As consumer behavior and lifestyles have changed, people no longer buy the way they used to. Simply increasing `width' and `depth' of coverage no longer seems to produce the magical results it once used to.
By the turn of the 20th century, the face of the Indian retailing industry had changed significantly. The retailing industry, which, until the early 1990s, was dominated by the unorganized sector, witnessed a rapid growth in the organized sector with the entry of corporate groups such as Tata, RPG, ITC and Bennett Coleman & Company into the retailing market.
With the liberalization and growth of the Indian economy since the early 1990s, the Indian customer witnessed an increasing exposure to new domestic and foreign products through different media, such as the television and the internet. Apart from this, social changes such as increase in the number of nuclear families and the growing number of working couples resulting in increased spending power also contributed to the increase in the Indian consumers' personal consumption.
Food retailing was a key area that saw some action at the national level, with players like FoodWorld and Subhiksha, establishing stores all over India. While supermarket and departmental chains replaced the traditional grocery and general store formats, the introduction of fast foods (McDonalds), packaged foods (MTR, Namma MTR), vending machines and specialty beverage parlors (Nescafe, Tata Tea, Café Coffee and Barista) brought about significant changes in the eating habits of Indian consumers.
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