SUPERMARKETS IN,KIOSKS OUT! THE RISE OF CONVENIENCE SHOPPING CRIPPLE KENYA'S INFORMAL RETAIL MARKET

Uchumi;One of Kenya's leading supermarkets

  Leading supermarket chains in Kenya are expanding from their usual city-centre focus into residential areas creating convenience for shoppers to purchase all their requirements under one roof but meaning that this will impact on resident kiosk owners. Supermarket owners argue that they are not killing business for the kiosk owners, but state that kiosk owners have the benefit of late night convenience, cheap operations and the ease to move their operation to areas of their choice if the market for their products declines. 
Driving the growth of the supermarkets is the emergence of the middle class who prefer to shop in formal settings, citing reasons such as convenience, pricing and good facilities as opposed to the markets or 'Duka' as they are known in Kenya.  
“Kenyans are (therefore) exploiting this accessibility and convenience to shop for consumables such as bread, milk and groceries on a weekly basis,” said Consumer Insight Managing Director Ndirangu wa Maina, the company behind a survey conducted to investigate consumers shopping habits.
 The slow death of kiosks is also being attributed to the frequency in which consumers shop. The survey highlighted a 40% increase since 2011 in consumers buying their necessities weekly. Consumers that shop two or three times a month remain unchanged at 22%.
 “The trend towards weekly shopping is a factor of the personal economic insecurities amongst Kenyans. With the high cost of living, many people are weary of emptying their barrels in one round of shopping and prefer to space it out,” said Uchumi Supermarkets Chief Executive Jonathan Ciano.
Kiosk owners and non-supporters of the growth of the supermarkets believe that the government should wade in to put a restriction on the supermarket invasion. Job losses will be felt throughout their small supply chain impacting on the neighbourhoods in which they operate. Mr Ciano agrees that there are risks to the future of the kiosks when the supermarkets evolve. Despite the reasons why they may still play a key role to local residents, the challenge will certainly remain for them to compete against large, well-stocked supermarket stores. Is this the beginning of the end of informal retailing in Kenya i wonder...?