Successful consumer goods companies use digital technologies to connect with millions of rural consumers.

India is a country with a diverse population, with people having an interest in different areas. Gathering them in the name of technology and providing them with similar solutions for their problems is nowhere near satisfaction. Implementing digitization in the Indian working-class means finding varied answers according to everyone’s necessity.

Almost 75% of the Indian population lives in rural basins. It is tough to address them with technological improvements. Ultimately, out of the total population living in rural parts of 35 states and Union Territories, 25.7% of them live below the poverty line, according to RBI. In urban areas, the situation is a bit better, with 13.7% of the population falling under the poverty line. The top 10% of the Indian population holds 77% of the national wealth. Almost all of them are high-end users of technology who don’t need to depend on any new source to bring the digital solution into their lives. However, the remaining population needs a change. Most of the Indians are stuck between 19th-century challenges and 21st-century opportunities. As most parts of rural India are still struggling to have access to simple things like electricity, plumbing, healthcare, and schools, digital technologies can address many of these challenges.

Since many changes need to be done in rural areas, successful consumer goods companies use digital technologies to connect with millions of rural consumers to expand the market by improving economic opportunities. For example, Reliance Jio, the telecom company founded by Mukesh Ambani in 2016, leveraged low-cost mobile phones and free 4G data connections. It attracted most of the population, including rural, to look for technology at a lower cost. Henceforth, tech entities in India need to understand the opportunities and challenges before coming up with digital solutions.

Some of the digital opportunities and challenges in India

 Providing a digital communication network

People in India prefer face-to-face interaction and a trial of the product they buy before billing it. IndiaMART, an e-commerce platform, has understood the mindset of Indians. The online platform illustrates how companies can expand their own market opportunities by connecting local businesses and consumers to the outside world. It facilitates interaction between macro and micro levels, providing an opportunity to tap both large groups and niche audiences. Farmers from rural areas are even able to sell cow dung and urine for organic farming through IndiaMART.

Following the local approach and easy payment methods

The local buying of goods in India has survived despite technology invasion. Indian retail will skip the large shopping malls to a greater extend. To fulfill the local buyers with products of their interest at their doorstep, digital technologies should allow companies to innovate to blend online and offline interactions in ways that allow them to reach consumers who are less affluent or live outside urban markets.

Digital wallets are seeing high adoption in the Indian market. The rapid emergence of digital wallets and payment platforms in online markets such as Flipkart, Grofers, and JioMart has flourished with plenty of options to grow.

Providing customized solutions and digital supply chain

Since India is more about people with different thoughts, it is vital to customize technologies based on personal views. Indians are more unlikely to get satisfied with a standard solution.

Maintaining an efficient digital supply chain is also important in a country like India. For example, Rivigo, a trucking company headquartered in Gurgaon, has transformed how trucking and delivery can be done, adopting both digital systems and the physical construction of its trucks to improve efficiency and quality of life for it ‘pilots.’