Digital Kiranas

Wagadwala Store is a household name in residential complexes of Marol in suburban Mumbai. Just a call away, the kirana store delivers anything from a loaf of bread and eggs to monthly grocery list at a speed no ecommerce major can match. During the initial days of the lockdown, its owner, Samir Wagadwala, was the messiah of Marol. When most nearby stores downed shutters due to lack of supplies, he went from distributor to distributor to ensure that his store was well-stocked. He also continued home delivery.

Wagadwala has a new feather in his cap, and he can’t stop talking about it. His online grocery platform, Wagadwala.com, went live two months ago. It has been taking 25-30 orders per day. “I can see my entire inventory online, and when I run out of certain products, say Ashirvaad atta or Saffola oil, the website alerts me. It also notifies my customer when I get fresh stock. The online solution also has a billing facility,” he says.

Wagadwala Store may represent a fraction of the 15 million neighbourhood store network (88 per