In-app buying, mobile wallets, AR will boost m-commerce: Dushyant Sapre

With retail sales in India expected to grow 15 per cent to total $941.08 billion this year. It will continue to see double-digit expansion through 2020, when sales are expected to near $1.6 trillion. Thus, it becomes important for major retailers/ e-commerce companies to understand online shopping behaviour and a better way to tap the highly potential consumer market.

Criteo is a pioneer in digital performance marketing technology and delivers personalised performance marketing at an extensive scale. Measuring return on post-click sales, Criteo makes ROI transparent and easy to measure with its CPC model and real time reporting. Criteo ads reach 1.2 billion unique Internet users worldwide.

In conversation with Adgully, Dushyant Sapre, Commercial Director, Criteo India, speaks at length about consumers’ online buying patterns, online transaction trends during festive season, increasing use of m-commerce, emerging trends and much more. Excerpts:

What are the noteworthy trends generating from consumers’ online browsing and buying behaviour, basis the data analysed during the peak of festive season last year?

Talking about the data gathered and analysed by Criteo, it was noticed that during pre-Diwali period last year, 6 million online transactions were made on major e-commerce platforms.

 

Moreover, the average visitor uplift in week 2 and week 3 of the period (October 8-November 8, 2015) went up to 23 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively. This resulted in average sales uplift of 38 per cent and 40 per cent in week 2 and week 3, respectively.

Clearly, during the festive season, a large number of shoppers are moving from offline to online and making best use of their time, energy, money by shopping for products/ services online.

Moreover, according to the data gathered, during the same period, 40 per cent of online traffic on major retail companies was generated by mobile phones. Clearly m-commerce is experiencing a tremendous rise in India. With increase in large screen smartphones, availability of high speed internet and in- app shopping, more consumers prefer shopping online through smartphones; since it is the most used device by many users.

What are the key factors that have changed consumer behaviour in 2016?

India is experiencing a digital revolution. It is soon expected to become the second largest smartphones market of the world, leaving behind the US. Moreover, Internet penetration in tier 2 and tier 3 cities has transformed the buying behaviour of Indian consumers. Compared to 4-5 years back, the situation has totally changed. Increase in disposable income, availability of e-commerce brands in the market and the trend of large screen smartphones has influenced consumers moving from offline shopping to online shopping.

Today, the new technology savvy generation wants to experiment the new age advantage and ease of shopping online, rather than hopping from one shop to another in search of a product/ brand of their choice. Moreover, with options of cash on delivery, easy online payment modes, return back and trial options the trend of online shopping has changed remarkably.

What are your observations on the way customers research online ahead of making their final purchase?

I think Indian consumers still take ample amount of time to make a final decision to buy a product online. They want to check the best deal and best price available on different e-commerce brands offering the same product category. Sometimes customers are also hesitant to buy online as they might not have a history of making online purchases or are in doubt of the service offered and final product they will receive. Word of mouth experiences are also an important factor here.Thus, they surf for the product/ service online, may be add them to the wish list, but do not buy them.

We are seeing more consumers moving from offline to online. Has it become a need for e-commerce brands to partner with ad-tech companies now?

Yes, definitely. A large number of e-commerce companies have entered the market. Each portal offers attractive prices and services to their customers. Therefore, it becomes very difficult for an e-commerce company to attract a potential buyer or retain the existing one.

With the help of ad-tech companies like Criteo, retailers are able to understand online buying behaviour of a customer and accordingly customise their offerings before reaching to the user. This helps e-commerce companies break through the clutter, reach their audience in a more personalised way, build brand loyalty and moreover lead a potential user to make the final purchase.

What do you think about the rise of m-commerce in India? How does the road ahead look?

Mobile is becoming a necessary device for Indian consumers. According to a recent study, an average Indian user installs 32 apps on their mobiles. Major apps installed on their smartphones include, Whatsapp, Facebook, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon, etc. Clearly, Indian consumers are preferring to shop, order food, groceries, services, etc., through e-commerce websites using their smartphones.

With around 300 million Internet users in India, m-commerce will definitely grow due to its ease, convenience, speed and popularity. According to Criteo’s data, during the festive season last year, 40 per cent of online traffic on major retail companies was generated by mobile phones. Definitely in the coming years, online sales through smartphones will see a drastic upsurge.

 What are the three key trends that m-commerce has witnessed in 2016?

  • In-app buying will continue to increase. According to Criteo’s survey in partnership with WBR (World Business Research), 11 per cent of online traffic coming from mobile apps generated 11 per cent of sales for major e-commerce players, which shows a full conversion rate.
  • Social media advertising has helped in tremendous increase of m-commerce. Mobile wallets will become more popular, uplifting m-commerce and changing Indian consumers’ buying behaviour.
  • Brands will focus on giving personalised experience through augmented reality. Brands like Lenskart and Pepperfry are already doing it. This further helps the consumer in making the purchase decision.

Cross-device surfing leading to final purchase and major online traffic coming from mobile apps – could you share your thoughts on it?

Cross-device surfing leading to final purchase - With over 300 million Internet users in India, online shoppers are expected to reach 650 million by 2020. A whole generation of consumers is moving from offline to online, experiencing e-commerce for the first time through mobile web or apps. Online transactions now involve the use of multiple devices during product search and purchase. E-commerce sales across the region are expected to increase in 2016. While these developments point to a huge opportunity for digital businesses across the region, engaging shoppers across multiple devices remains a major challenge for brands.

According to our data, 36 per cent of buyers browsed retailers’ websites with a different device before making a final purchase. Therefore, it is necessary for retailers to realise the importance of reaching their customers across devices while understanding the users’ surfing and buying behaviour. Cross-device advertising today is helping brands build brand recall in the minds of the users.

Mobile commerce will overtake web browsers in driving sales soon - With rapid increase in the number of smartphones and mobile data consumption, phones have become the first point of brand interaction with their users. Smartphones have become the most personalised medium to reach Indian consumers.

According to Criteo’s data, during the festive season in 2015, 40 per cent of online traffic on major retail companies was generated by mobile phones. Clearly, m-commerce is experiencing a tremendous rise in India. Customers prefer buying new brands from upcoming shopping websites, where they are offered best prices as well as discounts. With the ease of m-commerce, they get the option to explore thousands of brands at the click of a button. Moreover, it reduces the effort of hopping from one shop to another, saving time, money and energy.

The in-app availability of e-commerce companies has further triggered the rise of m-commerce in India. It is crucial for retail companies to start the in-app interface as well, considering major buying behaviour changing from desktop to mobile commerce.

 

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