As shops turn to JioMart for stocks, India's salespersons find going tough

Thousands of salespeople representing consumer giants face an existential threat to their business.

For eight straight days, household goods salesman Vipresh Shah has failed to sell a single pack of Dettol soap to the storekeepers who have been buying from him ever since he took over his family business as a teenager, 14 years ago.

Shah is an official distributor for Britain's Reckitt Benckiser in Vita, near Sangli city, around 200 miles south of Mumbai. But he said once-loyal customers now point to an app--JioMart Partner--on their smartphones showing prices up to 15% lower, instead of placing orders.

"As Reckitt's distributor, I used to be like a prince in the market," said Shah.