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As India continues its digital transformation, certain segments are fuelling this rapid and massive change. The key thread connecting them all is around consumer engagement, and content creation, as brands look for more and better ways to drive consumer conversation and transactions, even as concerns around privacy grow. These are the five trends we see dominating the conversation:
1. Acceleration on Commerce
2. Rise of D2C
We are going to see a lot of individual brands establish their own platforms and logistics for online purchases by consumers and this works especially well for companies that have a range of products, across categories. Currently, companies are getting investments to create and establish their digital resources, and we see the number only increasing in 2023. With companies being able to connect directly with their consumers, this also gives them easy access to first-party data, and be able to communicate as well as transact directly with consumers. While this has already become fairly common in metros, because of the infrastructure, it’s going to grow steadily across smaller cities and towns and local brands.
3. First Party Data
This is again based on the conversation happening right now around consumer privacy. With Google announcing that it will soon be killing the cookie, and on the basis of that a lot of companies have started collecting first-party data and creating their own databases. This entire conversation is going to really accelerate as companies create the infrastructure. This involves a few things. One is being tech-ready and having your own CDPs to collect your data, and in tandem having the right assets like your websites, and personalized interactions with consumers, so companies need to have both the tech and the content. The third facet is going to be value exchange, which means how you interact with your consumer and so are able to extract the first-party data.
4. OTT and Connected TV
As far as entertainment is concerned, we have already seen the rise of OTTs and that category is here to stay. However, in 2023 this process is really going to accelerate as data and devices become more accessible. So we’re going to see a rise in the number of cord-cutters and shavers, consumers who turn increasingly to and in some cases exclusively towards OTT content for entertainment. While the numbers of Connected TVs are low at the moment, in the range of around 10 million, that is only going to grow. Smart TVs are getting cheaper and more widely purchased, and as more and more content gets accessed by broadband, we’re going to see a shift in consumers wanting to watch all their content on larger screens, including live events and sports matches. Given the kind of OTT content that is being and will be created, and the fact that it will become a habit to watch in such a way, people will obviously start disconnecting their cable.
5. Gaming and Metaverse
Gaming has gained a lot of traction and there is today an entire ecosystem built around communities of gamers, gaming influencers, platforms, tournaments and so much more, all of which is working very well with youth cohorts. We believe that this is something that is going to become more and more mainstream in 2023. And then there is the entirety of the metaverse. What we are probably going to see in 2023, is a lot of flirtatious behaviour of brands towards the metaverse. There are a lot of pre-conditions, like extremely high data speeds so as to be able to enjoy the experience without latency. Then there is the idea of developing tech-ready consoles which can provide you with what the metaverse promises. Those are still in development and need to be also made as affordable as possible. And then of course is content, wherein you need to be able to create immersive, engaging experiences So while there’s still a lot to be done, we are definitely going to be seeing more brands flirting with the technology in 2023.
(As told to Shantanu David)
