Mom-and-pop stores, the small neighbourhood family-run businesses (or the kirana stores, as we call them in India) put the community in commerce — the warmth of communication on first-name terms, the familiar smell of the merchandise, a bit of haggling, and a little small talk. We are now trading all that away for speed, comfort, variety and big discounts of the faceless and nameless e-commerce or impersonal stores run by huge retail chains. Today, on March 29, Americans observe 'National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day' to celebrate small businesses, especially the family owned, that have been a vital part of their economy. Small businesses create local jobs and strengthen local economies by putting the dollars they earn back into the local economy. That's why the slogan 'buy local' reverberates throughout America's small towns. Kirana, the backbone of India's informal economy In India, these mom-and-pop stores are typically neighbourhood grocery stores. Apart from being social connectors for the local community, they also serve as an informal credit source, especially in rural areas. Customers can buy on credit on a weekly or monthly basis. The kirana stores provide this service, even though it hits their daily cash flow, to retain customers for long term. Thus kirana stores are important nodes of India's informal economy and not just sellers of products. And that's why they are valued as India's economic backbone even as a formal economy is still taking shape. These days most kirana stores take orders on the phone and also provide home delivery, two big reasons for their remarkable resilience in face of huge competition from corporate biggies. Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/mom-and-pop-store-day-why-kirana-will-survive-the-corporate-blitz/articleshow/99091239.cms
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