Polls 2019: As kirana stores make digital switch, cash-rich startups call shots
India?s kirana stores are finally benefitting from the wave of digitization.Tech startups such as Jumbotail, ShopKirana and Udaan, are creating systems for easy access to wholesale procurement for these stores
- BENGALURU: Thirty-eight-year-old Meena P., who runs a kirana store in Bengaluru's startup hub of Koramangala with her husband Palani, never wanted a point of sale (PoS) machine at her store because she hated dealing with connectivity issues and tallying receipts at the end of the day.
- Jio is running a limited PoS device pilot in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune, and has partnered with Hindustan Unilever Ltd to supply products to kirana stores.
- Behemoths like Reliance Jio, Amazon and Walmart are also competing with tech startups to supply wholesale inventory to kirana stores.
- Startups in urban mobility, logistics, food tech, and many other segments also see Bengaluru as the place to pilot their next big idea.
- Either way, for kirana stores, the supply of goods (business-to-business (B2B) wholesale) and direct-to-consumer sales are influenced by cash-rich startups and multinational corporations like Amazon and Walmart.