SENIOR CORRESPONDENT · E-COMMERCE & MARKETPLACES

Megha

Megha reports on e-commerce, marketplaces, quick commerce and the economics of selling online for Retail Tribe.

Stories

A busy commercial high street in an Indian regional city seen from a slightly raised viewpoint in morning light, with storefronts and pedestrians.

RETAIL NEWS · 27 OCT 2026

Beyond the Metros: Where Are India's Retail Chains Opening New Stores?

Rent, catchment, supply reach and payback time decide where chains open next. Here is how to read the expansion map beyond the announcements.

An unbranded cardboard box seen from overhead, surrounded by paper strips marking fulfilment stages and crossed by one long red route line.

THE RETAIL LEDGER · 27 OCT 2026

The True Cost of an Online Order After Fees, Shipping and Returns

Commissions, volumetric shipping, payment charges, advertising and returns all come out before settlement. How to build an honest contribution margin for each online order.

A store employee's hands working a modern POS terminal mid-checkout, the terminal sharp in the foreground and shelving softly blurred behind.

RETAIL TECH REALITY · 27 OCT 2026

Why Upgrading a POS System Is More Than a Technology Project

A new point-of-sale system touches pricing, inventory, payments, tax and every cashier. Retailers that treat the upgrade as operational change tend to recover the cost.

A busy neighbourhood high street at street level during trading hours, with a rhythm of shopfronts, crowded footpaths and pedestrians moving between stores.

RETAIL SPACES · 27 OCT 2026

What Makes a Neighbourhood High Street Successful?

A working high street is a system of footfall, tenant mix and access. Here is how those parts interact, and which signals separate durable streets from fragile ones.

A retail executive standing in a store aisle reviewing products on the shelves while talking with a member of the team.

COMMERCE OPERATORS · 26 OCT 2026

A Day in the Life of a Retail Category Head

The category head decides what goes on the shelf, at what price and from whom. Here are the decisions that fill the role and how they are judged.

Two identical storefronts drawn side by side on a warm-white background, one linked by a red line to a central office, the other to a single operator.

COMMERCE OPERATORS · 26 OCT 2026

Franchise vs Company-Owned: Which Model Works Better?

Franchising trades margin and control for capital-light speed. The real question is which stores belong in which model, and how incentives are aligned.

A straight-on, symmetrical view of a grocer's own-label products lined up on shelves, consistent packaging repeating across a single category bay.

THE RETAIL LEDGER · 26 OCT 2026

Why Regional Grocery Chains Are Investing in Private Labels

Own-brand staples promise better margins and stronger hands with suppliers. They also shift sourcing, quality and working-capital risk onto chains of modest size.

Two contrasting baskets on one countertop, one of carefully chosen essentials and one of a quick convenience order, with unbranded receipts in soft shadow.

CONSUMER INTELLIGENCE · 26 OCT 2026

Convenience vs Affordability: What Really Determines a Purchase?

Shoppers do not choose convenience or value once and for all. They trade price, speed, assortment and effort by occasion, and retailers win specific missions.

Two opposing routes linking a warehouse, an unbranded parcel and a customer's doorway, with the return route drawn in muted red and the outbound route in charcoal.

SHELF TO SCREEN · 26 OCT 2026

Reverse Logistics: The Second Supply Chain Retailers Cannot Ignore

Returns flow backwards through collection, inspection, restocking and disposal. This explainer sets out how that second supply chain works and where its costs build up.

A shuttered retail unit photographed straight on from the street, with open neighbouring shops and passers-by on either side.

RETAIL NEWS · 25 OCT 2026

What Happens When a Retail Chain Closes Stores?

A closure is a chain of decisions about leases, stock, staff and neighbours. Understanding that chain explains when stores close and what a closure really signals.

COMMERCE OPERATORS · 25 OCT 2026

Marketplace or Own Website: Who Owns the Repeat Customer?

Marketplaces rent reach; owned websites build relationships and data. Comparing the two means measuring contribution margin across a customer's lifetime, not one order.

