Changing Paradigm of Consumer Experience Through Martech – A Case Study on Indian Online Retail Industry

Purpose: Retail selling is an inevitable economic activity in any country’s economy. In India, the retail industry contributes 10% of its GDP. The invention of the Internet and technological advancement in digital marketing has helped the online retail industry to grow exponentially. Digital advancement has created an environment where customers are more informed, hence chooser and demanding. Marketing technology or ‘Martech’ encompasses technology to reach online customers to provide pre-eminent customer experience, to meaningfully engage and retain them. The latest such technologies are Artificial Intelligence, Augmented/Virtual Reality, Internet of Things, Natural Language Processing, Block Chain Technology, etc. This paper is an exploratory study using secondary data, which revealed that many firms have already adopted and most others are willing to adopt such advanced technologies in the near future as they are convinced that such technologies can phenomenally change the marketing strategies. This study also explores the current status of retail industry and also the opportunities and challenges of adopting these technologies from marketers’ perspective. It also proposes suggestions from a user perspective, based on the analysis findings. Design Methodology: Developing a conceptual framework using primary and secondary data collected from various studies published by the govt, global research firms, blogs, and other internet articles. Findings: This paper revealed a dire need to adapt the marketing technology in the retailing industry for future survival. The analysis also revealed that the affinity for internet and online purchases is increasing exponentially hence the latest technology such as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Machine Learning, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality, and Natural Language Processing are tremendously revolutionising the customer experience and thereby increased level of Customer Engagement. Type of Paper: Case study-based Research Analysis