Client Name

WPP Media Pakistan

Faculty Advisor

Dr. Mohsin Sadaqat

SBS Thought Leadership Areas

Behavioural Studies

SBS Thought Leadership Area Justification

The project aligns mostly with the thought leadership thematic areas of IBA Karachi’s School of Business Studies, Behavioral Studies, Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The dimension of Behavioral Studies is apparent in the fact that the study focuses on understanding how various demographic groups perceive and adopt online grocery channels, make trade-offs between convenience, price and trust, and how these perceptions result in channel choices across Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. The Entrepreneurship and Innovation dimension is developed based on an analysis of new business models in ecommerce and quick commerce, and their interface with well entrenched kiryana formats leading to implications for innovative retail and media strategies that are able to create value for both the new as well as legacy players.

Aligned SDGs

GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Aligned SDGs Justification

The project has strong links to a number of Sustainable Development Goals. It is connected to SDG 8 on decent work and economic growth by exploring how structural change in grocery retail impacts employment and business models within an activity that supports a million small shopkeepers and millions more workers in Pakistan (Ahmed et al., 2019; United Nations, n.d.). It contributes to SDG 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure in terms of digital commerce infrastructure, logistics networks and innovative retail formats such as quick commerce that are revolutionizing service delivery in cities (United Nations, n.d.; Statista, 2024). It also relates to SDG 11: sustainable cities and communities, due to the fact that affordable access to reliable grocery channels, offline and online, is an important aspect of urban resilience and quality of life (Akademos Research, 2024; United Nations, n.d.).

NDA

No

Abstract

This Experiential Learning Project explores the impact of e-commerce and quick commerce on Pakistan's offline grocery channels, with a focus on the KLI triangle. The research aims to achieve five broad objectives: 1. Profiling grocery shoppers by age, gender, and socio-economic status, 2. Market size (quantitative), estimating the size of the grocery market along with its structure, 3. Drivers/barriers and penetration (drivers-barriers-impact-assessment) for online grocery & perceived impact on kiryana stores and modern trade and 4. Ownership: barriers/enablers for e-commerce growth based on key stakeholder views. A mixed-methods research design is used, involving an online consumer survey of a few hundred respondents, two focus group discussions (IBA hostel students and women in Karachi), expert interviews with those from a quick commerce player (Krave Mart) and a fast moving consumer goods company (Reckitt) as well as secondary data from industry and policy sources. Though traditional stores still lead as the perfect place to buy groceries, especially for fresh and non-veg (given produce led nature of the category), a newer segment of urban, young and digital-savvy consumers prefer online avenues for less frequent cycles such as packets, beverage, household items or top up / emergency plans. Convenience, time saving and delivery are the most important levers for online adoption, whereas trust and perceived risks related to fresh items, delivery costs, price perceptions and broad platform coverage are significant barriers. Evidence from focus groups and interviews suggests that online grocery currently complements offline channels, absorbing missions, such as late-night or just-in-time purchases whereas the kiryanas retain advantage in proximity, credit and relation-based service, albeit supermarkets continue to anchor organized bulk shopping trips. The implications suggest that for WPP Media Pakistan, brands and platforms need to focus on mission-based and category based omnichannel planning concentrating mainly on trust and service quality online, as well as supporting the incremental digitization of offline retail without considering them competitors alone.

Document Type

Restricted Access

Document Name for Citation

Experiential Learning Project

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