“For any business, customer centricity is critical and it’s not going to change. What will change is the sensitivity and dynamics of establishing a lasting bond with the consumers,” said Parag Kulkarni, Managing Director, A.O.Smith India, while speaking at the first edition of Medianews4u.com Futurescope Conclave in Bengaluru on 15th July 2022.
He was speaking on the topic ‘The Future of Commerce and Consumption’.
“We are not just custodians of business, but also the consumers of various products and services,” he added.
Noting that most of us have come out of the pandemic phase less selfish, he said, “For any company, business, or any brand, you have to understand that the consumer today is different and has faced a harsh reality for survival. I believe consumers have started developing a feeling for the larger world and more about sustainability.”
On the mandate for businesses and brands Kulkarni said that brands need to be solution providers, and it’s done by being observant, empathetic, relevant and agile. “Today, the consumer is not interested in your product; the consumer engages with you by expecting a solution to a problem,” he added.
“Essentially, human beings are social animals and also want to have physical contact and interaction while purchasing a product or service. E-commerce has jumped and moved ahead significantly and is still growing in the high double digits. If I look at the last quarter, physical retail is 100-200 pc above (what it was) the same time last year,” Kulkarni revealed.
“Ecommerce has grown significantly, but physical retail has come back strongly – a hybrid model is at work,” he said.
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