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Tag: shopping trends

  • Interpublic group acquires Mumbai-based ecommerce intelligence firm Intelligence Node

    Interpublic group acquires Mumbai-based ecommerce intelligence firm Intelligence Node

    MUMBAI: For clients, looking for granular information about shopping habits of customers online – especially in this increasingly D2C world – it surely is an intelligent move by . marketing solutions provider the  Interpublic Group. It has forked out, according to media reports $100 million, to acquire 12 year old Mumbai-based ecommerce intelligence platform Intelligence Node. The company which was co-founded by CEO Sanjeev Sularia and chief data analytics officer Yasen Dimitrov, serves top notch clients such as Jockey, Unilever, Macy’s, Li & Fung, Tesco, Mobly, Tata and Landmark. 

    This strategic move significantly enhances Interpublic’s commerce capabilities, providing clients with real-time product and market intelligence to understand shopper trends, drive sales growth and optimise performance in the dynamic digital marketplace. 

    Intelligence Node’s cutting-edge technology leverages AI to aggregate and analyse billions of data points across over 1,900 retail categories in 34 global markets, delivering dynamic insights into product attributes, media, pricing, availability, promotions, and consumer sentiment. 

    Through this acquisition, Interpublic will seamlessly integrate these rich data streams into its existing and future commerce solutions. Intelligence Node strengthens Interpublic’s ability to build and deploy agile commerce solutions, streamlining operations and maximising ROI for companies through faster, more informed decisions across product development, marketing, sales activation, and retail media.

    The aggregated commerce and transaction data from Intelligence Node enhances and complements audience data and identity solutions within Acxiom, the global data leader within Interpublic. Together, the companies create a comprehensive view of customers and products, offering brands and retailers unmatched capabilities to maximize market share. Intelligence Node will be leveraged across Interpublic’s portfolio of agencies and the company will maintain its current brand name.

    “As commerce and retail media continue their rapid convergence, actionable data is paramount to maximising brand performance,” said Interpublic group CEO Philippe Krakowsky Interpublic. “Intelligence Node’s robust platform provides the real-time market-wide signals that brands need to optimise retail media campaigns, commerce strategies, and ultimately drive performance in today’s highly competitive digital landscape.”

    By integrating Intelligence Node’s capabilities, Interpublic will offer clients:

    * Real-Time Market Agility:Dynamic data insights empower companies to react instantly to market shifts, competitor actions, and emerging consumer trends.
    * Precision Retail Media Optimization:Granular data on competitor advertising activity enables more effective and efficient retail media investment.
    * Digital Content and Search Optimisation: Intelligence Node streamlines content management and optimization leveraging generative AI to ensure product description pages are resonant, highly visible, and SEO optimised.

    “Joining forces with Interpublic allows us to deliver a best in class combined solution to companies navigating the complexities of today’s commerce landscape,” said  Sularia. “Together, we can provide the comprehensive data, advanced analytics, and strategic expertise needed to win market share and drive sustainable growth.”

    (Picture courtesy: Intelligence Node website)

  • Indian mobile shopping purchases on the rise: MasterCard survey

    Indian mobile shopping purchases on the rise: MasterCard survey

    MUMBAI: Purchasing patterns in the country are seeing a change. While visits to the kirana store continue, online purchases made through mobile phones in India have grown by more than 100 per cent over the past two years. This indicates a steep upward trend in e-commerce propelled by expediency, reveals the MasterCard Online Shopping Survey 2014, which covered 14 countries across Asia Pacific.

     

    China continues to lead the chart among mobile shoppers with 70.1 per cent of the respondents polled having used the device to make online purchases. India (62.9 per cent) and Taiwan (62.6 per cent) follow next with Thailand (58.8 per cent) and Indonesia (54.9 per cent) rounding off the top five.

     

    Some of the key takeaways of the report:

    -India ranks second with 81.2 per cent of respondents accessing the internet for online shopping while China leads with 86.6 per cent.

     

    -95 per cent of Indian respondents with a mobile phone have access to the internet through it (up by 20.2 points since 2012)

     

    -The number of Indian respondents, who have made at least one purchase in the last three months, has increased from 70.9 per cent in 2012 to 94 per cent in 2014.

     

    -The major factors impacting online purchases include the security of payment facility (86.8 per cent) followed by the price or monetary value of items (86.6 per cent) and convenient payment methods (86.2 per cent)

     

    MasterCard South Asia area head Vikas Varma said, “Digital payment solutions like mobile banking apps and digital wallets will go a long way to further enrich the purchasing experience for the evolving consumer. The survey shows that there is a strong need to provide not only secure, but also convenient payments solutions as consumers move to a more digital and sophisticated lifestyle.”

     

    Furthermore, in India the top three reasons for driving smart phone shopping were the ability to shop on the go (47.7 per cent), the growing availability of apps that makes it easier to shop (45.3 per cent) and convenience (38.1 per cent). Mobile phones/mobile gadget apps topped the list of items purchased through smartphones (28.8 per cent), followed by tickets for cinema and movie theatres (26.7 per cent) and clothing/fashion accessories (24 per cent).

     

    For online transactions, the most common payment methods used are debit cards and cash. New mobile technologies are also gaining traction among consumers in the region, with mobile banking apps having the highest awareness-familiarity levels (38.3 per cent) followed by in-app shopping (28.7 per cent) and digital wallets (24.4 per cent).