Emerging Trends in ConsumerTech

India's economy is among the fastest-growing in the world. The country’s consumer sector landscape is also expanding due to a favourable demographic structure, increased consumer spending, which is expected to grow fourfold by 2030. Its active Internet users have reached a billion, and it remains one of the world's youngest countries.

Over the last few years, the consumer tech sector has seen a paradigm shift. Today's consumer desires to be heard and wants more choices to play with. Building engagement and loyalty would be the crucial anchor points defining success for consumer businesses in order to cater to these evolving consumer aspirations. The hybrid lifestyle in urban and semi-urban areas, as well as distinguishing consumer behaviour, have provided massive impetus for the emergence of new business models and product categories. As a result, ConsumerTech has become one of the sectors that has received the most funding from Indian venture capitalists.

Following the growth of domestic horizontal e-commerce trade, we are now seeing early signs of growth in cross-border e-commerce trade. For example, the number of Indian SMEs and direct-to-consumer brands selling on Amazon's Global Selling Program has surpassed 100,000, generating a whopping $3 billion in exports.This is expected to reach $6 billion in annualised GMV in the next 3–5 years. Global sourcing from India is also getting fueled by the "China plus one" trend post-pandemic.

Another interesting trend that is seeing high growth from the standpoint of Indian consumers is the pet care industry. Why now? Essentially, because of the pandemic, pet adoption is increasing, and there is a willingness among pet parents to spend money on healthier feeds and grooming. The size of the pet food market in India is expected to be $1 billion in the next 5 years.

Additionally, with a total capital of $57 billion in 2.7K+ companies, the e-commerce enablers industry is another trend that is picking up pace and is one of the most active for investors. It's also noteworthy that it comprised more than half of the funds raised in the previous three years (2019–2021). Some of the top business models here that are gaining significant funding are quick commerce, SaaS-based tools helping brands build digital presences, checkouts and payments, etc.

Technology is set to continue to transform how consumers will live and work in 2023, thanks to advances that make even online purchasing a "hands-on" experience.