Bhagyajit Singh Rekhi on India's Retail Future: Why Online and Offline Retail Must Work Together

VMPL
New Delhi [India], September 2: The retail market in India is undergoing structural change, but it's not on the path that many foresaw. E-commerce, quick commerce, and digital payments have revolutionized how consumers are finding, shopping, comparing products, brick-and-mortar stores are continuing to grow in numbers in cities and new markets. What's interesting is that consumers are no longer channel loyal. A customer may see a brand on social media, search for it on the internet, go into a shop to try it out, and finally finish the transaction using an app. Retail is transitioning from a debate between online and offline to a more integrated, multi-channel environment with multiple channels and different uses.
One of the most obvious changes in consumer expectations is with the rise of quick commerce. In urban India, the delivery of groceries, FMCG products, personal care products, and necessities often takes as little as minutes, with speed actually being a competitive advantage. For standard products, this is a real threat to traditional Kirana stores. But there are still things that technology can't replicate about Kiranas, such as personal relationships, local knowledge, being able to offer flexibility in credit through khata, knowing the preferences of customers, and being able to solve small, immediate problems. The future of neighbourhood retail may not be that it's going away; it may be that it's changing through digital payments, ordering via WhatsApp, local delivery, and improved inventory management systems, all while maintaining the human element that made it successful.
Concurrently, in-store channels are highly relevant for categories that require emotional, trust, and/or physical evaluation when buying. For example, when buying premium apparel, jewellery, footwear, beauty, furniture, and electronics, consumers might want to touch, try, compare, smell the products, test them, or ask for personal advice before buying. This has led many retailers to consider their stores as destinations for an experience instead of just a place to buy merchandise. Helping customers with styling and demonstrations, giving them consultations, setting up immersive displays, and making personal recommendations are becoming a part of the purchasing process. The store is no longer the last point of sale but can be the point where uncertainty is eliminated and confidence is generated.
This is even more important as organized retail gets out of the biggest metros in India. Brands and product ranges are now available in Tier 2, 3, and 4 markets that were previously limited to the big cities. Being on digital platforms can raise awareness, but being physically present can offer credibility, familiarity, and after-sales confidence, especially with the purchase of a higher amount. This is shaping a unique Indian consumer journey in which digital discovery can trigger physical conversion, and the journey can later move back to digital engagement. So, the distinction between "online consumers" and "offline consumers" is becoming less and less clear.
Also, the economics of acquiring a customer are driving a rethinking on the part of brands about going all online in the way they do business. While their ability to go directly to consumers was a great boon in the early days of direct-to-consumer business, digital competition has grown quite robust. Competition for attention on social media, marketplaces, search, and advertising platforms, as well as high acquisition costs, discounts, returns, and reverse logistics, can all impact margins. While physical stores can be expensive due to the cost of rent, fit-outs, staffing, etc., they can also attract a lot of high-intent customers, allow for more in-depth interaction with customers, and facilitate larger purchases. The answer is no longer if physical retail is costly; it's if it can generate enough value to justify its place in the extended customer journey for many brands.
But technology is making it possible to bring these two worlds together. Stores are becoming more than just a place to buy and sell and are increasingly becoming mini fulfilment centres for click-and-collect, same-day deliveries, and easier returns. Clienteling software can also provide salespeople with customer choices, shopping histories, and product data, enabling them to make more meaningful product suggestions. Retailers can now benefit from inventory across online and offline channels, which will make it easier for customers to locate items, and AI will increasingly be used for personalization, demand forecasting, and customer service. However, the best technology may not be the most obtrusive. What it will truly mean is to make it easier and more streamlined for the consumer.
Social networks have thrown in another twist on these changes, and now content has become the new storefront. Short-form videos, creators, reviews, and recommendations are where consumers are finding products more often than before visiting a brand's website or store. Fifteen seconds of video can make them aware, a quick online search can help them build some consideration, and a store visit can give them the last bit of certainty they are looking for to buy. This is where brands must go beyond individual sales channels and consider a seamless experience from content to commerce, store to service. The consumer is not concerned with "digital" and "physical"; they just hope the brand will be available wherever the next step in their choice is going.
Retail is not about online versus offline; it's about eliminating friction between digital discovery and the irreplaceable power of human connection, as Bhagyajit Singh Rekhi says. That could be the best perspective on the Indian retail future. Digital will continue to be a strong platform when it comes to speed, convenience, selection, and discovery, while physical will be strong when it comes to experience, trust, guidance, and human connection. The best retailers won't look at one and say, "Well, I guess that channel is for you." They will establish an ecosystem where digital gets the consumer closer to the brand, physical retail brings the brand to life, and both channels will be interdependent to provide a shopping-across-channels experience and not a shopping-across-platforms one.
Bhagyajit Singh Rekhi is a visionary retail and operations leader with over 15 years of high-stakes executive leadership, driving revenue growth, large-scale market expansion, and operational excellence across the world's most prestigious lifestyle, footwear, apparel, luxury, and beauty conglomerates.
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