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INNOVATING BUSINESSES FOR THE CUSTOMER

YB WEB DESK. Dated: 12/1/2021 3:20:28 PM

SHAAN RIZVI In one of his interactions, the Founder of US e-commerce company Amazon, Jeff Bezos, said, “I do get asked, and quite frequently ‘What’s going to change in the next 10 years?’ I rarely get asked … what’s not going to change?” He essentially went on to explain how the very fundamentals of the business largely remain unchanged. It is around these fundamentals that stable business empires are built. So, what’s essentially not going to change is the consumers demanding better quality of products and services which are more easily accessible and at more affordable rates. The consumer wants to be spoilt for choices. These fundamentals have stood the test of time, remaining constant throughout the evolution of human civilization and its economics. The changing models, technologies, and business practices cater to the same fundamentals. Today, most countries in the world have consumer-driven economies. The growth, development, and prosperity of these countries largely depend on public spending. Being one of the largest consumer markets, India too is driven by consumerism. Around 55 per cent of the country’s population form the consuming class, with a spending power of over $11 per day. As per a McKinsey Global Institute study, it is expected that consumption in India will grow by $1.8 trillion in the next decade. Simultaneously, the consumer share in the two highest income tiers (those consumers who spend more than $30 to $70 per day) could double by 20 per cent by 2030. At the other end of each business, it is the customers who matter the most. The idea of customer-centricity is principally rooted in the fundamentals of businesses. With external influences such as the ongoing pandemic crisis, the digital ecosystem has had more takers. The digitalised consumer class is growing, and the increasing penetration of data connectivity and technologies is powering the next generation to consume content digitally and shop online. Unlike other species on the planet, human beings have always vied for the ability to maximize the utilization of time. Functioning in a fast-paced world, the 21st-century consumers want to utilize their time for more productivity in their field of interest or profession, outsourcing various tasks to service providers. For instance, online food ordering has significantly replaced the number of home-cooked meals in a month from our dining table. Consumers increasingly want to cut down on travel time or chores and get services, ranging from home cleaning to retail shopping, at their doorstep. A major part of the banking system has transferred to their phones. Increasingly, tech-start-ups have observed the gap between products or service owners and the customers, which has made business owners foray into the service delivery segment. Thus, disruptive hyper-local solutions have entered the market. Many emerging start-ups have also bridged the gap by making local sellers available to their nearby customers digitally. Home-grown businesses have a greater potential of efficiently leveraging the advantages of a digital platform to make businesses more profitable and capitalise on a wider consumer base. Going hyperlocal provides more resiliency and agility to these businesses. The pandemic is a direct testimony of how businesses operating with hyper-local models made a quicker comeback in the market. It is high time now for all the independent home-grown businesses to foray into the digitalisation of their businesses. Hyper-local apps for homegrown businesses can aid local businesses to serve customers locally. The longstanding relationship with the nearby store owner or seller adds to the strength of local businesses, as it acts as a major motivation for promoting customer loyalty. A digital platform gives local businesses a competitive edge to capture a wider consumer base by receiving both in-store and off-store orders and achieve trust within hyperlocal customers for a shorter delivery time.