The changing trend Indian Food Retail Industry and its impact on Consumers and Retailers

India has one of the highest densities of retail outlets (15 million) compared to any other countries. Majority of these retail outlets are small and medium sized. As recently as 2005, only 3 percent of all retail (food and nonfood) trade in India was in the organized sector—the figure is put at 5 percent in the food sector. If we compare this with India's Asian neighbors, the nature of the Indian retail landscape becomes clear.

Organized food retailing is a relatively new phenomenon in India, with small Western-style supermarkets only starting to appear since the 1990s. Traditional local markets and small-scale retailing continue to dominate India's food retail sector.

Around 70 per cent of the total households in India (188 million) reside in the rural areas. The total number of rural households are expected to rise from 135 million in 2001–02 to 153 million in 2009–10.

Unlike in the past the debate today is no longer whether food and grocery retail in India would grow but rather how fast can It grow and what challenges need to be overcome.