Redefining consumer engagement in post COVID-19 era
The Coronavirus outbreak has necessitated manufacturers to consider developing alternative supply chain systems and distribution networks in every market. The pandemic has changed consumer habits and preferences, with a clear focus on dealing with essential goods and a re-evaluation and careful consideration of discretionary spends. In this scenario, brands have realised the value and importance of devising new ways of interacting with consumers. There are clear learnings on how the ongoing market conditions have impacted and shaped consumers socially and economically. Presently, COVID-19 poses both health and humanitarian challenges to people in both urban and rural areas. The crisis has redefined how people live, work and engage with others. The awareness and understanding of changing consumer behaviour can help brands future-proof their operations in the post-COVID era.
ITC constitutes ‘Young Digital Innovators Lab’ to drive digital transformation
ITC Ltd has constituted a ‘Young Digital Innovators Lab’ to drive digital transformation in the conglomerate. This will comprise digital specialists drawn from across ITC’s businesses to crowdsource transformative digital strategies. The company has also formed a dedicated digital council of senior ITC managers called ‘DigiNext’ which will ideate and sponsor high impact digital interventions. These digital initiatives were announced by ITC chairman Sanjiv Puri to employees recently. It said the empowered team of innovators, free to set their agenda and seek the necessary resources, will access ITC’s digital assets, evaluate the digital initiatives, identify best-in-class digital technologies and spot opportunities across value-chains.
PM pitches for world-class judicial system powered by AI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the possibility of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being examined to improve the efficiency and speed of the judiciary in the country. Modi was virtually addressing an event in Ahmedabad, marking the diamond jubilee of the Gujarat High Court. He said that along with the country the judicial system of India also stood up in the fight against Covid and improved. “I thank the Supreme Court of India for giving legal sanctity to video conferencing and teleconferencing which has speeded up the e-proceedings in all courts. We are proud to say that our Supreme Court has become the largest Supreme Court in the world with maximum hearings through video conferencing. Our high courts and district courts are also hearing cases through video conferencing even during the difficult times like Covid.” at the Law Ministry, under the E-Courts Integrated Mission, by setting up the digital infrastructure has helped our courts to work virtually. The Digital India Mission is rapidly modernising the judicial system of the country. More than 18,000 courts in the country have been computerised,” said Modi. Commenting on the possibilities of using Artificial Intelligence in the judicial system, Modi said, “To make our judicial system future-ready, the use of AI is being explored. The use of AI will not only improve the efficiency of the judiciary but will also speed up the entire system. In all these efforts, the ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharat’ campaign will play a major role.”
Consumer behavior change spotted in post-Covid World
Kantar has unveiled a report ‘Back to The Future’ which outlines ten key trends that consumers are likely to follow in 2021. According to the report, 57 per cent individuals wish to physically return to their institutions for higher education and workplaces. While the lockdown got many families closer, the novelty in the sense of ‘togetherness’ has been lost due to lack of personal space and time. Social distancing norms will continue as 68 per cent of the individuals surveyed will continue to be mindful of personal space and avoid crowded areas. Kantar believes this is a return to the ‘tribe culture’, as siloed social circles are emerging. About a third of men who were surveyed have experienced anxiety due to job security concerns. For respondents over the age of 35 or ‘providers’, the number was higher – 37 per cent. Women however were able to handle the work and life-at-home balance a lot better. Forty six per cent women entrepreneurs are focusing on building new skills for themselves and their staff.Consumers have begun investing time and effort in self improvement by way of learning a new language, or playing sports.Fifty four per cent respondents want to focus on their personal development, 68 per cent are eating healthier while over 40 per cent claim to be reading and exercising more. With consumers becoming more interested in immunity building, categories focusing on immunity such as Chyawanprash and adult health drinks have grown in volume by 110 per cent and 47 per cent respectively. The trend is supposed to stick on as 53 per cent respondents say that they will continue to maintain the health-related habits they cultivated during the pandemic. Indian consumers are also consciously purchasing items manufactured locally, as opposed to imported alternatives. Sixty one percent are buying more local brands, and 79 per cent are in favour of buying Indian products in order to support the local economy.
