60% of millennial, Gen Z transactions fulfilled via virtual wallets
Dentsu India’s Data Sciences Division has unveiled ‘The Next Normal: The Rise of the Contactless Economy’ study under its consumer insights wing Dentsu Marketing Cloud (DMC) Insights. The report looks to uncover the impact of a contactless world on consumer behaviour and sentiment of the Gen Z and millennial audiences from urban India. Some findings of the report are willingness to try lesser-known brands: 70% expressed a willingness to purchase products from a lesser-known brand The Growing Virtual Wallet: Close to 60% of transactions of the surveyed audience claim to be fulfilled via virtual wallets. 23% via credit and debit cards and the remaining through cash. Google Pay enjoys a lion’s share with PayTM being second Online Certifications: 59% claim to have done an online certification. A trend likely to continue post lockdown Ayurveda: 49% of the surveyed pool have a reliance on Ayurveda to meet their immunity needs. While the world grapples with the impact of the covid-19 pandemic, there is widespread uncertainty. However, in an ‘at home’ economy, the only assurance is that a next normal is being created, promoted by a hyper-connected world. Pegged to globally reach a $3 trillion size by 2025, the ‘at home’ consumption economy has been fueled by the need for consumers to look at digital channels to maintain normalcy in their lives – be it to connect with friends and family virtually, purchase necessities, subscribe to content or discover and learn new skills. Millennials and Gen Z consumers, being digital natives, have been better equipped in adapting to a virtual world with demonstrating a greater adoption of cashless payments and an openness to discover and try new brands. The next normal has given rise to a hyper-connected virtual world fueled by better internet connectivity promoting an increase in online consumption and fulfilment of the needs within a contactless world. Being tech-natives, Gen Z and millennials will form a cornerstone of new-age marketing and brand engagement given their growing spending power and digital literacy. A virtual world has given rise to human experience platforms. With the virus hitting home, there has been a hyper awareness of health and safety amongst Millennials and Gen Z audiences.
Indian consumer shifting to digital financial services
India is seeing an increasing digitization of financial services, with consumers shifting from cash to cards, wallets, apps, and UPI. While releasing a report — Connected Commerce: Creating a Roadmap for a Digitally Inclusive Bharat — prepared jointly by Niti Aayog and Mastercard.”Technology has been transformational, providing greater and easier access to financial services. India is seeing an increasing digitization of financial services, with consumers shifting from cash to cards, wallets, apps, and UPI,” he said. The report recommended that there is a need to strengthen the payment infrastructure to promote a level-playing field for NBFCs and banks. It also pitched for digitizing registration and compliance processes and diversifying credit sources to enable growth opportunities for MSMEs. According to the report, there is a need to build information sharing systems, including a ‘fraud repository’, and ensuring that online digital commerce platforms carry warnings to alert consumers to the risk of frauds. It also pitched for enabling agricultural NBFCs to access low-cost capital and deploy a ‘phygital’ (physical + digital) model for achieving better long-term digital outcomes. Covid-19 pandemic has alerted us all to the fragility of cash and the resilience of digital technologies, including digital payments.
Snapchat announces the launch of Creator Marketplace
In an effort to create more monetizable opportunities for creators and streamline the process of collaborating with brands, Snapchat will be launching a Creator Marketplace. The social media app is also adding new titles to the Snap Originals library. Lens Creators, Lens Developers, Lens Partners, Snap Stars, AR Creators, and the creative community on Snapchat will now directly be a part of the advertising ecosystem through Creator Marketplace. Brands and businesses on the platform, who desire to enter into a creative collaboration can search for creators, filter out the search results on the basis of location, budget, category, specialization, and browse through the profiles highlighting important information about them. Initially, the marketplace will only be accessible to connect with AR Creators in Snap’s Lens Network to build AR experiences and will be eventually opened up for the entire community of Creators and Snap Stars. The marketplace will be launched later in the month to partner with a select group of AR Creators through 2021, and in early 2022 it will be expanded for the whole community of Snap Creators. Further, building on the popularity of Snap Originals and the slate filled with over 120 original series, that 85% of the Gen Z population watched in the second half of last year (as per Snap’s internal data), Snapchat has announced new additions.
Facebook tests Neighborhoods, a local experience
Facebook Neighborhoods is an in-app destination to connect with and build local communities and groups that allow people to share a common space with neighbors and participate in local events, along with discovering places nearby. Users would have to create a Neighborhoods profile, which would be different from their main Facebook profile, and access the section and join their own neighborhood or Nearby Neighborhoods. The user would have to be 18 years or older, to access the section. The Neighborhoods profile includes your name, profile, and cover photo from your Facebook account and the name of your neighborhood. The tab would also have a Neighborhoods Directory, that shows info users filled up while creating their profile, such as add interests, favorite places, and a bio. Users can take up roles such as socializers, and also pitch into discussions on posts from neighbors and answer Neighborhoods Questions.
Pandemic brings automation tech to forefront in India: IAMAI-PwC report
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought automation technologies to the forefront and the Intelligent Automation (IA) market in India is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 55 per cent, with large enterprises expected to spend nearly $340-350 million in IA capabilities in 2024. UST today announced the findings from a global survey evaluating the state of digital transformation maturity. The survey findings from over 400 global enterprise decision-makers revealed that many enterprises are still in their initial stages of their digital transformation journey. Among the findings are:-
* 50% of respondents have a customer value creation and business agility strategy.
* 42% of responding organizations are identified as beginners in the digital transformation maturity, while only 20% are advanced.
* Digitally advanced firms experienced larger volumes of customer account growth, with an average rate of 11%.
* More than 80% of digitally advanced firms use cloud services for customer and employee-facing digital experiences.
* Over 75% of digitally advanced organizations are training for AI/ML and implementing AI solutions.
* 87% of advanced firms responded offering new and improved products and services that leverage data and analytics.
* 70% of digital leaders are also industry leaders in terms of revenue growth.