Accenture Song has recently announced the India findings of its new global commerce study on the digital shopping behaviors of digital native consumers which speculatively can create significant growth opportunities for digital commerce.
According to Accenture Song’s report, “The Next Billion Consumers: A Fast-growing Opportunity for Digital Commerce,” over one billion digital native consumers are emerging in eight fast-growing countries in the next decade, creating new areas of growth for companies globally. The report cites that the next generation of consumers presents a significant opportunity for global companies, particularly because digital commerce eases some of the traditional barriers to entry in these markets. The research also states that despite digital commerce revenues having quadrupled in these markets since 2017 — equating to $211 billion in 2022 – most multi-nationals are not set up to serve these digital-first consumers.
The digital consumers are between the ages of 6 and 26 and represent 36% of the population from India, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, and the Philippines, the report stated.
Speaking on the growing digital commerce, Vineet R Ahuja, managing director and Accenture Song Lead in India, said, “The rapidly growing Indian digital commerce market provides huge untapped opportunities for growth and innovation for companies that move quickly and thoughtfully. Today, digitally native consumers expect a consistent and engaging shopping experience. However, our research shows that existing digital investments by companies are falling short of these expectations and trends show that most businesses may not be able to address them without a complete reinvention.”
“To win consumers’ hearts, minds and wallets, companies need to develop deeply digital, fully harmonized cross-channel ecosystems for their brands. This will require data insights, technology and partnerships to power agile business models and commerce operations to remain relevant and resonant to the changing needs and aspirations of consumers,” he added.
The report spotlighted how the digital shopping behaviors of these emerging consumers have the potential to transcend boundaries and influence purchasing habits more broadly. Four core digital shopper archetypes were identified from 3,000 digital consumers surveyed across the eight countries including 500+ consumers in India. They are digital native purchasers, digitally savvy millennials, digital native content creators and digital alpha influencers.
The majority (79%) of surveyed consumers in India use online channels such as search engines, social networks and videos to research products or services before purchasing, as per the report. The “Likes” and “good comments” on social media influence 81% of these Indian consumers’ online buying decisions. More than half of emerging consumers in India prefer shopping on social media apps to other purchasing platforms.
Adding further, the report stated that 63% of social commerce shoppers in India say they are more likely to buy from the same seller again and nearly 65% of consumers in India prefer to use online payment methods. 84% consumers in India see easy-return policies as a key influence on their online purchasing decisions.
