There are more than 14 million physical stores in India, constituting more than 99 % of small retailers. About six million of these are small kirana stores. On the other hand, almost 40 % of the sales of many large online stores come from small- and medium-sized towns and rural areas which are not being serviced by large-format retailers. Kirana stores and online stores complement each other as they offer many similar values, with kirana stores providing localisation and online providing personalisation and choice. Online stores will work in areas where there is less kirana penetration. In all other places, they will need the support of kirana stores for fulfilment and basket composition until online grocery purchasing reaches a sizable proportion.