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India is the world's most attractive Fast-Moving Consumer Goods market. The FMCG industry has developed in India over the years but is still extremely fragmented. The FMCG Market in India, unlike other emerging markets, is still very conservative and is mainly dominated by Cooperatives and Independent FMCG firms. Street markets play a significant role in the Indian FMCG sector, as much of the population is shopping here. Before liberalization and globalization in 1991, western clothing, food, etc. was not available on the Indian market, and brand recognition among the local population was negligible, but after 1991 awareness was gradually growing.

FMCG organizations face the constant challenge of juggling expanding product portfolios, managing warehousing & logistics with distinct service requirements and ensuring compliance with strict regulations and reporting requirements. Most categories are very competitive and sales need to be defended from competitors and increasingly, retailers' own private brands. The industry is also marked by a diverse distribution network and intense competition in most categories is pushing companies to continually focus on innovation in the supply chain. Organizations with a stronger supply chain structure will do well, whereas those with poorly run supply chains will find it difficult to compete in a competitive market.

Source: Nielson LLC report

According to a report from IBEF there are three main segments in the sector – food and beverages which accounts for 19% of the sector, healthcare which accounts for 31% and household and personal care which accounts for the remaining 50%. Moreover, with a market share of around 45%, the rural segment is a significant contributor to the overall revenue produced by the FMCG sector in India. Demand for quality products and services has increased in rural areas of India, on the back of enhanced distribution networks for manufacturing and FMCG companies. The Urban segment had a market share of 55% of the total revenue generated by the FMCG sector in India. Growing awareness, easy access, and changing habits are the main drivers of growth for the consumer market. The emphasis on agriculture, small and medium-sized enterprises, education, health care, infrastructure, and tax rebates under the Union budget 2019-20 will have a direct effect on the FMCG market.

E-commerce is redesigning the global retail market. Since the turn of the century, online shopping has boomed as internet access has reached all corners of the globe, and smartphones have rapidly become an integral part of the lives of billions of people. Although multinational behemoths such as Amazon and Alibaba are well known around the world, the rise of e-commerce offers exciting growth opportunities for hundreds of thousands of businesses of all shapes and sizes, from large brick-and-mortar players to small cottage industries. ANS Commerce is here to make sure all brands have their own online space. For FMCG to succeed, the industry needs to have the necessary infrastructure in places, such as high penetration rates for bank accounts, mobile internet connectivity, and smartphone uptake.

Gain a realistic view of your position

For quite some time now brands have understood that consumers are interested in experience, and are choosing health conscious options that they believe will actively improve their health, day-to-day performance, and general well-being. Products such as plant-based protein milk alternatives (like soy or almond drinks), lab-grown “cultured meat,” and alcohol-free “mocktails” are gaining wider acceptance and availability. Allergen-free products are also becoming more popular amongst those who don’t have allergies. Whereas in the past, products such as gluten-free baked goods and beers appealed almost exclusively to those who had celiac disease, consumers who don’t suffer from a gluten allergy are gradually adopting these due to the perceived health benefits of a gluten-free diet. Hence, It is imperative for the brands to position themselves as versatile and environmentally aware in the eyes of customers.

ANS Commerce brings a brand building and product innovation solution to generate reliable gross margins and achievable growth. Our ready-to-use platform Kartify is a feature rich and secure tool for any e-commerce brand to start its journey from the ground. Its agile and omni-friendly functionality enables you to design beautiful stores, update or optimize product catalogs, fulfill online orders from offline stores, and other features such store management, third party integrations, and marketing analytics. We feel that markets with densely populated cities, a business-friendly environment, postal efficiency, trustworthy citizens, and a cost-conscious society should experience greater online FMCG success.

The value-conscious customer lays down a demanding line: ‘I buy at my price’ and ‘I buy what offers me attractive value.’ Health, wellness and responsibility have become the new basis of brand loyalty as the trend is shifting towards customized and personalized products. Kartify’s effective use of analytical capabilities enable brands to stay ahead of the game and even benefit from the key trends impacting the FMCG sector. The platform ensures you get alerts and custom reports right into your inbox or your phone.

Source: Mckinsey’s new model for consumer goods

A winning model for creating value

Grocery stores in India are distinctive in many ways, primarily due to the variety of customers and unique delivery structures in the retail sector. Indians have historically relied on mom and pop stores for their monthly food & grocery needs. These stores have a personal link with their customers and are well versed in consumer needs, which in turn allows them to store locally relevant items. However, with increasing disposable incomes and Internet penetration, the e-Grocery market is expected to expand rapidly in the near future. India is home to the youngest population in the world (around 27.6 years of age) and plays a significant role in the anticipated change in the Indian grocery market. Equipped with disposable incomes and smartphones, young consumers are smart on the internet and tend to order their grocery store online, despite their busy lifestyle.

Many small consumer goods brands are capitalizing on millennial tastes, and digital marketing is rising very quickly. Such products can be challenging to find as they are mostly sold online or on platforms not protected by the syndicated data that the industry has traditionally relied heavily on. Consumers under 35 differ fundamentally from older generations in ways that make mass brands and channels ill-suited to them. They tend to prefer new brands, especially in food products. According to recent McKinsey research, millennials are almost four times more likely than baby boomers to avoid buying products from ‘the big food companies’.

