Anupam Mukerji, a technology consultant in the teeming Indian city of Mumbai, can see the country's shifting retail landscape right from his balcony. For years, two roadside mom-and-pop shops catered to a steady flow of local shoppers. Whenever Mukerji, 30, found himself short of staples like soap, bread or smokes, he'd just phone them up and the shops would hand-deliver the goods. Then a sleek new mall opened up nearby and began to lure customers away. A few months ago, one of the small store owners sold to the other, who combined the properties and modernized the business. "Indians are traditionally relationship-oriented, so when someone has been buying from a mom-and-pop shop for 25 years, he becomes more of a friend," says Mukerji. "But in Mumbai, I have seen the malls are slowly eating up the smaller stores."