Friday market - shukkar bazaar

No. of such stalls: ~100
Avg TPS: ~0.1
Tx Value Min: Rs. 5
Tx Value Max: Rs. 200
Tx Value Median: Rs. 30
USP: Fresh veggies, fruits once-a-week, best price - group buying discounts that work for real, in real-time
Tip: The stalls are set up by around 6 PM. Prices are the least after 10:30 PM (usually stocks last that long) :)

Very prevalent across north India. Usually some road converts to a market for a day/ night. The market gets the name it operates on, eg: shukkar bazaar on shukrawar 'friday'. Most used to run on kerosene lamps earlier on. Nowadays, all work on rechargeable emergency lamp batteries + CFL tubes. Some places have a leased diesel generator from where the genset provider provides a twisted pair cable with a bulb + CFL tube that the stall owner dangles on some support. A pure opex model.

Interestingly, none of them write/ display their prices :). People ask and they tell- a ritual that repeats a thousand times! The prices are reactive and can literally change every minute (based on the stall next to it, the customer's profile, time of the night, stock left- there seems to be no fixed mathematical formula- all in their mind!).

Most of the bigger format stores close by (Reliance Fresh etc..), for some reason, are not able to compete with the quality+price offers here. The produce in those stores are either of very bad quality or very highly priced! Wonder if the new Retail FDI thingy is going to make any difference.

Railways as a research/ marketing point

Considering the number of posts related to the railways on my blog, you might think I'm a railways stooge. Though not a stooge (most of my posts have been negative); yes, I'm fascinated by railways. The reason why railways fascinate me (the Indian Railways, that is) is that it is perhaps the biggest classrooms in public interactions. No other institution has so many people 'touch points'.

No other institution moves as many people 24/7. Of all the infrastructure categories, the railway has a very important role to play. Thousands of people queue and jostle, look at or search at kiosks, ferry their luggage, congregate with their families, buy snacks and tea, make plans for their future, think about their next day at work or sulk over a bad event, smartly dressed businessmen, excited children, coolies, vendors, people in ragged clothes, old people, crying infants, touring foreigners.

(Image courtesy: http://www.romanvirdi.com/delhi)

The railway stations especially, present an unimaginable variety of people and situations. I guess it must be every marketeers and ethnographers favorite playground. I'm sure someone could start a profitable research and observation deck on major railway stations in the country - dedicated research points where all kinds of surveys and observations get done and perhaps even the participants could be rewarded with say a 'sachet' product sample.

On a more personal level, apart from having been a frequent rail traveler, its the Railroad Tycoon game that taught me its importance (compared to today's games, this must be vintage stuff ;) ). I had the opportunity of developing a mobile game named Truck Tycoon on similar lines. It was wonderful to see small towns developing into trade hubs, residential centers and industrial locations once they were connected by the rail/road! It makes all the difference.


Also, sitting in the train or at the station gives you time to contemplate on the simpler things in life and ample time to type in a blog post or two ;)

'Transformer' railroad market

(File under trivia)
For all Transformers fans out there. Here's a you tube clip I'd come across quite some time ago (don't remember how) from Bangkok. Donno if this is a fake or for real!



And I thought Mumbai was crowded.