ANS Commerce’s online marketing and advertising across channels brings to the table a detailed, rigorous, and a step-by-step approach. Our campaigns give brands the ability to measure everything from brand reach to conversion rate down to a single ad. Google Ads, Facebook & Instagram ads, and Tiktok, Snapchat, Amazon Marketing Services & Flipkart ads are some of the popular promotional tools we use to drive high quality traffic to websites. Marketers need richer data to understand the impact of their campaigns on conversion rates and customer journey. Our in-house automation & analytics tool offers a much comprehensive view of what’s working when it comes to devising marketing strategies because it’s backed by data, insights, and action plan.

Optimize your Marketplace for better ROI

Contemporary e-commerce is opportunistic and for sellers who lack the tools to adapt, it can be very disruptive. Whether one is an established business or a young brand, one cannot ignore the value of positioning on the marketplace to sell products. Our Solutions cement your brand into an expanding selling ecosystem that is rich with marketplaces. Digital channels continue to be the source of most retail growth and will soon influence most retail purchases. According to Mckinsey’s research by 2022, e-commerce will account for 17% of total retail sales (ranging, by category, from 4% in grocery to 66% in electronics), while an additional 41% will be digitally influenced offline sales (with digital channels influencing as much as 30% of offline sales, even in mostly offline categories like grocery)

Deloitte 's research into augmented shopping indicates that today more than 1 billion smartphones and tablets will offer improved experience. Within the next year, 100 million customers are expected to purchase online or in-store using AR. User demand has increased since 2018, the number of smartphone AR users has almost doubled, with usage and adoption primarily driven by social media. Modern shopping experiences take place in several different contexts: at-home, on-the-go, and in-store. If delivered efficiently, a better overall shopping will make consumers feel more comfortable about their product selection - whether by better product knowledge or engagement, the opportunity to customize or configure specific product designs, or through the more profound emotional link of interactive brand storytelling. ANS Commerce marketplace management solution aims to develop ‘enhanced A+ content’ across platforms to ensure that the products and brands are portrayed very realistically, customer delight & brand visibility is also taken care of, and positive reviews and ratings drive online traffic.

Source: Mckinsey’s 2020 global consumer sentiment survey

Managing your supply chain is a demanding skill

Ensuring the safety of pet food in our globalized, complex world of trade and supply chain logistics can be tricky. We learned this the hard way that it requires an unwavering commitment to take special care and quality control procedures to ensure a safe and consistent logistics and storage of food grades. When pet food was largely grain-based, there was no great need for refrigerated square footage. However, refrigeration is becoming a great need for pet food producers, as consumers now want 'fresh' options for their pets. As the quality of the ingredients used in pet food increases, there is a surprising increase in the risk of safety issues. A whole new set of safety procedures and protocols is now required for facilities containing these kinds of costly ingredients.

Heightened customer expectations, massive advancements in technology, and the rise of omnichannel commerce are just a few of the trends reshaping the world of retail. In an industry already known for thin margins, these changes can increase cost pressures and uncertainty for retailers—all while opening the door to significant opportunities. ANS Commerce inventory management in a dynamic supply chain is based on end-to-end flexibility and the capacity to flex rapidly with increasing demand. Optimal quantity and timing of inventory in line with sales and production efficiency are crucial to allowing smart inventory capabilities and reducing waste.

As per Mckinsey’s survey, Health orientation increasingly drives reported shopping habits, especially among affluent consumers. Consumers think not only about their own well-being, but also about the environment. Specifically, they seek to reduce the negative effect of their shopping actions on the community. 79% of all customers claim that sustainable packaging is part of their buying decisions - always, typically, or at least occasionally. This figure is even higher among millennials (83%). They are willing to pay more for goods that have the least negative effect on the environment and to purchase products from brands that reflect their values.

ANS Commerce Warehousing and Logistics solutions go more profound than the standard challenges of the organization, transport, product flow, and communication as they extend beyond supply chain management, human resources, risk management, and security. The goal is to achieve adequate versatility to remain competitive while preserving the consistency of the product to customers. Our collaboration with more than 10 trusted distribution partners such as Amazon Flex and Flipkart Flite ensures timely delivery with optimized costs for domestic and foreign shipments, and even the inventory and warehouse management systems ensure robust growth and scalability.

After the recent distress that led to a slowdown is over, when store sales pick up again, retailers can’t expect a seamless return to before set norms. They must factor in the realities of the changes in the post-recession world. They will need to reset stores’ cost structures and prepare their workforce for the next normal. Consumers have altered their shopping and buying behavior during the recent times. For one, loss of income and declining consumer confidence have driven decreases in discretionary spending. However, the accelerated growth of e-commerce is a potentially longer-lasting behavioral shift. Retailers may see spikes in online shopping in categories that were predominantly store-based in the past. It is also likely that e-commerce would target customer groups that traditionally tended to shop offline, such as baby boomers and Gen Z’s. In short, the global economic slowdown has made a case for the transformation of retail stores into a virtual ‘burning site’. Forward-thinking retailers must redefine the position of their stores, streamline store operations, and reassess their store networks. More than ever, stores need to deliver unique customer service instead of merely acting as transactional spaces. To better account for evolving consumer tastes in the next standard, businesses must try to offer superior product-discovery experience.