At a superficial level, it seems flourishing malls in Gurgaon are overwhelming the age-old small-time kirana shops with 'Great Indian Retail Shows' making its mark of prominence in Millennium City. "Few years down the line, the kirana shops would stop flourishing as it used to be. This is obviously because of the mushrooming retails giants. Right now the kirana stores are already feeling the heat with arrival of malls in their immediate vicinity and registering lower revenues," say Shree Dark, a resident of Sector 15.

Infact, malls are here to fulfil all your demands under one roof. And shopping in big retail store has its conveniences - one can chose from a variety, yet can count on saving time and energy. "For the burgeon middle class with higher disposable income, big retails stores are of course a fad," opines Anisha, a customer at MGF Mall.

But the local kirana stores also have their USP. For those daily essential items, one cannot always opt for the malls located some kilometres away from their residence. "You cannot go to the big retail outlet for milk and eggs, that we need everyday. You have to depend on neighbourhood kirana shops," says Manish Gupta, a businessman.

At a time when popular retail chains are making their huge presence felt in the city, availability and cost of retail space is sky rocketing in Gurgaon, especially on MG Road. Figures reveal that prices of retail space have almost doubled in the last few years. Property consultants say, few years back there was a myth that mall in the city will be a place for the high-income groups, but presence of retail chains broke the myth. "Even the no-so-affluents are also coming in large numbers to pick their choice of items. Infact, purchasing goods have also become pleasant experience for many," says Suneet Verma, a customer at Sahara Mall.

Another factor why shopping in retail outlets inside malls are getting popular is that the price tag is often little less than kirana shops and availability of special offers. While inflations have reached highest in the last 44 months, a relatively low price tag in retail items has definitely inspired one and all. Ginny Vohra, spotted shopping a Gurgaon Central Mall says, "I have purchased goods worth Rs 1,300 and I am sure it would have cost me another three hundreds extra at the kirana's outlet. In this age of inflation I think big retails chains are the best place for your shopping."

"I like to shop in retail outlet here as I get fresh food and varieties of items are available here. I am familiar with items that are displayed here in a particular shelf. I know what to pick from where. Again, in terms of price tag, these items appear comparatively cheap. I had shopped for Rs 2,000 and satisfied," joined Sabeera Bahl, customer at a retail store at Sahara Mall.

For Captain Dilbagh Singh, resident of DLF Phase-I, shopping at the retail store has numerous advantages. "I get the best quality, varieties to pick from, nice ambience and haggle. I don't need to pen down a long list of grocery items before coming here. As soon as eyes fall on the item, I remember my requirement," he explains.

So far gen-Y is concerned, what attracts them here is the curious question? "Majority of the youngsters prefer branded items. With the influence of visual media, trends of urban consumer have changed. The shopping spree of the young Indians with considerably higher disposable income has unleashed new possibilities for retail growth across the city," says Aditya, a student of Sushant Lok.

Yet one cannot deny the USP of a kirana outlet. Roshan Lal, owner of a grocery shop in DLF confidently says, "One cannot commute to the malls and retails stores located in some high-end streets for everyday purchase. Timing and parking are other factors that come into consideration. Kirana shops would survive, but may be their profit margin may drop. Whether kirana shops survive and retails bloom at the cost of kiranas, it remains difficult to predict future of the two.