DigiDukaan: India’s Kirana Stores Move Toward a Digital Procurement Future

India’s neighbourhood kirana stores are entering a new phase of digital transformation with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and the Open Network for Digital Commerce bringing FMCG leaders together for the DigiDukaan initiative. The effort is aimed at digitising business-to-business procurement for India’s vast general trade network, which includes more than 1.4 crore kirana stores and contributes nearly 75–80 percent of FMCG sales in the country.

The initiative was discussed at the CPG Roundtable — Bharat Commerce Chintan Shivir held on 12 June 2026. The meeting brought together consumer goods companies, distributor networks, technology providers and logistics partners to address the challenges faced by traditional retail. Many kirana stores still depend on manual ordering, fragmented supply channels and limited visibility of inventory. These gaps create inefficiencies for shopkeepers, distributors and brands across the value chain.

DigiDukaan is designed to bring kirana procurement onto an open digital system. Through digital ordering and direct procurement, shopkeepers can gain better visibility of available schemes, improve fill rates, manage working capital more efficiently and access supplies with greater transparency. For small retailers, this can mean better margins, smoother stock management and stronger competitiveness against digital-first retail models.

The system also offers advantages to distributors and FMCG brands. Distributors can expand market reach without sharply increasing field costs, while digital order and collection systems can improve retailer coverage. Brands, meanwhile, can receive clearer demand signals from retail counters, track schemes more effectively and plan supply with better market intelligence.

DigiDukaan has already begun showing early progress in Hyderabad, where more than 10,000 retailers and over 35 brands have been onboarded through Qwipo. The next launch is scheduled in Jaipur on 19 June 2026 through Salescode, followed by planned expansion into Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR in the coming months.

The roundtable also discussed wider issues such as distributor digitisation, catalogue standardisation, retailer onboarding and technology integration. Major companies including HUL, ITC, Coca-Cola, Tata Consumer Products, CavinKare, Marico, Bikano, L’Oréal, Moon Beverages, Anmol Industries, Nestlé and Kirana King participated in the discussion and expressed interest in supporting the initiative.

DigiDukaan represents a major attempt to connect India’s traditional retail strength with open digital infrastructure. Rather than replacing kirana stores, the model seeks to strengthen them with better procurement systems, improved supply visibility and more direct participation in the modern FMCG economy. If implemented at scale, it can become an important bridge between India’s small shopkeepers and the country’s expanding digital commerce ecosystem.

Source: PIB