Thanks to the rapid internet penetration in the last few years, the digital commerce space has seen progress at an unprecedented pace. While this has made businesses reach newer heights in a short span, it has also compelled us to navigate the complexities of consumer behaviour that come with it. With consumers shifting to smart spending over mass spending, there is an evident difficulty for brands to retain consumers.
Understanding the decision-making patterns of consumers plays a crucial role for a brand to excel in the digital commerce space. Experts delved deeper into the factors that influence the buying behaviour of consumers at the maiden edition of the BW Momentum Conference 2024.
Shivam Ranjan, Head of Marketing Asia Pacific at Motorola Mobility emphasised the key drivers of consumer behaviour. He stated, “Roughly 70 per cent of the consumers take about 24 days, so that is the purchase journey for a consumer in the smartphone ecosystem. One of the key things as far as I am concerned is the consumer reviews and ratings on the platforms. Accessibility in terms of delivery timeline makes a difference because consumers do not want to wait.”
Sectors' Favourite
The digital commerce ecosystem is now seeing positive responses across various sectors. One of the most influential forces behind this transformation has been the personalisation. Neelima Burra, Chief Strategy Transformation and Marketing Officer at Luminous Power Technologies shed light on this aspect of ecommerce. She said, “In the power electronics and power backup sector, post-pandemic, I have seen a massive behaviour change. The convenience to get it delivered where you are. The way personalisation and technology have evolved has helped the consumers to get to know more beyond just price comparison. Thanks to Amazon’s and Flipkart’s of the world who got into programmes like ‘no questions asked’ return policy.”
A consumer’s buying will backed by the brand’s ability to simplify the purchasing process helps shape the consumer behaviour in a certain way. Neelima took the help of an example to highlight the behaviour and decision-making pattern of consumers and stated, “Our PM said there’s a Surya Ghar Yojana, everyone started searching how they can get their roof solar. So, now when the journey is starting online and if I can conclude online, there is nothing like it. ”
Reacting to Neelima’s comment on concluding things online. Sai Narayan, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at PolicyBazaar emphasised keeping the process simple. He mentioned, “The entire consumer path to purchase used to be so simple. Now on top of this ever-changing short consumer mind space span and also the complexities of competition, the attention span is reducing day by day. Even today when you have a high intent consumer, how you can simplify the communication, simplify the UI/UX and try to close it all online is what it’s all about.”
Even after so much competition in the sector, there are various examples of brands making a name for themselves using effective strategies. Talking about this transformation by the brands which led to the expansion of ecommerce ecosystem, Ashish Tiwari, CMO at Home Credit commented, “There has been a transformation on three fronts. First, availability, trust and predictability. It’s in India where you can order a replacement and somebody comes to your doorstep and take it back. Fundamentals remain the same. Any business which can tick the boxes of convenience, trust and predictability efficiently will erupt just as the industry has.”
Pricing Right
Due to cut-throat competition in the digital commerce space and the constant efforts by brands to retain their consumers, there has been growing attention towards the right pricing backed with effective discounts. Madhur Acharya, Chief Business Officer (CBO) Aqualens and Vice President Ecommerce at Lenskart refused to be a fan of discounts but emphasised on the correct use of pricing and discounts for better results. He mentioned, “Consumers are quite spoiled by choices and here the prices come into play. They have so much to explore, so you have to give value for money. Just putting up some discount does not matter. Either provide a better pricing or an exceptional experience.”
With market trends forcing brands to come out with unique strategies to win the race, Saibal Biswas, SVP and Head of Marketing PR, and Partnership at Medibuddy, talked about a new era of discounts. He said, “This is the second stage of the evolution of discounts. Now, ecommerce platforms are focusing on customising discounts through deal coupons which are based on your behaviour. Scratch coupons have an element of uncertainty attached to it which plays with human psychology because if the variable reward is there, then the consumers are more enticed.”
Alok Bhargava, CMO at Prudent Insurance Brokers, who was chairing the session, concluded on the growing the role of efficient pricing, discounts and loyalty programmes in retaining a consumer. He commented, “AI usage, ecosystem, credibility and reach does matter in changing the buying behaviour.”
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