With ample brands available at both online and offline platforms, consumers tend to get confused with what to buy and what not to. Infact, 76 per cent of consumers in India feel inundated by too much choice while 74 per cent say that they are bombarded by advertising, resulting in 88 per cent of the masses abandoning purchases in the last three months of 2023, reveals Accenture’s report titled ‘The Empowered Consumer’. The report, based on a survey of 19,000 consumers across 12 nations, highlights insights into consumers’ decision-making experiences across the retail, travel and consumer goods industries.
The research further highlights that 67 per cent people in India see no improvement or even see an increase in the time and effort required to make a purchase decision. This consists of the 40 per cent who think it has got harder, 28 per cent who see no change and 33 per cent thinking it takes less time and effort.
Talking about the report, Vineet R Ahuja, Managing Director and Lead – Strategy and Consulting, Accenture India, said, “Our survey shows that Indian shoppers are experiencing greater ‘decision stress’ at every stage of the buying journey. Consumer-facing companies will need to rethink how products and services are branded and marketed, making it easier for shoppers to navigate through the noise and make confident purchase decisions. With new technologies such as generative AI, there’s a huge opportunity to not only become data-powered but also delightfully human in a way that has just not been possible until now.”
Interestingly, the report pointed out that confusion is not limited to big ticket items, for instance a washing machine, however, it is much harder to choose a grocery item such as a biscuit.
The age of GenAI
It is anticipated that the empowerment of consumers through generative AI, among other technologies will shift the way they think about brands. According to the report, 82 per cent of survey respondents in India said that they are open to using conversational generative AI solutions for advice, support, guidance, recommendations, queries while shopping.
Furthermore, the survey found that while eight in ten, that is, 79 per cent of consumers in India find some part of the shopping experience fun or exciting, 74 per cent felt frustrated and disappointed that the product they want to buy is out of stock.