MUMBAI: It is a renowned fact that the economic scenario in India has significantly transformed over the past two decades largely due to the retail sector. The retail market is set to double in 2016-17 from Rs 23 crore in 2011-12. This growth will be spurred by mutual growth of both offline and online channels of retailing.
“Omnichannel retailing is the way to go in India. All retailers have a big market, nevertheless organised retailers will have to find local relevance,” said Ministry of Commerce & Industries additional secretary J.K. Dadoo in the recently concluded trends in Retail Summit 2015 organised by ET Edge, an Economic Times initiative.
Talking about investor interest in the retail sector, Dadoo added, “With the changing trends, we will see more interest by investors too. The Indian government is keen to allow FDI in B2B e-commerce.”
During the Summit, The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) senior partner and director Abheek Singhi opined, “Shopping is an occasion which needs to be cherished and is a combination of mobile, social and human connection. Today consumers are in control of the shopping experience.”
Echoing his views Shopper’s Stop MD and VC Govind Shrikhande said, “The four D’s that count at present are demographics, disruption, digital and data analytics. Living in the generation of millennials, mobile and social commerce will shape the future of shopping.”
Speaking about the success of the Summit, Times Conferences president Deepak Lamba said, “It’s a delight to see the interest and enthusiasm of so many professionals to learn about the growing retail trends in India. Given the recent boom in the sector, e-commerce is capturing almost all retail sale, however, brick-and-mortar stores will never go out of fashion. Furthermore, digital wallets will help the country transform into a cashless economy.”
The Summit witnessed presence of more than 120+ professionals from the retail, banking and marketing sectors. Key trends, business and government policies were discussed by government officials and retail and banking honchos.
The Summit took place on 26 June 2015 at Hyatt Regency, Mumbai.
