It’s that time of the year when one reflects on the year gone by or forecasts on the trends that may take over in the coming year. Since I am no clairvoyant to draw upon my special powers to foresee a future that’s going to be driven by AI, I would rather stick to something that was seen, but perhaps not registered or well understood. I shall try and refrain my observations to a limited ‘anthropological’ behaviour of the “Homo Sapiens Metropolis”, or us ‘urban minded folk’.
Convenience economy no longer privilege of GenZ: Enough has been observed, said and written about the ‘procrastinating powers’ of the younger gen, which eventually lead to newer opportunities like quick commerce platforms. While quick commerce platforms are giving behemoths like Amazon a run for their top dollars, it is heartening to see older folks completely smitten, accepting and using such service platforms. A friend of mine in a lighter vein mentioned that he was having a great social life, thanks to Zepto and Blinkit delivery people now pounding his door knob many times a day, as his order-happy mum was using those platforms several times a day. Gone is that behaviour of urban, apartment dwelling folks who bought just enough to last a week or until their next purchase.
Every brand will want to have a quick service: Given the popularity of these quick commerce platforms, and their hoity-toity behaviour toward newer brands, many of the younger brands will contemplate having their own quick delivery service to keep up with sales. It’s also only logical to do so: as consumers are getting used to a convenience, brands can ill afford not to take notice. So, the question is, can quick commerce add to the bottom line of fledgling brands? Can quick commerce become a potential sales alternative to e-commerce or online pipelines?
The India-OTT oxymoron: This is something that struck me as odd in the behaviour of our countrymen. We all said Covid was the ‘harbinger of great content’ to most Indian homes, as they discovered Malayalam content and Prithviraj as an actor. And then comes the huge success of the movie franchise KGF, Pushpa, and the more recent Animal.
Raw, pointless, barbarism encapsulated in the name of machismo and a deep-rooted desire to highlight I don’t know what! Cannot for the life of me, wrap my head around this… How can both India’s co-exist with such ease and comfort? The sensitive, intellectual along with the mindless and literally OVER THE TOP!
Reels and YouTube no longer the realm of the young: This is another observation that someone was making to me. Sure, we are a young nation, but today, both in terms of content creation and consumption, it is our mothers and older siblings who are equal participants. To me this is a tectonic shift. As a brand, I now have serious options. Brands are no longer restricted to the “Saas-Bahu” tele idiocy. We can now get progressive with ideas, as many of these platforms do give brands the opportunity and the means to reach out to these captive consumers of ‘reel content’ in more progressive ways.
