Topic:-“From brick to click: How Digitalization has influenced
consumer’s behaviour, with a focus on Flipkart and amazon online
shopping trends”
INTRODUCTION
Overview of Digitalization and consumer behavior
Digitalization has completely changed how companies function and interact with their clients.
Companies in India are rapidly recognizing the need to implement effective digital marketing
strategies to reach their target audience, generate brand recognition, and drive company
success in today's digital world. As the digital environment develops, organizations and
marketers must keep on top of developing digitalization trends to remain competitive and
capitalize on possibilities (Makrides et al., 2020) this study offers a comprehensive literature
analysis to identify and analyse on digital marketing trends on consumer behaviour. The
evaluation discusses the advantages, disadvantages, and tactics utilized across digitally,
including the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on buyer behaviour along with the growth of
internet marketing across India. This study gives significant insights into India's growing
digital environment by synthesizing research articles with practical implications for
organizations and marketers (Deekshith & Kinslin, 2016)
The Digital Revolution has altered consumer behaviour drastically. Constantly changing
social trends affects consumer behaviour. These changes can be hard to recognize and
comprehend for many organizations, but their realization is a necessity for their survival.
Today's customer often referred to as a "smart customer" has the power to make or break any
business with just a single click. Rarely a day goes by without a new app or digital trend is
reported on the internet. These new technologies have redefined how companies build
customer relationships and influenced their business models. Customer experience has ceased
to be just a marketing concern but has also become a driver for a change in corporate strategy
in this new age of digitalization.
These changes can be overwhelming for a business but also paves the way for newer
opportunities, effective adjustments can help propel the brand image of that organization to a
newer height. Following are some of the major shifts that have been observed:
Absence of defined direct competitor: Customers have started to compare brands with not
only their direct competitors but also with all the brands that they consume irrespective of the
business or industry. Customer service, product quality, digital presence, etc. are some of the
attributes that are compared across the segments. This possesses a task for the brand to not
only be better than the competitor but to be the best brand that their consumers are using.
Word of mouth: Word of mouth still is the undisputed king for making any product. Due to
digitization, its scope has widened. Now, a customer can make or break any brand with a
single review and has a plethora of audience which can follow his/her opinion. Customers are
less tolerant than they used to be and a brand must take note of this.
"Value for Money" mind-set: Gone are the days of cheap products/services dominating the
market. Today's customer demands a superior product with the best possible customer service
and doesn't mind paying for it.
Preference for Digital Mode of Marketing: Traditional information channels seem less
trustworthy than their digital counterparts. Hence, relationships and opinions are formed
through digital channels. Brands are compelled to go digital and engage directly with their
customers individually which earlier was not present.
Omni-Marketing channels: A smooth shopping experience is required across all channels at
all times. If a customer searches for a product on his smartphone through an e-commerce
website/app, he must be able to order it quickly and easily via any of his devices with ease.
Advertisers, therefore, need to develop a marketing strategy that is not limited to a single
channel. The focus must be on the customer rather than the channel and creates an experience
tailor-made for your customer’s needs, preferences, and convenience. It’ll also ensure all the
checkpoints are ticked and your message is delivered effectively.
For a brand to survive in this cutthroat competition and ever-changing market, it needs to take
into consideration all the above points mentioned. A more direct and focused approach is
required in satisfying the wants, needs, and desires of today's customer. It helps in meeting
the augmented expectations of customer service and to accommodate the changing customer
behaviour
Evolution of Digitalization
Digitalization in India has experienced rapid growth over the past decade, driven by factors such as
increased internet penetration, the rise of social media, and the growing adoption of smartphones.
Here’s a brief overview of the background:
1. EARLY ADOPTION: Digitalization gained traction in india in the early 2000s with the
emergence of internet usage. initially, it was primarily focused on email marketing, banner ads, and
search engine marketing.
