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The pandemic initially forced traditional shoppers to shop online; However, it has become a viable and regular option when they need to shop.

By Shreyansh Bhandari and Upesh Verma

In this age of new normal, where the traditional channels for all brands are being challenged almost daily, most brands have adapted quickly and focus on acquiring customers through platforms that are not only simple and convenient, but also secure Provide shopping environments. Lockdowns in the midst of the pandemic and fear of getting out led to a major shift in consumer behavior, which in turn forced B2C brands to rethink and change their marketing strategies and reorganize their sales channels.

The pandemic initially forced traditional shoppers to shop online; However, it has become a viable and regular option when they need to shop. Of course, the high Internet penetration, low data costs, simplicity, and widespread acceptance of digital payments have only made it easier. According to McKinsey Insights, 10 years of growth were covered in just three months of 2020 – e-commerce has replaced years of physical channels in just a few months.

According to a survey, 73% of Indian respondents are willing to spend more on convenience. Restricting physical stores coupled with frequent and unsecure lockouts has only added to the benefit of branding online. 77% of consumers have chosen, recommended or paid more for a brand that offers a personalized experience. Brands are now able to serve customers across the country and deliver a 24/7 shopping experience, fueled by the increased adoption of online payments and UPI. Contactless delivery and access to better deals are among the other benefits brands have been able to offer their customers in these times. According to an E&Y report (E-Commerce and Consumer Internet Sector India Trendbook-2021), the online retail market is set to grow from 25% to 37% of the organized retail market by 2030.

Brands traditionally focused on offline, from laundry detergent powders to faucets, have now begun to give more weight to their online strategies, spending more time and energy putting together a better branded store or creating engaging A + content. Some even invest in their D2C websites to promote sales, discovery, and even brand visibility of their products. Brands create personalized online stores and add enhanced branded content to their offerings to connect with customers around the world and global Indian consumers. The pandemic has led to an evolution in how brands want to reach consumers, and brands are ready to experiment and even spend huge marketing dollars on the beauty and fashion vertical e-commerce companies and the newly booming and interesting social environment retail- Apps.

Only internet or internet first brands have increased in the last 15 months

According to Nielsen India’s Ecommerce Consumers Panel, the average spend by online shoppers increased twice as fast for different categories. The story is no different for us – almost 20% of the brands in our portfolio are pure internet brands. Without exception, all brands have increased their budgets in the e-commerce channels and around 40% of the budget is focused on the major sale events and the subsequent teaser campaigns. The D2C brands are also planning their sales and offers in line with the sale events on the e-commerce platforms in order to take advantage of the increased customer sentiment to shop online at this time.

Prime Days and Big Billion Days are now festivals in themselves. In fact, another trend that is catching up is that brands are creating their own branded shopping days and ready to invest to build them up as an IP. New product launches, special categories or variants are launched online to meet the growing appetite of customers to try something new.

E-commerce companies are partnering with fintech players and even traditional banks to provide credit access and additional offerings to encourage even more customers to shop.

In this hustle and bustle of everyone putting their products online and having their own D2C website, brands should remember the basics and make sure they are delivering a great shopping experience for customers. We see a lot of brands that have no mobile-first websites, fast load times, poor images and content. The consumer today is very impatient and can easily switch to another website or app with the multitude of options available literally at the touch of a button. The shopping experience is just as important as the quality of the product, which comes to the second point that brands have to pay attention to, the reviews.

Brands today have to have their customer feedback under control, react quickly to customer inquiries and constantly develop their products based on customer ratings. Before products are added to the shopping cart or even bought offline, reading online reviews is now an important part of consumers’ buying journey.

We live in exciting times and can look forward to a lot. Our advice to brands is to keep a steady, razor-sharp focus on the shopping experience and content if they want to capitalize on this new trend. Speaking of trends to watch out for next year: We are closely monitoring the live and social commerce sector – although it has grown phenomenally, we hardly seem to have scratched the surface.

The authors Shreyansh Bhandari is the co-founder and COO of Lyxel & Flamingo and Upesh Verma is the solution architect, third party e-commerce solutions from Lyxel & Flamingo. Views expressed are personal.

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