Retailers adopting advanced tech to target niche consumer segments: Deloitte report

Retailers are adopting advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and social media analytics to understand consumers' shopping behaviour and preferences with a view to target niche segments, according to a Deloitte India report.

Retail firms are using a strategy - Tribetailing - to identify and cater to a niche set of consumers.

As consumers' preferences are changing at a dynamic pace with an evolving retail environment, tribetailing helps retailers connect with buyers and understand them better, the report titled 'KNOW your consumer What you see is what you get' said.

"Riding on the digital wave, retailers are using advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and social media analytics to get information about consumers' shopping history, behaviour, preferences, and online activities," it said.

This information, it said, is helping retailers to group consumers in different categories and come up with bespoke solutions, and devise personalised marketing and promotional programmes such as membership and loyalty programmes and discounts to target niche consumer segments.

With the emergence of a more informed and tech-savvy consumer base, retailers are increasingly replacing the traditional mass market approach with targeted strategies formed using insights driven from consumer data, said the report, which was unveiled in association with Mapic India.

Consumer trends in India are evolving at a rapid pace with the advent of technology and with that the consumer has evolved from a reactive entity to a proactive seeker of products and personalised experiences, said Anil Talreja, partner, Deloitte India.

"This change needs retail brands to change the language of their engagement as the consumer now takes the driver's seat unlike brands telling the story to him/her," he said.

He added that discerning Indian consumer trends are more perceivable in the rural market, and that segment is what companies need to tap more than others through community of micro-influencers and vernacular content.

Further, the report said that the new rural consumer base makes up 68 per cent of the country's population and is more connected than ever because of rising internet penetration.

"While some brands use vernacular content and create a network of rural shops, others use smaller packaging as an innovative method to spur rural spending," it said.