2. MOBILE REVOLUTION: the advent of affordable smartphones and cheaper mobile data
plans led to a significant shift in consumer behaviour. mobile marketing, including sms marketing and
app-based advertising, became prominent.
3. SOCIAL MEDIA BOOM: platforms like facebook, twitter, and instagram gained popularity,
providing businesses with new avenues for marketing and customer engagement. influencer
marketing also became a notable trend, especially among younger demographics.
4. E-COMMERCE GROWTH: the rise of e-commerce giants like flipkart, amazon, and snap
deal further fuelled digital marketing activities. Brands started investing heavily in online advertising
to reach their target audience on these platforms.
5. CONTENT MARKETING: with the increasing importance of content in digital marketing,
businesses began focusing on creating high-quality, engaging content to attract and retain customers.
Blogging, video marketing, and podcasts gained prominence as effective content marketing strategies.
6. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO): as more consumers turned to search engines
like google to find products and services, seo became crucial for businesses to improve their online
visibility and rank higher in search engine results pages (serps).
7. DATA-DRIVEN MARKETING: with the availability of advanced analytics tools, marketers
started leveraging data to gain insights into consumer behaviour and preferences. this led to the rise of
personalized marketing campaigns tailored to individual customer segments.
8. REGULATORY CHANGES: the introduction of regulations such as the general data
protection regulation (gdpr) and india's personal data protection bill prompted businesses to reassess
their digitalization strategies to ensure compliance with data protection laws.
overall, digitalization in india continues to evolve rapidly, driven by technological advancements,
changing consumer behaviour, and regulatory developments. it has become an integral part of the
marketing mix for businesses of all sizes across various industries.
Rationale of the Study
Marketing trends are shifting regularly, especially with the rising number of competitors,
buying capacity, regular innovation, increasing platforms and growing needs of the
consumers. The online platform has built a strong foundation in India since the accessibility
to internet graphed up till date. India is the second largest country after China to have the
largest number of internet users till date and the access has expanded ever after the
introduction of 4G network concept in India. Such a wide customer base provides robust
place for an online market to set up the entire business operations and professionally provide
services of handling the online market for several companies who seek to market their
offerings online. The research on the topic was necessary to outline the 4 recent trends that
are affecting the market behaviour on part of consumers and is also leading to the market
expansion. The research will also help to identify the base reasons of the traffic of the internet
and its conversion from a visitor to a consumer. Digitalization has changed the face of
traditional marketing involving bigger scale of competition in offering the marketing services
to the business companies by giving tough competition in terms of design, promotion,
providing reliable cardinals of change in market, building strong PR and rapport and creating
hard hitting promotional strategies.
Changes on Consumer Behaviour during covid 19
The pandemic of COVID-19 has had a significant influence on consumer behaviour. Brands had to
modify their tactics to remain connected with consumers in a quickly changing context as the globe
faced lockdowns and social distancing measures. Economic uncertainty, job losses, and supply chain
disruptions affected consumer purchasing habits, resulting in fewer impulsive purchases and a higher
emphasis on necessities (Rashid & Ratten, 2020)
Many firms employed crisis marketing methods during the first crisis reaction, flipping their message
and offerings to meet with changing customer requirements and priorities. They demonstrated
sensitivity, ingenuity, and agility when adjusting to the new normal. Adidas and Guitar Centre
effectively connected customers with advertisements that addressed the issues of remaining at home
and self-improvement (Rosebush et al., 2023)
As the epidemic alters consumer behaviour, companies must acknowledge the long term
consequences and embrace new virtual behaviour’s. Consumers have acquired new habits due to their
greater dependence on digital and mobile platforms, such as online buying, virtual communication,
and contact-free services. Brands that have deliberately adapted to these virtual behavior’s, such as
Pizza Hut and MAC, have discovered novel methods to communicate with consumers and suit their
changing requirements (Goel etal., 2022)
As a consequence of the epidemic, consumer requirements have evolved as well. People are spending
more time at home and shopping for comfort and nostalgia. They are also becoming more self-
