More money in the hands of the consumers tops the Budget 2023 wishlist of Aastha Almast, co-founder and chief business officer of The New Shop
New Delhi: Retail is the gateway to consumption, which in turn helps boost a country’s economy. There has been a shift in consumer spending patterns with consumers being hesitant to spend on non-discretionary items.
“Last year saw stagnation in the high-volume mass segments due to disruptive economic conditions and low consumer sentiment amongst the middle class apart from continued cost impact on the industry due to commodity, currency, and regulatory norms,” observed Aastha Almast, co-founder and chief business officer of The New Shop, a Delhi-based omni-channel convenience chain with a presence across the country.
“Given this context, a lower GST on appliances will be a relief for consumers this year,” Almast added.
According to her, the government should also consider a larger stimulus to the middle class to induce spending and lift the overall economy which will further benefit multiple sectors. A strong component ecosystem will also help the industry.
“I also feel that logistical challenges seem to be one of the common issues that the industry is facing and that relaxation in tax to bring down logistics costs can help the sector in a big way,” added the 30-something year-old young entrepreneur.
“With the onset of 2023, the industry is predetermined to observe changes in consumer preferences, next-gen stores, and revenue models. Hence, lowering the tax rates will definitely help the industry to revive consumption demand,” she said.
The New Shop (TNS) is a country-wide omni-channel convenience retail platform with hyperlocal deliveries solving for quick, standardised and 24×7 access in India. The New Shop offers franchise-as-a-service to upgrade 70 Million traditional shopkeepers (eg, local sweetshops, QSRs, dhabas, milk shops, printer and photocopiers, grocery shops, courier shops) to help them build a successful retail business in convenience retail fuelled by the modern consumer’s need.
TNS provides location selection, IT and marketing services, licensing and compliance, brand partnerships, training, financing, branding and omni-channel support to all its franchise partners. The company setups stores in high density neighbourhoods, mass transit hubs and educational institutions that offer and deliver fresh food cafe services, supermarket and grocery services, stationery, over-the-counter medicines, neighbourhood services like printing, ATM, courier, and other necessities all under one roof.
Incepted in the year 2019, The New Shop is the brainchild of Aastha Almast (Co-founder and Head of Business), Charak Almast (Co-founder and Head of Operations), and Mani Dev Gyawali (Co-founder and Head of Technology). It has 70+ operating outlets in India, spreading across metro and tier 2 & 3 cities such as Delhi & NCR, Mumbai, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Meerut, Rohtak, and Agra. It’s a franchise model that wants to create 10,000 successful entrepreneurs by 2030.
