained. “All of them want to be on their own sooner or later. And they are all from the extended family, if not the same village. So, I help them start out. I would rather have them around me than a stranger as a competitor.” There was no question of turning a customer away as one or the other would always have whatever the customer wanted.

Savior today, sidelined tomorrow?

These days many TV stars are coming to his shop. All of them have long been staying in the neighborhood but used to delegate shopping of essentials to their servants. Now the servants are missing, the glitzy malls where they used to combine socializing with shopping are shut, online buying is off, and you simply must get milk and bread. Stars or not, for all of us, shops like his are the saviors during these lockdown days.

I wonder if all these people (or at least their servants) would remain his customers once the restrictions are lifted. From one who virtually sustains life in the community, would he again become a faceless, nameless kiranawala?

Back in Spain the day before I left, I had found the shelves in the normally reliable supermarket empty. But, right across the street from the house was a mom-and-pop shop that had everything I needed and was willing to procure what was not immediately available, much like her Mumbai counterpart. Before I flew back to India (and quarantine), my advice to my daughter was to trust the small tendero to keep the family going through the difficult days to come.

Transformation was on

My shopkeeper friend used to be skeptical about his children taking over the shop. “They do not have what it takes to run a shop,” he would say. “They may try one new business after another, but they just cannot sit at the shop from sunrise to late-night. How else will you keep an eye on the cash, the inventory and your helpers? I wish I did not have to be here for long hours day after day at my age. Do I have a choice?”

His oldest son, theoretically the one slated to take over the shop from his father, is a successful investment advisor. And he has been instrumental in gradually introducing technology and changing his father’s mindset.

First to come were the CCTV cameras. Then came a computer and printer. (Any customer could email a document and collect the printouts.) Most recently, card swiping machines and various apps have taken over most transactions.

“I want my father to get comfortable with technology so that have some time for himself,” the son told me. “Technology is working well, and he is noticing the difference too. A large part of the payments happens digitally now. I have put in place an inventory management system. It was rather embarrassing, but the CCTV once helped us catch a customer who was stealing a bottle of ghee.”

They are unhappy that there is no talk of any financial aid to the small shopkeeper to tide over the corona crisis. Plus, there is uncertainty. How long would the restrictions on movement continue?

Would they consider selling the shop after the crisis? The son had apparently thought about it. “If and when we decide to sell this shop, two factors would influence the price: our customer profile and the technology we have invested in.” I stole a glance at the father to check his reaction to the idea of selling the shop. I was surprised. “Many of our customers are already placing their orders via WhatsApp. I hardly maintain any account books now. My mobile keeps accounts and collects money. I think we will do fine come what may,” the senior sounded confident and proud. That conversation happened a few days before the big companies announced their plans for shops like his.

JioMart and WhatsApp have plans to empower nearly 30 million Indian kirana shops to take a digital leap. The shops can grow their business and create new employment opportunities using the power of technology. Amazon has also jumped into the fray with their initiative to enable offline stores to do more business through their platform. With an estimated 12 million kirana stores forming the bulk of the unorganized trade sector across the country, the projected market size of 1 trillion dollars is not easy to resist.

Prepared for uncertain days?

It is rather early in the morning. I am standing within a circle, one of the many drawn in front of the shop, to help customers maintain “social distance”, while they queue up for the daily essentials. I wonder how the entry of the giants in technology and retail would transform the son and the father. Would they ultimately couple their wagon to a big engine? Would the kirana shop as we know it disappear?

As I slowly step into the next circle, I am fairly confident that their sales during those two curfew-free hours must equal or exceed their “normal” full-day average. People are buying a lot. Panic continues to fuel purchase. Would they all come back to this shop after the threat of the virus was quelled? Or would they go back their online ways for food, kitchen stuff, and sundry non-essentials?

Most of the customers appear to be in the 20-to-60 age group. Have they picked up the knack of estimating and procuring for the whole month at one go? Unlikely! In which case they would keep returning to the shop. And people have re-discovered cooking at home and eating with family. That augurs well for my friend.

As I walk away with my shopping bag full, I realize that I still do not know their names. At least I would remember the name of the shop. Not that the name would matter to the app.