sufficient, seeking alternatives to outsourced services. Brands that recognize these transitions and
aggressively show their values and relevance to changing customer lives have a better chance of
developing long-term connections (Kakabadse & Kakabadse, 2002)
The pandemic allows marketers to restore and reinvent their customer ties. Brands can build
meaningful touch points and adjust their marketing efforts to fit individual requirements by investing
in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and personalized experiences. Empathy has become a
brand requirement, and true empathy must be at the heart of their message and behaviour moving
ahead, companies must address the possibility of long-term shifts in customer behaviour. Health and
safety concerns, as well as the ease of online activities, are predicted to endure. Marketers must
understand customers' behaviour and preferences across different geographic locations and
appropriately tailor their message. The epidemic has reminded companies of the value of human
connection and the need to prioritize client relationships. Brands may emerge from the crisis with
better relationships and long-term consumer loyalty if they monitor customer opinion, embrace
change, and look for chances to provide value. The key to success in the post-COVID age is to be
adaptive, imaginative, and sensitive to customers' changing demands and expectations (Hadi et al.,
2020)
Justification of topic
The purpose of this comprehensive study is to paint a comprehensive picture of India's emerging
developments in digital world. The study intends to critically analyse and synthesize current research
articles to acquire insights into the benefits, drawbacks, and digital marketing methods in the Indian
environment. The research tries to identify the important trends, difficulties, and possibilities linked
with digital marketing in India by studying the Literature (Kshetri, 2014)
The new era of digitalization has changed the outlook of online marketing with trends
changing every year and sometimes months. The new content prevailing on the internet has
not only influenced customers to rely and get habited to the online market but also has
increased the market revenue not only by increasing the spending ability of a consumer but
by also bringing new customers to the market.
Fetching existing customers on new platforms or converting casual surfers to visitors and
then to customers is a function of a marketer. Digitally handling and sustaining consumers on
tough market competition and in an uncertain environment where forgery is common and
easy, involves significant efforts and adjacent to this converting casual web surfers and other
users who do not use the world wide web frequently for general purposes into visitors and
customers involves high level or understanding of the online and offline market. For e.g. the
mega sales of Amazon, Flipkart, etc. are not just advertised over online sources but also on
offline digital and non-digital sources like television ads, radio ads, mobile applications,
newspapers, billboards and SMS thus having a keen understanding to create offline demand
is a significant factor these days.
Not only this, online marketing includes various hidden operations that help the optimization
of search engines to understand what is in trend and what to show first! But to understand
that under these tough circumstances of market competition, what are the key trends of
digitalization which are playing key role to change the consumer behaviour and increase the
online market exponentially.
With this study we will analyse what new behavioural changes occurred in last few
technological years by obtaining data through primary sources and secondary sources. We
will also cover the newest trends in digitalization which are responsible for the change in
consumer behaviour, helps to understand and provide content and solutions accordingly and
leads to expansion in market. However we will be covering the online growth statistics only
in this study and no offline trends will be engaged.
Review of literature
The Development and Current Trends of Digital Marketing and Relationship Marketing Research”
Authors Name: Thaichon, P. and Ratten, V.
Year: 2021
Conclusion: New information and communication technologies have transformed the ways businesses
communicate and maintain relationships with their customers. In this chapter, we review the main
topics in academic research pertaining to digital marketing and relationship perspectives. The
discussion involves email and website marketing, search engine marketing, user-generated content,
co-creation marketing, social media marketing, presumption marketing in the sharing economy,
immersive marketing and AI-based marketing.
“The impact of digital marketing on consumer behaviour and market expansion”
Authors Name: Sahar Karimi, Holland Hunte
Year: 2021
Conclusion: Digital marketing has significantly changed consumer behaviour, leading to increased
market expansion. Personalized advertising, social media influence, and mobile optimization are key
factors driving these changes.
