By Sohini Ganguly

A 2016 Google India and KPMG report called ‘Digital Classifieds in India 2020’, predicted that the digital classifieds industry in India will grow three-fold to become a $1.2 billion market by 2020. This included leading digital classifieds websites in India like Quikr, Sulekha, Just Dial, and Olx. Had it been any other sector, this may seem to be a distant goal considering the pandemic situation. However, the digital classifieds industry may well be on its way to achieve this target.

As the first wave of Covid-19 hit and the nation went into lockdown, it did seem like doom had been spelt for the classifieds sector. But eventually consumers seemed to have a newfound respect for their money and wanted to save even more. This is why, as the lockdown started lifting slowly, instead of diving into purchase of brand new products consumers preferred surfing second hand selling sites. Infact, even before the lockdown was lifted, the omni-channel goods’ resellers saw a significant surge in the demand for refurbished smartphones. As for Olx, it witnessed the rise of a new trend amongst its consumers where instead of just buying or selling, they indulged in both the activities on the same platform, that is buying on Olx and selling on Olx.

Speaking of the immediate impact of the pandemic, Vineet Sehgal, chief marketing officer, Quikr said, “While there was a lot of uncertainty in the industry when the world was first hit by Covid-19, we did see a muted response for a few weeks in the beginning as customers were looking more for essentials than other products. Our jobs vertical had seen a temporary blip in the overall applications for blue-collar job roles since both candidates as well as recruiters were sceptical about hiring needs. But now with people learning to live with it, all that is changing back towards normal and classified marketplaces like Quikr are beginning to see positive signs of growth. The engagement levels on our platform started going up again across several categories and have already exceeded pre-Covid levels too.”

Also Read: I think video commerce is going to explode: Sanjay Gupta, Google India

Observations from Quikrbazaar show that, in October, there was an increase in demand for electronics and appliances by 32 per cent as compared to pre-Covid times in January and saw a 96 per cent increase in the demand for furniture. However, in general the demand for used laptops was the highest during the lockdown period, considering the rate at which zoom calls and google meets went on in almost every household.

Similarly, Olx witnessed a massive surge in demand for second hand products, especially when it came to the demand for pre-owned cars. This segment went up by 133 per cent as more consumers opted for personal transportation owing to hygiene concerns. Apart from cars, Olx also witnessed an uptick in demand for pre-owned consumer durable products such as ACs, TVs, washing machines, and furniture, which is nearly twice in the non-metros for Q3, 2020 compared to Q1, 2020.

The trend on OLX also indicates the growing comfort of using online services in non-metros, catalysed by the pandemic.With the onset of the pandemic induced lockdown, consumers now spend the majority of their time at home. Owing to this situation, they are looking to upgrade their homes with budget-friendly options. Apart from this, sectors such as education making a digital shift along with the changing nature of the workplace has given an added impetus.

Sharing how the consumer expectations took a turn, Sapna Arora, regional head and chief marketing officer, Olx Autos Brand said, “One of the key changes in consumer expectations has been a low touch experience which has prompted the purchase process to move from offline to online. In the auto industry, almost 90 per cent of buying decisions are now taken online hence consumers will rely more on digital platforms to drive their purchase decisions. Brands will now have to adapt to this reality and increasingly shift to an omnichannel model. Additionally marketing strategies will need to focus more on innovations on the digital platforms competing for the consumers attention amidst clutter.”

Also Read: Real outrage or bot-rage?: Managing the fall-out of social media backlash

However, the immediate impact of the pandemic was not good for any industry, even the digital classifieds. To absorb the shock, these classifieds took some damage control measures and analyzed how the external factors affect customer experience on their platforms.

For example, sellers on the Olx platform were finding it difficult to close the deal due to lockdown restrictions. Hence the brand extended the paid ads for all the sellers free of cost while Olx Autos stores offered consumers an option of selling their car from their home via free home inspections and more.

Arora said, “We realised that consumer lifestyles were changing and they were largely at home hence we designed a marketing campaign to urge consumers to declutter their homes and sell what they do not use on Olx. Additionally we also showcased the selection of products from local artisans and urged our customers to shop local.”

Similarly, Quikr implemented stringent measures including warehouse and stock sanitization, contactless online payment options, and low contact deliveries, for the customers right from placing an order to delivery and installation at home.

Sehgal shared, “A week prior to the lockdown, we started sanitising our offices, educating our folks internally on the safety protocols, and prepared ourselves to work from home by setting up tools and laptops for a seamless transition. We saw consumer interest rise sharply for work-from-home products such as laptops, office furniture like study tables, and home furniture like sofas. We focused on this segment, by scaling up our offering to provide a safe end-to-end shopping experience especially at retail stores including safe, sanitized, and secure deliveries.”

As the world adjusts to the new normal, it is imperative for brands to stay relevant for customers and serve their new needs. To adapt to the new normal, these digital classifieds platforms have increased their focus on the products that consumers are demanding more as mobility remains restricted. For instance, Olx aims to focus more on Olx Autos, with the growth in demand for second hand cars, while Quikr aims to focus on the jobs, real estate, and services businesses as they turned more profitable at a vertical level after the pandemic hit.

Watch BE+ | Way forward mantras for post COVID world | Leading marketing leaders like Deepa Krishnan, Anurita Chopra, Samir Singh to Santosh Iyer, across sectors in the special video series