Brick-and-mortar woes

Rising tourism over the last four years has certainly given a leg up to the larger local economy, but the same can't be said for small businesses. As was revealed by the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal in the Lok Sabha last year, 701 industrial units, including 697 micro and four small-scale enterprises, ceased operations in the region between July 1, 2020, and November 15, 2024. Another business that has taken a hit is the retail trade. Reports have suggested a gradual decline in sales for shopkeepers in recent years, a trend triggered largely by online shopping  and the general recession.

Online shopping has been a big factor. People anywhere now prefer buying goods from e-commerce sites as these are not just economical but are also home-delivered, saving even the expenditure on travel. The undoing of brick and mortar retail has been its singular inability to reinvent to compete with the convenience of online shopping. And if this doesn’t happen quickly enough,  retail seems doomed.  And its fallout on the lakhs of retail traders, and, in turn, their families will be devastating. Some of this impact is already visible, with retailers struggling to stay afloat.

True, the unprecedented growth in tourism in recent years has made a redeeming difference. One of the mainstays of Kashmir economy, tourism was one of the sectors that was hit the hardest over the two years following the abrogation of Article 370 with successive Covid-19 lockdowns also crushing the sector. Its recovery over the last four years not just helped hoteliers and the allied businesses recover losses but also generate employment. But for the economy to grow wholesomely, the small businesses too have to catch up. In the wake of an ever-shrinking pie of government jobs, only small businesses can compensate for the shortfall. And this cannot happen if these businesses do not adapt to the mighty disruption being brought about by the advancing technology.