India has undergone a tremendous amount of transformation within the last two years; almost every single industry has faced disruption of some kind from retail, fashion, real estate, small businesses, and enterprises. And technology has played a crucial role in shaping this evolution. As industry and IT leaders forecast the newest, let’s take a closer look into the various post-covid business trends that have impacted several industries and businesses and where they are headed next.

Start-up IPOs will see a huge resurgence

Due to the instability of the global economy over the last two years, a majority of Indian industries have shut shop, including several Startups. All the same, there has also been a resurgence by angel investors in supporting the Indian Start-up ecosystem.

Many Startups are receiving continuous support from the investing community and have been proliferating. It has led them to reach a stage where they can leverage the opportunity of applying for an IPO in growing further and raising capital from public investors. According to EY research, 72 IPOs are listed on the Indian Stock Exchanges between January and September 2021, and the streak is only expected to grow as we move into 2022. (Source: SMEFutures)

Over the last year, various startups have had big IPO launches, such as Freshworks, Zomato, and Nykaa. The IPO streak will continue with the upcoming year for companies like Ola, Byju’s, and Delhivery.

Artificial Intelligence will become more accessible

AI technologies have been growing at an incredible rate over the last few years and will only speed up their pace within the next few years. With the rapid progression of AI technology and great SaaS providers such as Google and Microsoft that have utilized open source technologies in developing great solutions and products. AI and ML technologies have become more accessible than ever before and will see a greater adoption rate by small and medium businesses.

Voice-based devices and intelligent assistants like Alexa and Siri have become commonplace, especially as many SMEs are building similar features into their products. In this post-COVID world, it is essential to fulfill requirements and make the necessary transactions; businesses will have the flexibility to adapt AI-powered tools for fraud detection, analytics, and customer interaction.

Customer awareness has grown tremendously about innovative technologies, and it will continue to expand the customer base as well. Mobile connectivity and personalization are the most important trends as technology has helped users connect in a meaningful and seamless way.

Online Classrooms are going to become the “New Normal.”

With technological innovations, it became possible for the education industry to become more employable with more significant infrastructure and technology integration. The hope is to make the youth more self-reliant through skill-based education, envisioned in the National Education Policy. 

Blockchain in education is still in its early stages. Still, according to a Gartner survey conducted in 2019, almost 20% of higher educational institutions will be utilizing blockchain technology within the next two years. (Source: SMEFutures)

Educators can work on various trends in the education sector, including new technology tools such as blockchain, AR cloud, and Metaverse. Online learning is predicted to become even more accurate with the help of Metaverse that involves Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR & VR). These platforms are ideal for hosting large format virtual, almost realistic platforms as online classrooms will become more real-looking than ever before.

EV Manufacturing is all set to reach an all-time high

India is headed towards an electric future in terms of mobility due to the electrification of Indian transportation and vehicles. A vast majority of this growth is due to light electric vehicles, primarily 2 and 3 wheelers. From both a technical and commercial point of view, the use cases of LEVs have been deemed technically and commercially viable.

Electric vehicles are much closer to reaching critical mass and becoming more mainstream than ever before. Indian manufacturers have the opportunity to meet the rapidly growing demand for these vehicles but need a robust domestic manufacturing ecosystem in securing a supply chain for the critical components. The domestic market opportunities for EV motor controllers (2 & 3 wheelers) will reach around 8 million dollars by 2021. According to conservative industry projections, it is estimated that there will be a growth of 3000% up to 267 million dollars by the year 2025.

E-Commerce is going to become the new shopping staple

According to Shopify, more than 150 million people made their first-ever online purchase in the year 2020, and it is estimated that the Indian e-commerce market will grow up to US$111 billion by the year 2025 from US$46.2 billion. By the year 2030, it is estimated that it will reach US$ 350 billion, and experts estimate that there will be new trends to look out for in the year 2022, such as social e-commerce to offer personalized experiences and offerings in differentiating themselves from others.

Leveraging AI is an excellent step in creating a better customer experience, and there will also be a need to find creative ways in marketing themselves. India has been witnessing a great rush in the B2C e-commerce arena and experiencing growth in the B2B e-commerce segment!

The D2C Trends for the Indian market

There are more than 800 D2C brands, and the market is projected to grow by $100 billion by the year 2025. As the D2C sector becomes more community-driven than ever before, there will be a shift in increasingly moving towards further segmenting and slicing the audience in targeting customers based on locations, interests, and purchase behaviors. It includes targeting customers who have not bought a particular product in 6 months but have a high order value capacity that constantly addresses the consumer needs.

Data trends and AI are controlling customization in such a manner to help D2C brands understand consumer needs, which can elevate the entire customer experience. Furthermore, as times change, there will be an increased awareness regarding sustainability, conscious living, and living mindfully. As a result, consumers are making more informed decisions and choices with an inclination towards sustainable brands.

Understanding the landscape of WFH and Hiring Trends

Remote work is here to stay in the long run, especially within the digital and tech industries. According to a survey conducted by Nasscom and Indeed, more than 70% of IT companies are trying to adopt the hybrid work model. More than 66% of respondents have reported greater employee satisfaction by working remotely.

The hybrid work model is going to stay put until the year 2022. Still, it will be sector-specific as IT companies and allied industries are going to work with a hybrid approach, proliferating until a set-up is quickly initiated. Businesses will start looking at talent acquisition and how skilled experts can create opportunities for people with specific areas of expertise. On-demand experts, contractors, and asset-light business models will be one of the core fundamental business strategies in 2022.

Conclusion:

Indian business trends will shift tremendously with the post-pandemic scenario, and the above predictions highlight where our future is headed towards. Therefore, it is essential to have the right set of people on your team and train them with the right set of skills that would directly benefit them and the business in getting result-oriented outcomes for your business.

Doing so will be an excellent method of ensuring business continuity IT transformation, along with an infrastructure for your team. Learn more about life at Ashnik, by knowing more about our team members who have been working remotely with a single focus on providing the best open source solutions to people across the globe.