Indian Retail Industry

The Retail Sector In India has gone through a major transformation over the last ten years.This particularly noticeable shift can be seen in organised retailing. India has been ranked as the 4^th most attractive nation for retail investment by a US based global management firm amongst other flourishing nations.

By the year 2017, the retail market in India is expected to reach Rs. 45 lakh crore, as it expands at an annual growth rate of 10 per cent.

Tata, Reliance, Adani Enterprise, Bharti and other similar companies have been investing considerably in the booming retail market. A number of other small national brands have also entered the market and set up retail links with big Indian companies.

With the incorporation of technology in the Retail Sector in the form of computers,  merchandise planning and management, control of inventory costs, supplies and goods has become much easier than before. Retailers are now entering the online domain of retail instead of having physical stores. The retail industry is selling their products through websites asfood and grocery stores comprise the largest chunk of the Indian retail market.

An emerging trend in this segment is the process by which customer’s orders are taken online through web portals and are then delivered to their doorstep the very same day or the next day. This trend has been catching up with most of the larger sized retail chains that have their own websites.

Organised retail is another newforce that is emerging in India and despite a slump in the market it is growing gradually and exponentially. As India’s economic growth continues to rise, more and more people are being brought into the consuming class. This along with organized retail will entice more and more shoppersand by 2015, millions of shoppers will patronize organized retail chains.

Consumer markets in emerging market economies like India are growing rapidly dueto economic growth. India's modern consumption level is set to double within the next five years to 1 trillion dollars from the present level of 700 billion dollars.

The growing middle class in India is another important factor that is contributing to the growth of retail. By 2030, it is estimated that almost a 100 million households will come under the category of middle class. Also about 500 million people are expected to live in just the city, which is nearly twice the population of the US today.

Therefore, with tremendous potential and India’s ever growing population, the nation is set for a high growth in consumer expenditure.