Highway retailing

Abstract

The total length of National and state highways is estimated at 2, 11,142 kmi. These highways connect the major city across the countryii , constituting just 1.7 % of the total road length but leading to huge traffic movement which is 40 % of the total road traffic (inclusive of passenger and freight), thus the window described has high density in terms of prospective customers. The retail sources in these locations are limited either to small vendors and hospitality providers (hotel and lodges) or local super markets. The case of a branded super store located at the highway is rare, and if present the scale of operation is very low. The incumbent retail players positioned at the highways are facing a slow trend capitalization of the potential market and low sale volume of products (branded and unbranded). The project would present an analysis of the current status and consumer perception of highway retailing, the main marketing factors that would aid in the growth of highway retail (in Indian context) this would also involve a comparative study of the super markets in city bounds and those on the highways, the scope of single brand, multi brand, branded hospitality players (hotels with lodging facility) and highway Malls (given the growth in business travel and connectivity)