BRANDS BRIDGE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

The future focus for marketers must reside in striking the perfect balance between online and offline retail

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In the last year and a half, we’ve been on a roller coaster never experienced before — through lockdowns, economies in a free fall, V- and W-shaped recoveries, vaccinations, et al as the outbreak of Covid-19 threw a spanner in the works — lives and businesses. What it also did is spur a radical acceleration towards digital as people increasingly began to rely on online platforms for almost all their needs, with mandated restrictions on physical movement. In fact, very few have actually ventured out at all over the last year and a half now. As the world remained indoors to stay safe from the virus, consumer behavior underwent a drastic shift, driving brands to quickly adapt strategies that could leverage this change.

Shopping today has a new meaning altogether. For Indian consumers, a majority of their purchase decisions are now digitally influenced — from day-to-day groceries and kitchen appliances to essential home fixtures like lights and fans — they have taken to online shopping like never before.

This is a trend that began within the first few months of the pandemic last year and has continued to rise since. In fact, RedSeer’s recent report suggests that India’s consumer digital economy, which was pegged at $85-90 billion in 2020, is expected to grow to a whopping $800 billion by 2030.

Driving The Digital Space