Retailers in Asia-Pacific have been turning traditional stores into bricks-and-clicks, offering click-and-collect services. Some of them are also engaging convenience stores as their network of in-store pick-up points to attract the new generation of busy consumers.

Mobile internet retailing in India saw particularly strong growth in 2015 due to the growth of internet-enabled smart phones in the country and small-screen viewing prior to purchase of any product or service. Furthermore, mobile applications, which allow consumers to shop on the go, also fuelled the growth of mobile internet retailing in 2015.

Some 70 per cent of leading retailers in India were present in both online and offline channels in 2015. Traditional retailers are no longer the leading players in India. In fact, companies which are technologically advanced and interact with the consumer base via both online and offline media were the most successful ones during the year.

Both grocery and non-grocery retailers registered higher footfalls for large-format stores in 2015. Large formats offer a variety of brands and price ranges and also provide consumers with much larger options to choose from.

Despite predictions and forecasts in-store retailing in 2015 still accounted for 93 per cent of sales in Asia-Pacific.