Over 650 million Indians use social media and messaging services, demonstrating the country’s fast digitization, according to a survey by Meta and Bain & Company. Of these 200 million users, barely thirty percent make purchases online. Comparably, just 15% of the 30 million small firms that are registered do business online. Given that the majority of prospective online buyers and sellers are currently active online, it suggests a huge unrealized potential.
Based on a survey by Meta and Bain & Company, the majority of apps cater to the 200 million digitally literate Indians. However, adoption is still scarce outside of the major categories (entertainment, social media, messaging, UPI, and horizontal marketplaces). 35 million monthly active users are the pinnacle for app usage in high-frequency categories like banking and groceries. There are indications that consumers are getting tired of installing apps on their devices; many find the process annoying and stop buying new products when this happens. Due to limited phone storage and other problems, the 450 million non-techie users that follow prefer supported purchasing and require assistance with app navigation.
According to the survey, companies may need to look at new approaches for engaging with their customers since the app-led model may reach a plateau. User transactions can be improved by chat-based guided trips on popular platforms like social media and messaging. Customers and businesses currently communicate casually on these platforms. For jobs like travel, utility payments, and banking, more than half of the customers polled said they would rather complete transactions through conversational experiences.
It’s difficult to navigate these verbal trips. Big businesses utilize AI chatbots for routine tasks, but for more complicated interactions, they still require human assistance. Due to their resource constraints, small enterprises are reluctant to invest in automation. A cost-effective and perceptive AI system is necessary to provide smooth end-to-end processes.
These trips can be scaled more effectively by generative AI-powered assistants that provide contextualized and human-like interactions. In this new era of technology, the increasing investments made by tech companies in generative AI platforms will further improve customer engagement.
Dialogue-based systems
Indian businesses interact with clients through a variety of channels, including SMS, email, call centers, websites, and apps, according to a report by Meta and Bain & Company. Traditional channels are expensive, but low engagement and spam are making them less effective and profitable. As a result, companies are experimenting with conversational platforms that provide highly engaged users with tailored interactions.
In the next three to four years, more than 60% of large businesses intend to expand their investment on conversational platforms, with an emphasis on developing end-to-end journeys. With over 80% of businesses wanting to invest in generative AI solutions shortly and over 95% of organizations being familiar with it, generative AI is a top priority.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMBs), which frequently rely on offline marketing, require assistance with client acquisition and digital storefront maintenance. Conversational platforms can be beneficial by enhancing communication, payments, commerce, and discoverability. Notably, WhatsApp for Business is used by 15 million SMBs to improve their online visibility and increase visitors.
Using generative AI and conversational platforms will advance conversational commerce by enabling conversational journeys for transactions such as supermarket shopping, loan disbursements, and ride-hailing. With their in-house chatbots and AI-assisted journeys, large online platforms will set the pace for this trend, while offline SMBs will use the conversational platforms already in place to make the switch to digital commerce. Particularly in areas with frequent transactions, service-based transactions—like ridesharing and utility bill payments—will propel user engagement and transaction volumes on these platforms.
Internet buyers
India is at a turning point in its digital development, with a large number of prospective online buyers and sellers currently active in the online marketplace. It suggests a large, unexplored market opportunity for companies to turn these individuals into engaged online shoppers and sellers.
The survey also highlights the fact that conversational platforms will have an influence on smaller businesses as well. Customers want to communicate with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMBs) using chat platforms. 90% of digital users who aren’t tech-savvy want to interact with SMBs through conversational platforms for their everyday needs, per a survey.
Seventy percent of users preferred contacting their neighborhood grocery stores to place an order and send a list of items. Additionally, in order to obtain deals and place an order, 65% of users preferred interacting with nearby eateries. In addition, eighty percent of users said they would rather handle warranties, submit service requests, schedule technician visits, or get replacement parts through a conversational platform.
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) stand to gain a great deal from conversational platforms as they address critical issues including increasing visibility, handling orders, organizing product information, simplifying payments, and improving customer contact. It makes it easier for small and medium-sized businesses to participate in the conversational economy.
The paper makes no bones about how transformational and expansive the potential of conversational commerce and generative AI is. Companies can develop a winning strategy by carrying out the following six steps:
Changing the way customers travel
Increasing personalization
creating novel trust indices, such as generative AI
Increasing the scope of experimentation
establishing a framework for measurement in talks
