EAST INDIA: Evolving into a Brand Conscious, Product Savvy Retail Sector

The East Indian retail market has been on a growth trajectory since the evolution of new Millennials population. Analysts have attributed this upward swing to the evolving middle-class, rising disposable incomes and growing aspirations for improved living standards, especially among the Millennials. The region is at the cusp of transforming from a traditional customer base into a brand conscious, product-savvy market. Its young generation is shopping and demanding both fashion and quality along with value for money spent from retailers…

- Sandeep Kumar

There is a new entrant on the leading retail regions’ list in the country – East India. The region, comprising of West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Assam has shown great potential in as far as the retail industry is concerned if the recent growth and development is anything to go by. No longer a silent observer in the retail race, East India is breaking all barriers to emerge at the top of the retail game, across all channels. Kolkata – the third-largest metropolitan area in the country and also the capital of Bengal – is the proud face of East Indian retail.

Some of the growth drivers of the region include a burgeoning, aspirational population, the proximity of Bangladesh – a country of 13 crore+ consumers – as well as the South-East Asian markets. Another reason why the region is fast emerging as a vibrant business center is the fact that the Kolkata and the Haldia ports act as gateways to landlocked countries like Nepal and Bhutan.

Cities like Durgapur, Bhubaneswar, Patna, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Guwahati, Cuttack, Siliguri, Brahmapur, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Puri, Bhagalpur, Gaya and Muzaffarpur are rapidly following in Kolkata’s footsteps, gaining ground as retail hubs.

Many of these urban areas are already in the process of becoming smart cities (an urban renewal and retrofitting program by the Government of India) which in result poses a major opportunity for the retail industry to create new milestones.

What Research Says

The Eastern region, home to 27 percent of the country’s population, contributes ~16.5 percent of the GDP.