Kurnool: Neighbourhood Mom and Pop stores, which are also called Kirana shops in Kurnool district are facing problems to shift themselves to e- commerce based transactions in view of the currency shortage. Kirana shops in the district are largely run by Vysyas (trading community) who for generations developed a credible clientele in the respective localities. Nandyal, Adoni and Kurnool are the big centres where the trading community sells food articles to toiletries, salt and sugar.
Kirana shops which normally have cash transactions have been shifting to electronic trading by installing swipe machines and allowing facilities for charging through Paytm and digital wallets. Saraswathi Kirana stores in Venkatramana colony in Kurnool, which supplies groceries to the neighbourhood, is finding it difficult to operate the machines. “We are used to paper-based calculations for billing and we deliver items against cash payments. Now, doing paper work and accepting money through digital mode is becoming very difficult,” said Nichenametla Subbarayulu Setty, a Kirana shop owner in Kurnool.
“Aged people who are manning the stores are finding it really hard to shift to the new technology,” he said. Kumar, another shop owner said that they have placed orders for installing Paytm. “Paytm had recently launched an App-POS feature to allow small merchants to accept all debit and credit cards. Once this comes, we will serve customers better,” he said. Ever since demonetisation has hit currency crunch, the kirana shops are switching to swipe machines. But most of the shops are accepting cards only for transactions above Rs 100.
According to a survey conducted by Market Research Company Nielsen, the demonetisation initiative on FMCG sales with credit crunch for kiranawallahs who buy from them, as cash and carry, saw a 1 per cent decline in sales during the week ended on November 13, compared to a 14 per cent growth during the year to November 6.
At a dealer or store level, impulse categories such as biscuits and salty snacks declined by 40 per cent and 35 per cent respectively, while sales of some personal care categories like toilet soaps, shampoos and detergents were down by 22-28 per cent, said Nielsen. Some companies have started cutting production because of the fall in demand, and many are waiting anxiously for the situation to return to normal.
