The outdoor market (mandi) at Mehrauli village - open every day of the week - is occupied by stallholders who rent a regular pitch. Produce is piled high - and replenished throughout the day - leaving narrow paths for customers to navigate their way around. Sets of scales are used to sell fruits and vegetables in large quantities by the kilo.

Touch, talk, smell

It is clear from watching shoppers within this environment that there is a desire to participate in the buying process. Shoppers are engaged by the task in hand. Prices are compared, freshness is questioned, and everyone smells, squeezes and sorts through the produce during the decision making process. The place is alive with interaction between buyer and seller.

Multiple stalls are visited until the buyer is happy with the price and quality of what is on offer. For example the person I was with refused to pay R's 35 (50p) for a kilo of mangoes at a stall on the periphery, managing instead to buy at R's 30 per kilo from a stall located deeper in the market.

Relationships and trust

No prices are written down, all communication is oral, which means anyone can sell and shop irrespective of whether you can read and write. No receipts are issued and all transactions are in cash. Stallholders rely on building relationships and trust with customers.

Freshness and fresh ideas

While some of the produce might not look as perfect as what can be found in supermarkets, it is perfectly fresh. Lorries deliver fruit and vegetables over night and the majority gets sold the next day. To give a sense of scale to the turnover, one stall sells up to 10,000 Kg's of tomatoes each day.

There is no doubt that organised retail can make a dramatic difference to the supply chain, the question is whether new entrants can replicate this inclusive shopping experience in a modern retail environment.