Consumer trends that will shape 2023.

By Sandeep Goyal

At another level, customer control on spending has been identified as the top trend for 2023 by Shopify. Their consumer tracking shows a shifting consumer need towards tools and methods that allow tracking of personal spending more accurately and in real time.

“Embedded payments” – paying with a single click will become the norm in the days ahead ------ which means probable decrease in use of credit cards, debit cards, digital wallets and even cash.

So, companies will need to strengthen offerings that use stored customer data and information, such that the transactions are simple, secure, and safe.

Ad Guru Dr. Sandeep Goyal is the bestselling author of several books and the Managing Director of Rediffusion. He has been in the advertising and media business for thirty-six years. He has worked at ad agencies JWT, Grey, Mudra, and Rediffusion. He was Group CEO of Zee Telefilms and Chairman of Dentsu India. He has been on the governing bodies of the Advertising Standards Council of India, the Advertising Agencies Association of India, and the Indian Broadcasting Foundation. He is currently Chief Mentor of the Indian Institute of Human Brands. A gold medalist in English literature, Goyal has a PhD and an MBA from FMS Delhi and is also an alumnus of Harvard Business School.

So, what is likely to be the number one consumer trend for 2023? If research by Metrigy is to be believed, it will be customer experience (CX) – with massive increase in technology spends, and 65% of companies hiking up outlays by as much as 24% to keep customers engaged and happy, what pray is CX ? Well, it is best defined as “streamlining tools, interfaces and platforms and reducing friction around giving customers what they want”. So, there will be enhanced focus on digital and like websites, social media and chatbots, as also the metaverse and augmented reality (AR) to deliver speed, convenience, ease of use and customer friendly service in the year ahead.

Related to this is the exponential increase in demand that we may witness for “try before you buy” AR experiences. More people will want to shop online if they could virtually tray a product before buying it. The biggest drawback of online shopping has always been the inability of consumers to touch, feel and try a product.

So, simulating an in- store shopping experience online will become critical. Indian retailer have much to learn from the likes of L’Oreal’s virtual makeup experience in the US, launched in 2019, which has effectively doubled website engagement time and tripled conversion rates. Simply put, products with interactiveAR content will get a much higher conversion rate than products without AR.

Rising prices and increase in the cost of living may mean that consumers will resort to multiple measures to mitigate the cost spiral---- starting with driving less by shopping online or closer home. They may also use more coupons and stock up when items are on sale. Some may proactively look for stores with lower price tags; others may shift to lower priced store brands and private labels. Inflation may become a key determinant and driver of consumer behavior in 2023.

India is no different. Astudy on the movie-going habits recently pointed to the fact that adverse or poor reviews on the release of a new film turned off 84% of potential viewers. No wonder that film critics are demi-gods in Bollywood. Globally, consumers read at least six reviews before purchasing a product. That trend is emulated, by and large, in India too. There is inalienable data to show that people who interact with online reviews convert at a 25% higher rate. And this is not just limited to pure e commerce goods. Consumers today read online reviews for local businesses too. Reviews, in fact, help in discovering local businesses- the modern-day equivalent of good old neighborhood word-of-mouth feedback.

Which brings me to a very important trend –recommerce. Recommerce or “reverse” commerce is nothing but the sale of previously owned goods.

“Pre-owned” cars have been a big category for time now in India. With most auto brands having a dedicated retail channel to cater to customers who would like to buy a secondhand car because of mainly cost considerations (though overseas, sustainability is a bigger driver of recommerce because of increasing preference for reuse, recycle and resell).

Traditionally books have been a substantial recommerce product. But in current times, pre-owned mobiles are emerging as a huge category. Gurdeep Singh, previously chief operating officer of Aircel, was an early pioneer in this space. He started to recondition and sell mobiles in a big way about five years ago. Today his brand Blynk is a market leader by far, with sales revenues that are truly impressive. Online clothing resale too will surely grow by leaps and bounds in the times to come.

Resale, rental, and subscription models will all be brought into play. During a recent trip to Punjab, I saw many boards of rentals of wedding lehengas! A true sign of the times to come – why waste a big pot of money on an item that is largely a one event use? More sensible perhaps to just “recommerce” and not feel guilty of needlessly spending on a short aperture luxury, even if it is for once-in-a-lifetime celebration. attendance surpassed the pre-pandemic figures with the queue for Visitor Badges extending to more than an hour.

The customer is getting smarter, more realistic and more prudent with every passing day.

2023 will have its opportunities and rewards. Just need to zoom in focus.

(This piece was previously published in the Business Standard newspaper and is being reprinted with permission from Sandeep Goyal).

Owing to the excellent holiday season, the mindset was very optimistic and the industry players were all enthusiastic to travel after two years of restrictions. The show this year was all about driving a proactive strategy for connecting with global trade.

Vicenzaoro has always been a showcase of trends for

The manufacturers too were happy with the quality of the meetings and the number of footfalls. Moreover, this time the buyer's selections were very focused, and they were interested in exploring and accepting new thoughts and trends.

Vicenza Oro is definitely a hub of reference for the Jewellery sector and a unique platform and opportunity to develop new clients and relationships.