Opinion
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Are traditional Nepali shops disappearing?
The small neighborhood shop has long been one of the most familiar parts of everyday life in Nepal. A customer could walk into a local kirana, ask for a packet of noodles, a few kilograms of rice or a bottle of cooking oil, and often buy on credit if the shopkeeper knew the family. The shop was not merely a place to buy goods; it was part of the neighborhood's social and economic fabric. Today, that model is facing a very different retail environment.
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Nepal’s rising cost of living is putting household incomes under growing pressure
For an ordinary Nepali household, the problem with rising prices is not simply that food, transport, rent, education and other necessities cost more than they did a few years ago. The bigger concern is whether household income has increased enough to keep pace with those costs. Official data suggest that it has not always done so. Nepal Rastra Bank’s National Salary and Wage Rate Index increased by 2.85 percent in the fiscal year 2024/25, while consumer prices increased by an annual average of 4.06 percent during the same fiscal year. In other words, the overall wage and salary index grew more slowly than consumer prices, indicating a decline in purchasing power at the aggregate level.
Public Stories
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Are traditional Nepali shops disappearing?
The small neighborhood shop has long been one of the most familiar parts of everyday life in Nepal. A customer could walk into a local kirana, ask for a packet of noodles, a few kilograms of rice or a bottle of cooking oil, and often buy on credit if the shopkeeper knew the family. The shop was not merely a place to buy goods; it was part of the neighborhood's social and economic fabric. Today, that model is facing a very different retail environment.
No Image Available
Nepal’s rising cost of living is putting household incomes under growing pressure
For an ordinary Nepali household, the problem with rising prices is not simply that food, transport, rent, education and other necessities cost more than they did a few years ago. The bigger concern is whether household income has increased enough to keep pace with those costs. Official data suggest that it has not always done so. Nepal Rastra Bank’s National Salary and Wage Rate Index increased by 2.85 percent in the fiscal year 2024/25, while consumer prices increased by an annual average of 4.06 percent during the same fiscal year. In other words, the overall wage and salary index grew more slowly than consumer prices, indicating a decline in purchasing power at the aggregate level.