Digital experience critical for Indian customers post-pandemic: survey

27 Jul '21

3 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

Seventy seven per cent of Indian consumers are more likely to buy again from brands that treat them like an individual and make them feel they understand their individual preferences, rather than the same as any other customer, according to a survey of 6,000 Indians conducted by Canada’s enterprise information management software firm OpenText Corporation.

This demand for brands to engage with customers as an individual is mirrored across the broader Asia-Pacific region (69 per cent), in Europe (62 per cent) and in North America (69 per cent).

Sixty eight per cent of Indian consumers would be put off buying again from a brand due to a bad experience. In fact, the same number do not believe there is any such thing as a ‘customer for life’ anymore in 2021, suggesting that brands cannot rely on customer loyalty stretching far enough to recover from bad experiences.

Creating a frictionless experience for customers is key to providing a good experience. When buying products or services online, nearly eight out of ten (80 per cent) of Indian consumers say that an easy search is very important. Furthermore, more than seven out of ten (72 per cent) prefer to shop with brands that auto-fill and remember their details for next time, the company said in a press release.

There is, however, pressure on brands to store that data correctly: almost 77 per cent would even be willing to pay more to do business with a brand that is committed to protecting their personal data.

For 86 per cent of Indian consumers, the pandemic has changed their expectations of what a brand’s digital offering should be. Almost half (48 per cent) won’t use brands if their experience is not excellent when buying online.

Nearly 77 per cent are now more comfortable with digital only businesses as a result of the pandemic. And for an equal number of Indian consumers, a personalised digital experience is now vital to them if they are to come back to a brand time and time again.

More than three quarters (76%) said bigger established brands have been able to offer a smoother digital experience than smaller ones during the pandemic.

The survey was conducted by 3Gem in April this year. Commissioned by OpenText, 27,000 consumers were anonymously surveyed globally, across the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Japan, India, Australia and Singapore.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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