“An Investigation into Digital Marketing and its Effects on Contempered Markets”
Authors Name: Vishal Patil
Year: 2023
Conclusion: The goal of this review article is to examine the significance of digital marketing for both
consumers and marketers. This essay starts with a brief introduction to digital marketing before
focusing on the various forms it can take, the ways in which it differs from traditional marketing, as
well as its advantages and disadvantages as well as its significance in the modern world.
“The Efficacy of Digital Marketing Strategies”
Authors Name: Partho Banerjee, Akhilesh Upadhyay
Year: 2023
Conclusion: In the digital age, marketers are presented with new opportunities and problems. The
power of the internet is used by digital marketing to create demand, which is then met in novel and
creative ways. To put it another way, digital marketing is the use of electronic media by marketers to
advertise their products and drive sales. Digital marketing can provide value in the forms of consumer
time, attention, and advocacy. Utilizing the advantages and difficulties provided by the digital media,
digital marketing techniques build upon and adapt the ideas of traditional marketing. This essay
emphasizes the value of digital marketing to both businesses and consumers. This essay also discusses
the distinctions between traditional and digital marketing
"Personalization and Consumer Behaviour: A Review of Current Trends"
Author: Arora, A., et al.
Year: 2008
Summary: This literature review examines the effectiveness of personalized marketing
strategies and their impact on consumer behaviour. It covers topics such as targeted
advertising, recommendation systems, and the role of data analytics.
“A study on Assessment of trends in the application of digital marketing”
Author Name: Giteshi Chatterjee
Year: 2019
Conclusion: The availability and mobility of technologies affect consumer habits and contribute to
the transformation of classical business models. Digital transformation could be characterised as the
ability of consumers and individuals to adapt to technologies. Digital transformation also affects the
development and application of digital marketing instruments. In 2018, according to the Central
Statistical Bureau, trends in online shopping have not considerably changed, meaning that shoppers
have certain habits of shopping online
“Digital Marketing's Impact on Consumer Behaviour: A Comprehensive Analysis”
Authors Name: Swati Agrawal
Year: 2023
Conclusion: The main objective of this literature review is to comprehensively analyse the field of
electronic marketing (e-marketing) from 2003 to 2023. This review aims to explore various research
themes and methodologies found in published articles during this period. By collecting and
categorizing a broad spectrum of prior research within the marketing domain, it seeks to contribute to
the existing body of literature. This literature review follows a three-part structure, utilizing the
Hanson Internet marketing framework as a guiding structure.
"E-commerce Trends and Consumer Behaviour: A Review"
Authors name: Bhatti, A.
Year: 2015
Summary: This review focuses on the trends in e-commerce and their impact on consumer
behaviour. It covers aspects such as online shopping patterns, consumer expectations, and the
growth of digital payment systems.
“A Study on Digital Marketing and its Impact on E-Business’
Authors Name: Sanskrit Agarwal
Year: 2024
Conclusion: This study examines the transformative shift from traditional to digital marketing in
response to the growing influence of technology and the internet on consumer behaviour and business
strategies. It delves into various forms of digital marketing, including social media and search engine
marketing, highlighting their impact on consumer purchasing decisions and the expansion of e-
business. Through comparing traditional and digital marketing, it underscores the unique advantages
and challenges posed by digital platforms. Ultimately, the study sheds light on the crucial role of
digital marketing in contemporary business landscapes, emphasizing its significance as a tool for
global reach and market penetration.
“In a world created by digital communication, the role of digital marketing in consumer behaviour”
Authors Name: MUSFIK Akarcan
Year: 2024
Conclusion: From a broad perspective, digital marketing empowers brand marketers to tailor their
products and services to different consumers across various online platforms in line with current
demand. The advantage of digital marketing is that it makes it easier for customers to review
products, provides more up-to-date and comprehensive information, and provides quick answers to
their questions.
