Exclusive | Focus is on India: SapientNitro's Shubhradeep Guha

Digital commerce in India although smaller than in many other countries is growing fast with a  promise of addressing consumers' desires - convenience, value for money and availability. Retailers are starting to acknowledge that digital commerce is presenting huge opportunities, if they are willing to work through some of the initial challenges.

 

It is expected that digital commerce (non-travel ecommerce) will cross a $1 billion in 2012 and will be anywhere between $9 billion and $12 billion by 2015. Total number of consumers that are transacting online is expected to grow from 9 million today to approximately 40 million in the next 3 years. While in comparison with other Asian countries such China and Japan, the market is small - it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 57% over the next few years.

 

SapientNitro, a part of Sapient is a global company sees tremendous opportunities in the digital marketing and commerce space in India. Speaking to Adgully, Shubhradeep Guha, Country Manager India & Global Capability Lead, SapientNitro says, “Internet penetration is at 10% of the total population (124 million as of July according to a recent report from comScore) and is expected to triple in the next 3 years to reach 30% fueled by Tier II/Tier III cities and towns. (376 million by 2015, more than the current total population of USA).  Retailers understand that the consumers are starting to spend more time as well as money and buying more frequently online. And, they are looking for agencies that can help them navigate this digitally disrupted world where consumers are in complete control and decide where, when and how they interact with brands. This is where we come in.”

 

SapientNitro is one of the global leaders in the digital commerce space with 37 offices across North America, Europe and Asia. With over 7000 people globally and over 5000 in India, it has been cited as a leader in Forrester Research, Inc.’s February 2012 report: “The Forrester Wave™: Global Commerce Service Providers, Q1 2012.” The report measures global commerce service providers across 72 criteria, to help companies determine the best service providers to work with as they embark on programs to transform their businesses in the era of agile commerce.

 

Adds Shubhradeep, “We are in the midst of a digital revolution. A massive fundamental shift is impacting every aspect of consumer lives. Everything that can go digital is going digital. And once it is digital, it is on demand all the time. This is impacting customer experience, behaviors and expectations. It has transformed the way consumers consume today.”

 

As far as trends in digital commerce in North America and Europe goes, consumers enabled by smart phones are socializing their selections with family and friends, searching and buying on the go while taking advantage of the local deals that are available. “In India, we are likely to leapfrog in to the mobile/tablet era in the next couple of years.  Delivering seamless customer experience across the plethora of touch points – digital or physical will no longer be an afterthought. In fact, the lines between physical and digital worlds are blurring. It is going to force (if not already) brands to mash up their internal corporate silos and view their interactions with their consumers in a holistic fashion,” says Shubhradeep. 

 

SapientNitro feels that  India is an integral part of its growth as more than 2/3 of its people are located in India and 60 to 70% of projects are executed out of India offices. The company works with global leaders such as Citi, The Coca-Cola Company, Lufthansa, Target and Vodafone in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. In India, it works for its global clients such as Unilever, Citi and The Coca-Cola company.

 

Trends in personal technology are changing consumer behaviors in a big way. Smart phones, tablets and kiosks are having a profound impact on how consumers interact with brands. Social shopping (such as Groupon), social networks (such as Facebook) and user generated content (such as ratings & reviews) are changing the way consumers buy. Technology is playing the role of both a disruptor and enabler in this context - enabling the consumers to interact with retailers using multiple channels and devices oftheir choice (web, phones, tablets and kiosks) and disrupting the way retailers are marketing, selling and servicing their customers.  Customers are expecting interactions across all channels and devices to be seamless; Says Shubhradeep, “India is no different. By 2015, 72% of the total online population will use mobile broadband to get online. That is a whopping 288 million people. Tablet usage is also picking up pace. Currently, there are approximately 40 different types of tablets available in the market in India. Tablet sales are expected to reach 5.5 million units by 2014. Given the growing mobile/tablet engagement, retailers will make mobile/tablet as part of the marketing & commerce mix from the start.”

 

Though a number of challenges exist in the Indian context such as PC broadband connectivity, payment infrastructure, fulfillment etc, significant investments are being made in the ecosystem improvements. Everyday life is getting digitized slowly. Today, 25% of the income tax filings are done online and expected to grow to 75% by 2015. “With gadgets getting cheaper and better, connectivity getting faster through 3G/4G, people getting more personal internet access through mobile phones and improvements in fulfillment, returns, availability of multiple payment options etc., we will see significant growth in this space, “ says Shubhradeep.