The Business Development Department under the Commerce Ministry has teamed up with 25 partners from both the government and private sectors to raise the competitiveness of local grocery shop operators amid stiffer competition in the domestic retail market.
According to the Business Development Department's director-general Thosapone Dansuputra, the 25 partners are from five business groups comprising suppliers, technology and platform operators, service providers, financial institutions, and micro-enterprises or micro-SME networks.
Mr Thosapone said his department in tandem with the 25 partners would cooperate to lay out an entire system of local grocery store development, aiming to upgrade the stores to become smart grocery stores through the "smart grocery plus" programme.
According to Mr Thosapone, the smart grocery plus programme aims to promote and develop small-scale Thai grocery shops to become smart with a good image, technology adoption in store management and an online channel.
"More important, the programme aims to lower operational costs for local grocery shops, increase their sales income and raise their competitiveness," he said. "The smart grocery shops will also function as a sales channel for the local community's products. This would help distribute income to local communities."
According to Mr Thosapone, the smart grocery plus programme will cover a period of five years from 2002 until 2026.
The programme aims to create 300 smart grocery shops this year and 400 next year.
Somchai Pornrattanacharoen, president of the Wholesale and Retail Trade Association said there are about 300,000 Thai grocery stores nationwide.
According to Mr Somchai, these grocery shops are being operated in three formats: shops operated by the elderly who do not pay much attention to sales growth; shops operated by descendants of the owners who want to be self-employed and run their own business; and modern trade chains.
"Traditional trade has made a strong comeback during the Covid-19 crisis, with consumers flocking back to conventional retail stores, especially in upcountry areas," he said.
"The government's stimulus measures also helped boost sales growth at traditional trade operators," said Mr Somchai. "But their sales are expected to return to normal conditions as it should be."
