Vinculum Group founder-CEO Venkat Nott on navigating the omni channel landscape

In this exclusive interview with Adgully, Venkat Nott, Founder and CEO of Vinculum Group, a trailblazer in the realm of omni channel retailing, shares Vinculum’s insights on the pivotal role of AI-powered e-commerce solutions and other aspects. Excerpts:

How does Vinculum Group see the role of AI-powered e-commerce solutions in enabling offline retailers to compete efficiently in an e-commerce-driven environment?

There is no one who is purely offline any more. Almost all retailers see Online and Social as a necessary channel and extension to offline. Therefore, we need to think that the Omni channel is the right way for retailers to think about better assortment, planning, customer experience, and convenience. There are a number of areas in which AI is expected to play a critical role.

Product Catalog and Listing: Images will be of high quality, Vinculum is investing in NLP and AI to ensure brands and retailers create product content once and list it to all sales channels.
Analysis of customer past purchases, buyer behaviour, and product recommendations: Product locator, including virtual digital assistants guiding customers to the right location in the store, comparison of products, price recommendations, etc.
Product Assortment, planning, and forecasting
Price optimisation
Visual search and image recognition

As a pioneer in Omni channel retailing, what trends is Vinculum observing for India’s 2023 festive season, and how are these trends shaping the retail landscape?

We saw a huge surge among 40% of our customers in terms of sales in October 2023. Some of the brands did 6 times the regular sales in this holiday period. Consumer electronics, footwear, apparel, beauty, personal care and cosmetics, food, jewellery, and gifting were the top categories. Searches increased by 20% during Dussehra and Diwali weeks and a similar growth was seen in the clicks as well.

Could you elaborate on the top seven Omni channel trends that brands and retailers should be aware of during this festive season, as highlighted by Vinculum Group?

Brands should adopt a mix of Social, Marketplaces, Website, and B-B-driven strategies for the holiday season.

Gifting is predominantly B-B, though players like Swiggy and Zepto had a rapid delivery model for gifting, which is always a hit with customers.

Use models like “Lite Store" to launch temporary offline outlets in premium malls. This can help in visibility for the holiday season.

Customers look for special deals. Promotions, campaigns, gift hampers, and special samples all need to be planned at least 2-3 months in advance for the holiday season. This helps in better deals with marketplaces and last-mile providers.

In the context of Tier 2 and 3 consumer demand during the festive season, what marketing strategies does Vinculum suggest that can create a significant impact on consumer engagement and sales?

Some of the key aspects to consider for Tier 2, and Tier 3 locations are to focus on:

Localised Content:Vernacular language ads and campaigns, and Messaging that resonates with the local traditions. Usage of popular local movies/ songs/ themes and embedding them in the campaigns work wonders.
Event-based marketingsuch as Cricket World Cup work for both Urban and Tier 2/ Tier 3 cities.
Regional Festive promotions, campaigns, and deals aligned with local festivals are of particular interest along with messaging around discounts.
Influencer Marketing: Collaborate with local and micro-influencers with a strong following in Tier 2 and 3 cities.
Customer Support in local languages
Local Partnerships:Collaborate with local businesses, 3Pls with warehouses in smaller locations, retailers, and e-commerce platforms with a strong presence in Tier 2 and 3 cities. This will help piggyback on local companies with a good presence in Tier 2/3 cities.
Tech integrations with last-mile providers with a solid presence in Tier 2/ Tier 3 cities.

What, according to Vinculum, are the key growth drivers of an Omni channel approach in e-commerce, and how can brands leverage these drivers to enhance their market presence?

Today, customers spend across channels. The key is for brands to be discovered, to be easily available across channels and to deliver the products fast. Vinculum through its market-in-a-box approach gives deep integrations for Product Syndication, cataloguing, listing and order orchestration, and fulfilment with the focus on both brands and ecosystems, we are helping brands to leverage omni channel for offering better customer experience and convenience across channels for customers.

Looking ahead to 2024, what are the five Omni channel trends that Vinculum anticipates will shape the retail landscape, and how can businesses prepare to adapt to these trends for sustained success?

AI-Powered Personalisation
NLP and AI-based dynamic analytics for your operations
Unified commerce across channels
Voice/ Video Commerce
VR and AR extensions to shopping home or offline

These are some of the areas where retailers should focus on to get a sizable chunk of the market.