The term ‘Incredible India’ seems apt when one considers the sheer diversity of languages, cultures and ethnicities across the country. For the retail industry, which contributes approximately 10% to India’s gross domestic product (GDP), the huge consumer market is both an opportunity and a challenge. The challenge is more pronounced in the relatively-untapped rural and semi-urban regions that account for about 65% of the population.
The online entities can deploy digital technologies to offer their customers personalized experiences, facilitating higher conversion rates and greater brand loyalty. What’s more, the beauty of online selling lies in the fact that e-commerce portals don’t need to worry about storage space and its allied costs since goods are shipped directly from producers. For sellers, there are no worries about inventory being locked up in warehouses till sales materialize.
While all this sounds kosher, it takes more to convince and convert customers in tier-3 towns and beyond. Therefore, online retailers are using a regional language interface to offer better customer experiences. Additionally, retailers are deploying big data to decode consumer behavior, providing bespoke offerings. In such situations, a thorough understanding of customer needs helps boost satisfaction and retention rates.
The use of AI algorithms and big data analytics also helps in analyzing consumer behavior through their shopping information such as product preferences, browsing history, etc. Predictive analytics is then leveraged to improve the customer experience by customizing marketing campaigns centered on their habits and needs. For instance, the data of a major value-based online retailer reveals that customers exploring the portal through regional languages end up spending 20% additional time on the platform, which includes higher viewership of product
The customer experiences can be personalized by analyzing their purchase history to pitch relevant deals and discounts. Besides, the purchases of other consumers in the same demographic cohort can be used to upsell related products.
The digital transformation of India’s retail industry was already under way in recent years, pandemic-linked tailwinds have accelerated the acceptance of e-commerce among both sellers and consumers. As per estimates, unorganized retail accounts for 90% of the market in India. Of these, online shoppers are said to number 70 million, with only 10 million categorized as ‘digital natives’. Without a doubt, in a nation of more than 1.3 billion people, tremendous scope exists for attracting more online shoppers via personalized products and services, particularly from regional India.
The availability of smartphones and 4G in tier-3+ areas opened up this vast market to e-commerce players. Thanks to the absence of physical stores, online companies offer more value-for-money prices due to their lower overheads. It must be emphasized, however, that value-conscious consumers expect quality products too.
If big data and other tech tools are used judiciously to engage with consumers, they can act as a key differentiator in providing a clear edge to e-commerce players in a highly cluttered and hyper-competitive retail market. In this way, an ongoing relationship can be established with consumers throughout Bharat.
Thereafter, despite the diversity of consumer choices, more satisfaction and increased brand loyalty are bound to follow across non-metro regions. Undoubtedly, technology can offer a winning proposition for customers, sellers, online platforms and other retail stakeholders.
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