India’s next growth story: The rise of the non-urban connected consumer

With the pandemic dramatically shifting long-conditioned consumer behavior in just a matter of weeks, digital has cemented its position as the default choice for how consumers choose to interact with the world. As a result, marketers today are re-evaluating their priorities and strategies to make a difference in this new era. What changes does the next normal hold in store for marketing? How can advertisers stay on top of their game amid these transformations? In this year's edition of their annual India Mobile Marketing Handbook, InMobi examines the year that was and discusses the key trends that will influence consumer behavior. 

The next wave in India's digital growth

With 810 million internet users as of 2021, India is home to the second-largest internet user base in the world, preceded only by China. This sweeping shift has been evangelized by three main factors: access to the cheapest data tariffs in the world, advanced smartphones at reduced costs and rapidly growing infrastructure that has dramatically improved connectivity. This pervasive growth of digital channels has changed the face of non-urban India. This is proven by the fact that non-urban consumers have shown a massive 3X higher YoY (Year Over Year)growth in users compared to urban consumers. As of 2020,non-urban areas account for over 300 million users, growing at a rate of 13% over the last year.

The growth in digital adoption is spurred by the country's top telecom players, who have been expanding their mobile user bases outside urban areas in recent months. Post Q2 2021 lockdowns, the non-urban mobile data usage for the top 3 Telco players grew by 30-35% - a much sharper increase than the 15-20% rise in urban data usage.

Private and public forces unite to drive non-urban India’s digitization

Multiple private and public initiatives are leading the digitization efforts in India, bridging the gap between urban and non-urban India.

• The 'Digital India Program’, launched in 2015 by the Government of India, aimed to close the divi urban and non-urban internet users. Initiatives such as BHIM UPI, Digi Locker, Smart Cities, and Government e-Marketplace have encouraged faceless, cashless, and paperless governance and the Bharat Net program has helped connect over1.5 lakh gram panchayats via fiber-optic networks.
• Over the last few years, top e-commerce players, such as Meesho, Amazon and Flipkart, have built the infrastructure to reach far-flung corners of the country, enabling consumers to access the power of what mobile-commerce has to offer today.
  
• Companies such as Google and Jio have made strategic investments to build the country's digital momentum. They have also forged several other exciting alliances with startups such as Glance to help tackle the challenges of India's diverse internet base and reimagine the way the internet is experienced by the next billion users.

Be it promoting regional content, reimagining online shopping for non-urban India, or helping small businesses digitize - such partnerships will continue to enhance the digital experience for non-urban users across India. 

Non-urban digital growth: The present and the future

As the ever-growing Indian digitization story unfolds, one can expect all eyes to be on the non-urban connected consumer. While a percentage of this population still does not have active access to the internet, digital adoption continues to be majorly propelled by non-urban India. With widespread mobile-led internet penetration set to grip India in the coming years, brands must rethink their marketing initiatives by paying attention to the needs of their non-urban Indian consumers.

To deep dive into more mobile marketing trends that will rule this year's brand game in India, download InMobi's 2022 India Mobile Marketing Handbook: The Indisputable Magic of Mobile.

Get your queries answered by experts at InMobi, write to them at mobilemarketing@inmobi.com to understand the changing market dynamics and key insights into evolving consumer behavior.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com.