'Deal hunting' is popular among young shoppers; older ones value experiential rewards: Hansa Cequity

The report, launched in association with the Retailers Association of India (RAI), highlights why data will drive the decisions of future CMOs.

Hansa Cequity, the customer marketing company, has released India's first Omni-Channel Shopper study to understand customer behaviour and India's shopping habits. The survey report is based on 1,368 responses from 86 Indian cities and towns.

The report, launched in association with the Retailers Association of India (RAI) during the 'Cequity Conclave: Data Driven CMO', revealed that with increased choices, higher disposable incomes and exposure to global shopping formats, the Indian shopper is changing. The findings highlight in detail why data will drive the decisions of future CMOs.

According to the study, 74 per cent respondents exhibit omni-channel behaviour (they have shopped in all formats - local retailer, large department and online). The research further reveals that around 40 per cent of the urban Indians shop regularly using modern trade; the numbers have more than doubled as compared to 2012.

The study also revealed that the level of penetration of omni-channel behaviour in the next multi-billion Rupee markets - small towns - is sluggish. However, some retailers are already taking measures to address this latent need of shoppers both by trying to extend the omni-channel experience and by increasing service levels.

Commenting on the report, Ajay Kelkar, co-founder and COO, Hansa Cequity, says, "The Indian shopper has changed. She is as comfortable haggling with the local vegetable seller as much as she is tapping open apps on her smartphone to scour e-commerce stores for the best deals. As consumers embrace new technologies, the shopping experience has become increasingly sophisticated, enabling new ways for leading retailers to reach their audiences. By integrating and aligning channels - stores, e-stores, mobile apps and social media - omni-channel retailing provides a flexible and seamless shopping experience to customers."

"With multi-channel shopping interfaces such as physical stores, malls, e-commerce platforms, social-enabled shopping experiences and smartphone app based services, consumers have so many ways to discover and buy the things they want. Our first omni-channel retail study is aimed at understanding the customer behaviour and tries to capture the way Indians shop," comments S Swaminathan, co-founder and CEO, Hansa Cequity.

Kumar Rajagopalan, chief executive officer, Retailers Association of India, adds, "RAI is the unified voice of retailers in India and works towards continuous updating of modern retail trade practices in the country. We recognise that today's customers have multiple channel options to buy and this report re-emphasised the need for retailers to adopt an omni-channel approach to interacting with consumers. A nation of shopkeepers, India has been on the high-growth trajectory, and retail in India has seen generational shifts as it modernises and shifts gears. We are glad to be associated with the first research report on the omni-channel retail in India."

The retail sector in India accounts for 10 per cent of the country's GDP and supports over 8 per cent employment. A recent study by RAI estimates that by 2020, the Indian retail market is expected to nearly double to $1 trillion, at an estimated CAGR of 12 per cent, driven by growth in disposable incomes, favourable demographics, urbanisation, technology and behavioural shifts.

Hansa Cequity is a customer marketing company which provides customer strategy, data services, analytics, campaign management, digital and customer relationship centre services for key clients across different verticals. The firm claims having over 80 million unique customer profiles being hosted in its infrastructure, analysing over 70 terabytes of data and managing over 500 million one-to-one customer intelligence campaigns in a year. Hansa Cequity today has a team of about 400 professionals in key client consulting engagements. Some of its clients include Croma, Celio, Westside, Axis Bank, Birla Sun Life and Tata Sky.

See presentation below.