RETAIL TECHNOLOGY · 25 OCT 2026

Is Retail CRM Delivering a Real Return on Investment?

Response rates make most CRM programmes look good. Incremental margin, measured against a holdout group, is the number that shows whether the spending pays back.

A compact neighbourhood grocery interior with shelves running towards a small checkout counter, where a staff member restocks products.

THE RETAIL LEDGER · 25 OCT 2026

The Economics of a Small-Format Grocery Store

Compact grocery stores live or die on space productivity, stock turns and labour scheduling. This explainer shows how the unit economics work and where they break.

Two generations of leaders of a family retail business standing together inside their store, with shelving and the original storefront visible behind them.

PEOPLE & LEADERSHIP · 25 OCT 2026

How Family-Led Retail Businesses Prepare the Next Generation

Succession in family retail is a governance question as much as a personal one. This analysis explains the choices families face and the structures that tend to hold.

A single continuous red pathway running from a store doorway across a simplified shopping screen to a collection counter, drawn with minimal objects.

SHELF TO SCREEN · 24 OCT 2026

Shelf to Screen: What a Profitable Omnichannel Strategy Really Requires

Omnichannel only pays when inventory is accurate, incentives credit stores and fulfilment routes are chosen deliberately. Where the economics hold and where they break.

SHELF TO SCREEN · 24 OCT 2026

From Online Popularity to Supermarket Shelf: The Next Challenge for Food Brands

An online following proves demand. Physical retail tests something else: trade margins, distributor commitment, manufacturing scale, shelf life and the rate of sale per store.

CONSUMER INTELLIGENCE · 24 OCT 2026

What Makes First-Time Customers Trust an Unfamiliar Brand?

A first purchase is a risk for the shopper. Product information, packaging, price, recommendations and the retailer's own credibility all help reduce it.

A functioning automated conveyor and sorting line in a warehouse under industrial lighting, with staff supervising the flow of cartons from a central perspective.

RETAIL TECH REALITY · 24 OCT 2026

When Does Warehouse Automation Make Economic Sense?

Conveyors, sorters and goods-to-person systems promise speed and accuracy. This analysis sets out the payback logic, the scale thresholds and the risks operators weigh.

Three different store formats, a compact express outlet, a neighbourhood store and a large-format shop, photographed side by side at the same eye-level angle.

THE FORMAT FILES · 23 OCT 2026

The New Retail Formats Indian Chains Are Testing

Express, neighbourhood, hybrid and destination stores each answer a different economic question. How to judge a format trial by capital returns, not launch noise.

One product box under a strong spotlight marked with a restrained red highlight, while rows of similar plain boxes recede into shadow.

E-COMMERCE & MARKETPLACES · 23 OCT 2026

The Hidden Cost of Winning Visibility on Marketplaces

Sponsored listings, sale events and keyword auctions have made visibility a recurring cost of distribution. How to measure whether that spending actually earns profit.

Several unbranded hardware connectors and cables twisted into a compact knot, with one red cable running free, under a dramatic side shadow on warm white.

RETAIL TECHNOLOGY · 23 OCT 2026

The Vendor Lock-in Problem in Retail Technology

Retail systems are bought one at a time, but dependency builds across all of them. The cheapest moment to manage switching costs is before the contract is signed.

A simplified overhead floor plan of a store showing shelving, entrance and checkout, with a single red line tracing the intended customer path.

RETAIL SPACES · 23 OCT 2026

When Does Store Design Deliver a Measurable Return?

Layout investments promise better conversion, longer dwell and more efficient operations. This analysis explains how to judge them and what evidence a sound case needs.

A senior retail executive photographed in a working store environment, with natural light and space above the head.

COMMERCE OPERATORS · 23 OCT 2026

When a Leadership Change Signals a Broader Operating Reset

A new chief executive or senior appointment can mean continuity or a reset. This analysis explains how to read a leadership transition and which signals to track.