Trends that will dominate digital marketing & consumer confidence in 2019

Technology will be a dominant factor in marketing, say digital experts, with Voice, Video, Bots and AI playing a key role. However, some feel that 2019 will be another year of depressed consumer buying propensity. 

Vivek Katoch, VP & Head - Business Development, Grapes Digital:
The year 2019 will be only dedicated to TECHNOLOGY. Voice search, Bots and AI are going to surprise and delight the customers. With Alexa, Google Home and IOTs, India is already gaining momentum towards adoption of smart technology. 

It’s high time for the markets to realise that they don’t do digital marketing, they do MARKETING in a digital age now. Customers are actually driving marketers now, marketers are just keeping pace. 

Shrenik Gandhi, CEO & Co-Founder, White Rivers Media:
I think voice innovation will replace how marketers traditionally communicate with their audiences, and it will change the dynamics of marketing altogether. An interesting example of this was when voice assistant Amazon Alexa and Bollywood movie ‘Zero’ came together for India’s first native marketing innovation on a voice assistant. 

Suchi Mukherjee, Founder & CEO, LimeRoad:
Industry reports state that more consumers are adapting to smartphones and there is more data consumption. Evolving with the current trend, video is going to become important for e-commerce players to reach out to consumers. Video content has proved to be more engaging for the users and leaves a greater impact. 

Personalisation is also going to become important for brands. A consumer feels more connected when the brand starts speaking the language of the consumers. At LimeRoad, we have developed the lightest of all apps in the country, at 3MB. The brand has generated for every user a completely personalised experience – the app changes for each person every minute, powered both by large-data-driven algorithms and the community of stylists. Users, therefore, discover fast fashion unlike anywhere else in India. 

Amit Shah, Group President & Head Marketing - Corporate Strategy & Communications, Yes Bank:
As with every other industry, Data is one big thing to look out for even in the BFSI industry. With increasing data volumes being collected at every step of the consumer’s interaction with multiple apps and interfaces, there is increased level of insight mining possible basis the multitude of data available. With changing banking requirements of the consumers, banking is not limited to traditional solutions only and with the advent of fintech start-ups, banks are partnering with them to create apps which are more user experience focused. There has also been consolidation in the banking apps providing one-stop solution for multiple banking needs of the customer. The customers have become more technology friendly and prefer mobile/ internet banking over physically going to bank branches. AI and Machine Learning are also being integrated in order to provide more customised banking solutions to the customers. 

N Chandramouli, CEO, TRA Research:
2019 is expected to be another year of depressed consumer buying propensity. In such an important Election year, the consumer confidence stays low till clarity emerges. Also, the liquidity crunch is expected to stay for another 6 months, further inhibiting consumer and brand investments.