22% kirana owners extremely optimistic about business this festive season

A survey conducted by the Kirana Club, a kirana community, showed that kirana store owners are expressing a sense of caution due to subdued consumer demand and a decline in rural consumption given the persistent food inflation.

The survey, "The mood of kiranas", was conducted among 5,000 kirana owners nationwide. It showed that 22 per cent of kirana owners in India are feeling "extremely optimistic" about business prospects this festive season, while 37 per cent expressed "some level of optimism". Around 29 per cent of kiranas are unsure about the season's business prospects.

The survey further showed that positive sentiment was the most prominent among kirana owners in Madhya Pradesh at 63 per cent, followed by Bihar (60 per cent) and Rajasthan and Maharashtra at 59 per cent each. Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of kiranawallahs expressing "pessimism regarding business prospects" at 14 per cent.

Anshul Gupta, founder of Kirana Club, said, "Over the years, the retail sector has been witnessing increased consumer demand, thereby boosting sales and revenue during the festivities. However, the usual upbeat mood seems to be missing among Indian kiranas this season. The cautious optimism among kirana owners expressed in our survey is a true reflection of the current dynamics of the retail sector across the country..."

A sentiment analysis conducted among kirana owners showed that 71 per cent of kiranas witnessed a surge in demand over the past few weeks.

"Kirana owners in Madhya Pradesh (72 per cent), Bihar (72 per cent), Rajasthan (72 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (69 per cent), and Maharashtra (68 per cent) confirmed increased demand for small size SKUs, indicating that consumers are either trading down to smaller packages or experimenting with new variants of brands," the press release stated.