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Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav rightly justifies the growth of the retail sector in India, by saying that the shoes we wear on our feet are sold in air-conditioned show-rooms these days, but what we eat, consume, are sold on dusty streets. India has rightly caught the
nerve with the growing purchasing power of Indian middle-class, as retail markets are giving them a new experience.

Statistics show that its the retail sector which is the largest industry these days, contributing 10% to GDP, 8% of employment, and the market size of Indian retail industry (organized and unorganized) is about US $ 312 Billion, in which 2.8% (US $ 8.7 Billion) is shared by organized sector and expected to grow to US $ 70 Billion by 2010. The Government is also encouraging the global integration by allowing 49% in FDI.

But the question that comes to mind is how our retail sector will grow in experience? The answer lies in the boom of Information Technology.

With growing areas of retail space, increasing shelves, more varieties, retail business becomes more complex. It is a challenge to handle thousands of square feet of floor space, inventory, supply, and more importantly, manage the cost. So super-markets should give their customers an experience of huge market, posh ambience in one space, but at the same time, everything should be easily accessible.

How IT Enhances Retailing?

a) Retail Demand Forecasting: All customer transactions throughout the day, all details of their purchases, are stored as database, and then the patterns are analysed to forecast the future trends of the consumers' behaviour.

b) Inventory Management: The use of stock should be regulated. There should be optimal use of store space and maximum for selling. The varying time for replenishment of different products helps them to save space and avoid blockage of money.

c) Store Management: A place for safe-keeping of retail and whole-sale commodities are kept. IT helps sending alerts regarding out-of-place or stock-out items.

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* Contributed by: -
Priyamvada Joshi,
Christ University Institute of Management, Bangalore.
Article posted on September 27, 2008.