On day 2 of Masterclass by Google India on Retail Sector , experts indicate digitisation would gain 400 million online shoppers in the next few years.
Bangalore, 6 March 2023: The second day of Masterclass by Google India on Fashion Intelligence in Bengaluru commenced with industry leaders revealing optimistic findings that predict the Indian textile and apparel industry to grow at a l0% CAGR from 2019-20 to reach $190 billion by 2025-26. This growth is attributed to the rapid digitisation of consumers and brands alike post pandemic. According to a study by the Indian Brand Equity Foundation, Indian apparel is expected to reach $135 billion by 2025 with online/D2C shopping accounting for 30%.
The day kickstarted with a series of Masterclass sessions led by the top heads from Google, Amazon, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, Puma, ICH Creative, Myntra, Nykd by Nykaa and Gloot. The sessions addressed topics including digitisation of consumers and brands, omnichannel journey of Indian fashion customers, latest innovations in the fashion verticals for shopping on Google, informative case studies on the challenges, product development, retail story telling and commercial successes.
The Google Master class session provided ample food for thought for brands to introspect into their business with their own data, decode trends and use the information to grow their business.
Commenting on the impact of covid on buyer behaviour in fashion, Bhaskar Ramesh, Director-Omnichannel Businesses, Google India, said, “The future of retail is omnichannel. The fact that Oxford dictionary added ‘Goblin Mode’ as the most trending word of 2022 defines the phenomenon that we want everything to come to our phone or to our fingertips. It’s an indication that we really want everything in our comfort zone. COVID has particularly changed consumer behavior, and a lot of these behaviors are sticking. What happened during COVID was that commerce has taken off in a big way. A lot of companies in fashion and retail are moving their commerce business. As COVID receded, consumers actually went back to what they were familiar with and at the same time they are expecting the same digital experience. So, on one side, digital is enhancing customer experience and on the other better profitability of businesses.”
With India having 700 million internet users and 500 million users consuming videos across platforms, he observed that almost 190 million were shoppers. The prospects only indicate that the base would touch 400-420 million shoppers in the next few years. This includes not only shoppers in metros but also from Tier 2 and 3 cities and rural areas.
The surface has only been scratched with just 32% retail companies offering hybrid experiences, he added. Omnichannel format is no longer a choice; the sooner brands adopt this the better they stand to gain.
“Random online searches in India are 3 billion. 88% of Indians research online before they buy. So the question here is, are you helping or aiding the consumer in their research. If you have the latest design or fabric, are they able to discover it?” noted Kaushik Dasgupta, Vertical lead for technology and retail, Google.
“It can be concluded that omnichannel in the new experience, retail companies are moving towards this experience, their ability to use first party data in a first-privacy way is also the next competitive advantage,” Ramesh further remarked while talking about leveraging data.
Shubai Pai, Head, Google Youtube Sales and Solutions and Gaurav Juneja, Head-Digitisation, Google also shared their insights in the session.
