The future of Shopper Marketing in India - Part 2

In my previous post on the Future of Shopper Marketing in India, I started with asking some questions. Some are random questions which came to my mind, some were questions from the observations I had, few from all the time I spent visiting stores, some from all the travel I did in the recent months and more questions about how as marketers and communication strategist we're tackling the moment of truth - when a shopper is inside the store to buy you?

Shopper marketing is a huge mash-up of engagement, experience, convenience, intelligence, insights, design, architecture, aisle browsing, visualization, technology, mobile apps, QR codes, shopping coupons, vouchers, loyalty program, bargains, and plenty of other things in between. So it becomes difficult to describe in few words. But if I had to explain shopper marketing to my mom, I would say its "the energy spent in giving you an experience to engage with brands inside the store that makes you browse, choose or buy things that was not in your shopping list." Ha, am sure mom will give an unconvincing nod and get back doing her stuff. Anyways.

If it is all about the experience to attract, engage and make a shopper buy, then trust me, technology has to be your biggest ally. What I mean by that is, you need to understand, tinker, experiment and play with different kinds of technologies to achieve your objective. And here's what I mean by that:

"la bulle": bar éphémère Coca-Cola (/W&Cie) from W & CIE on Vimeo.

Hell, we're now talking about 3D holographic boxes to seriously tamper with your realities. Via (Bit Rebels)

Well, I'm not even half through my research and I kid you not, its a bloody huge subject. Your mind is completely fucked at the end of it but you do emerge enlightened. Watch out for more. Cheers.

Future of shopping in India

The whole concept of 'going shopping' has changed. 'Shopper Marketing' is fast changing too. Significant shifts has happens in shopping. Mall crawling with credit cards in wallet to home -delivery to e-commerce and internet shopping to m-commerce and mobile shopping. These days we're talking about Social Shopping which is a giant leap in itself. Google just released some interesting statistics. And here the Fast Company talks about the future of shopping. So what is the future of shopping?

In India, unfortunately we don't discuss or debate important issues like these anymore. We in India are still a developing nation and hanging around in malls is increasingly becoming a nation past-time. So obviously the question comes in my mind, how will shopping change in India? What consumer behaviors will drive shopper marketing and how will brands and retailers adapt technology? How will Indian consumers use technology for their benefits? How will shopping for daily usable items change compared to shopping for luxury items? Will smart apps replace the joys of leisurely mall crawling in the afternoon? Will we shop with our smart phones and get charged for the door delivery service? Will we see a Phoenix Mills Mall in Mumbai apps available on Smart Phones, where we pre-select and buy things and just visit the mall to pick-up those on the way back home? Or Big Bazaar Apps (They created FutureBazar, the online version of the store however, it ain't easy to navigate and the user experience is relatively poor) that still allows consumers get the cheapest deals without the crowd, chaos and long queues? Will we have to wait for international brands like Zara & Gap & Diesel to change things or can we write our own future? How will cashless shopping will become the accepted norm? When will we start flash our smart phones and walk out of the store?

SO THE QUESTION IS: HOW WILL TECHNOLOGY HELP EVOLVE SHOPPER MARKETING IN INDIA? HOW CAN WE REMAIN AHEAD OF THE CURVE?

No doubt the future of shopping and shopper marketing will be mobile apps trying to recreate the experience of shopping. Product catalogs for smart phones is already the new thing for big retailers and billions are being spent on providing a flawless user experience to shoppers. RFID technologies, Location based services, mobile payment gateways, social shopping will truly transform the way we look at shopping in India.

Now these are serious issues staring at the face of marketers and retailers in India. However, I do feel we lack the conviction and courage when it comes to experimenting or challenging the status quo of providing simplified solutions for the future where people are converging towards.

I'm doing some serious thinking and research in these subjects, so please feel free to share your views and comments and point to interesting articles, blogs, books that you might stumble upon. Cheers.

Smart moves by Smart Phones - The Mobile Movement

Google just released a some statistics about Smart Phones and where it is leading us in the future. Nice.

Star Work - Heineken Star Player

You know what, I'm super impressed with AKQA. This agency is breaking barriers every time and their work is simply amazingly breath taking. The best part, Heineken is indeed one brave, clever client who believes an buys into great bold works. You can read more about the work here.

AKQA developed an application for Heineken which can be played online on Facebook an on mobile phones and allows players to bet live on actions during Champions League Games. Now this is truly exploring an integrated multi-media and making the brand culturally relevant with trends. Borrowing from Adverblog, "In the US alone, to understand how web, mobile and social channels are changing the TV viewer experience : 74% of consumers say they multitask while watching TV; among them, 42% browse online, 29% talk on cellphones or mobile devices, and 26% send instant messages or text messages, according to a Deloitte survey."

Good work AKQA. Wish I was part of this campaign.

Square - An apt thing for India

When you look at services like Square, you feel very optimistic and good at the future. But then you get this feeling, how can this service work in developing countries like India or Nigeria etc.? The potential of services like this are immense in India, however there are some practical concerns for a service like Square to start operating in India. So Square's India entry strategy should consider having the following points in mind:

1. 90% of India's 740mn mobile subscribers use a basic phone.

2. 70% of mobile subscribers in India use their phone only for talking and short messages.

3. 14mn is the total size of smart phones at the moment though its growing at 30% y-o-y.

4. Only 20% of urban mobile subscribers use m-banking. Though mobile banking transactions are even lower.

5. 40% of mobile subscribers in rural India are illiterate therefore regional language IVR services fare well compared to text based services.

6. 50% people living in rural town don't have access to bank account. Having a credit or debit card is still a distant dream and a luxury in life.

So how does Square overcome these barriers to enter India? This size of the market is phenomenal and growth potential is unimaginable. What are the changes that needs to be done on Square to make it India specific? Can Square tie-up with all the small mom-pop stores for cashless transaction? Can Square drive change in the buying behavior of small town Indian people? Can Square partner with local Indian banks to distribute it card readers to its bank customers?

These are very real and practical questions that needs to be answered. Innovation can often break barriers. India can become a hot seat for micro-innovations like this only if the banking sector had a long term vision of the future and took meaningful steps to make the changes take place for the betterment of people.

EpicMix - This is cutting edge

When I first saw EpicMix, I was really surprised and shocked. This is bloody brilliant. This is cutting edge innovation that is build on playfulness, sharing and seamless integration of work and fun. Integrating social media, Foursquare, Facebook and outdoor activity into one simple application is simply amazing. Well done guys.

Wish I was a part of such innovations in India. We need more meaningful innovations like this in India rather than wasting time creating more crappy television commercials.

The Internet Wishlist

This is amazing. The Internet Wish List. It is the future of technology. Go ahead. Explore it. Make a wish. Make it happen.

VW mixes media again

Good work VW. Atleast you're mixing different media and managing to engage people, again and again. Exactly what great brands do.

14 awesome iPad Apps

Go here and see some of the best designed iPad apps. With Tablets becoming the default handheld device, immense opportunities are waiting for us. Especially for the newspaper/ media companies as the early adapters in India. Anyways. Thats another debate all-together.