For online retailers, offline becomes the crucial battleground

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI : When the world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos, donned the hat of a delivery agent at a kirana store in Mumbai earlier this month, he was sending out a message: the mom-and-pop store is here to stay.

That explains Bezos’ decision to invest $1 billion to bring 10 million small and medium businesses online. “Amazon partners with thousands of kirana stores all over India as delivery points. It’s good for customers, and it helps shop owners earn additional income. Got to visit one in Mumbai. Thank you, Amol, for letting me deliver a package,” Bezos had posted on Twitter on 18 January.

Amazon is following in the footsteps of rival, Flipkart (owned by Walmart Inc.), and Reliance Retail Ltd, which has recently piloted its online venture JioMart.