Tracing the Changing Landscape of the Grocery Sector in the Digital Era through the Lens of Competition Law

Abstract

Food and grocery are fundamental to the well-being of human beings and are a part and parcel of their daily lives. World Bank data reveals that the cost of a healthy diet in India is almost at par with the citizens' median income, which implies that a person has to spend almost all of their income to afford a healthy diet. Over the last few years new business models are emerging in the grocery sector with the advent of supermarkets to e-grocers. The shift from traditional to a technology driven sector has been rapid especially post-covid. From a highly fragmented market dominated by local kirana stores the grocery retail sector is witnessing consolidation of market power with a few large players in the online grocery retail segment. These have triggered debates and discussions raising concerns on the impacts of these changes on the competitiveness of the market as well as the consumers. In jurisdictions like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, the governments have identified the need for regulating grocery markets to protect consumer interests and have conducted market studies to explore the threats and regulatory gaps. This paper aims to establish the need to analyse the changes in the grocery markets by the Competition Commission of India in the wake of digitalisation, especially in the post-COVID era and its possible impacts on market competition and consumers in India.