The Supermarket experience
Ever since the online grocery guys came into the picture (read as bigbasket in our home), one recurrent topic at my place has been - "would we miss the supermarket experience?" Some common points that would typically come up were:
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It was a nice once a month outing that we may probably miss out on.
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We would miss the new product introductions
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The supermarket experience was always a mind-hack, where you usually went to shop with a 5 item shopping list (which would have totalled to about Rs500), but invariable came out with a cart full of groceries (which would have totalled to Rs1500). This part would not be missed - especially by my wallet.
Yesterday, I went to Nilgiris and Reliance fresh (for two different items that could be got only in these two places), and I realized that, perhaps, I may not even miss the shopping experience. The experience was far from optimal. I noticed that there were more grofers (and other hyperlocal delivery guys) grabbing stuff from the shelves than regular shoppers.
Instead of seeing new products, I saw new hyperlocal delivery company names - I saw a company named Ninjacart. These guys were in a mad rush to get stuff, billed and run out, so that their SLAs with their demanding home delivery customers could be met.
My dad tells me that this is often the story in retail supermarket chains in Chennai too. I do not yet think, this has caught on with larger chains such as SPAR. But it will not be too long, I think. Are we becoming lazier? Are we going to lose out on that one enjoyable outing? I do not know. But time will tell - since we will only know the true picture after the VC funding dries out.