How eCommerce platforms can grow and expand using local language
While e-commerce is one of the fastest growing markets across the globe, causing a massive fundamental shift in the retail industry, the unprecedented pandemic gave it a further acceleration. The lockdown, travel bans, social distancing, and stay-at-home orders somewhere pushed the consumers to look online, making way for the e-commerce players to expand their reach.Even though the Covid19 outbreak posed an economical challenge, the Indian e-commerce market experienced an unexpected momentum. Statista projects India’s e-commerce revenue to grow from US$ 45,894 million in 2020 to US$ 75,095 million by 2024, representing a CAGR of 13.1%.A recent report from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) states that the country has 1.15 billion mobile phone users, of which 520.1 million users come from rural circles. To effectively reach out to these 520.1 million and the emerging ‘first-time users’, or ‘the Next Billion’ users, overcoming the language barrier is of utmost priority. The engagement rate with the consumer’s skyrockets when digitally conversing in their preferred dialect as it adds the element of relatability and makes for a highly personalized user experience. The user base for e-commerce in local languages has a CAGR of 32% and is expected to add 120 million more users in the upcoming five years as per a report by KPMG. Ergo, making things available in regional languages seems to be highly pertinent in getting India’s ‘un-digitized’ population on to the internet.
84% Indian consumers agree that AI can provide a better consumer experience
84% of Indian consumers agree that artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to provide better customer experiences, improve brand reputation, and increase customer loyalty, according to a new research by software company Pegasystems said. The study surveyed over 1,000 consumers in India on their views about AI as it relates to morality, ethical behavior, and empathy. Of the respondents, 74% constituted millennials and GenX. The study found that Indian consumers generally trust new technologies like AI if they see the potential to improve their productivity and make things simpler. But at the same time, respondents still worry about the ethics behind AI and the potential for it to act with bias.Furthermore, the study highlighted that almost 78% said they are comfortable interacting with AI for business-related queries. Moreover, 60% of Indians are more likely to tell the truth to an AI system or chatbot as compared to a human. “This presents an important opportunity for Indian companies to accelerate their AI adoption – particularly as the pandemic forces them to increase their digital engagement capabilities. By taking an empathetic and ethical approach to AI, businesses can ensure their customers’ faith in AI is rewarded with better service – which ultimately leads to an increase in customer loyalty,” Suman Reddy, managing director, Pegasystems India, said. As per the study, 75% of those surveyed believe that machines can behave morally and thus make ‘good’ decisions based on empathetic considerations. In addition, 76% of respondents in India believe that when an organisation uses AI to make relevant, appropriate, and valuable offers to their customers, it is an example of AI demonstrating empathy.
Indian App Market Continues to Grow Internationally
The India app market continued to grow in international competitiveness this year, with 2020 seeing a marginal decline in top apps from China, partly due to the geopolitical climate. This has allowed domestic apps to sustain their domination of the app market for the second year running, with Indian apps making up almost 40% of the app market.Due in part to the prevailing political climate, Chinese apps lost installs share YoY in 2020. This allowed Indian apps to maintain their pole position (though their dominance diminished slightly) while foreign apps from Israel, the United States, Russia, and Germany made further inroads into this rapidly growing market.The fallout from the COVID-19 lockdowns proved to be a huge boost to mobile payments. The pandemic led to an increase in digital payments and overall usage of financial apps, with Finance representing one of the fastest-growing categories of 2020.This year, India’s most populous state Uttar Pradesh took the top spot on the NOI (Non-organic installs) charts back from Maharashtra, home to Mumbai and the economic engine of the country.Entertainment and Gaming apps as well as mobile payment providers were the most popular verticals in terms of usage.Overall metropolitan cities continue to lead the way in NOI. However, there was a reduction in the share of NOI when compared with 2019, largely due to the COVID-19 situation and many verticals such as travel, e-commerce, food tech, etc. being severely affected.