‘e’ Ability of the emerging organised Indian vegetable and grocery retailers

The Indian retail industry is expanding in line with the overall economical growth of the nation. Globally, the retail and distribution sectors have been impacted by a variety of technologies. First and foremost, retailers should have the ability to adapt to new technologies. Though retailers are trying to adopt better, reliable and more sophisticated retail technologies; adoption alone will not yield any profit, market share and business growth. It is possible to draw the benefits of technology, only if the retailer has ability to implement, practice and utilise the same technology. An exploratory study had been carried out with the objective to investigate and understand the underlying abilities to employ and use electronic technology (‘e’ ability) by the Indian grocery and vegetable retailer in the emerging organised retail sector. Organised retailers have been classified in to three types for this exploratory study purpose; viz. the Corporate Retailer, Regional Retailer and Neighbourhood Retailer. Personal interviews and Questionnaires were the research instruments used in this study. The study reveals the current status of and the ability to deploy and utilise electronic equipments, information technology and communication technology by the organised grocery and vegetable retailers. Organisations can only be effective if they have the capability to adapt to new technologies.The automated and fully integrated environment provides retailers with more efficiency in the complex retail business.