60% of micro and small Indian retailers to invest in AI and ML to stay competitive: Zoho Survey

Time of India

9 hours ago

–Zoho, the global technology company headquartered in Chennai, today announced that the Indian retail sector is undergoing a dramatic transformation, with 60% of businesses planning to adopt AI and ML by 2030 to stay competitive, and 44% betting on AI-powered personalisation to enhance the shopping experience for their customers. These findings were revealed in The Indian Retailer Survey, launched on the occasion of MSME Day. Zoho Commerce, the company's comprehensive commerce platform, surveyed over 2,700 MSMEs across India to highlight key trends, opportunities, and challenges that are shaping the country's retail sector.
"Indian MSMEs are creating a pivotal shift in the retail sector," says Prashant Ganti, Vice President, Global Product Strategy, Finance and Operations Platform, Zoho. "Our study shows that embracing a seamless online and offline selling strategy, coupled with the adoption of the right tools, including AI, to enhance the buyer experience, is essential for growth and future-proofing a retail business. This shift requires a modern platform that is both intuitive for customers and agile for retailers. With Zoho Commerce, we are helping businesses build, market, and manage their online stores with ease, provide personalised customer experiences, and sell globally across multiple channels.'
Six out of ten MSMEs stated that they have adopted an
omnichannel selling strategy
, operating in both online and offline channels, with the majority (75%) of them claiming this expands their reach and customer accessibility; 68% of retailers reported an equal revenue share from both retail channels. The survey found that Indian retailers are increasingly prioritising their online presence to stay relevant and competitive. In fact,
82% of offline retailers want to go digital, the marketplace being the most preferred platform for sales
.
Despite the shift online, the physical retail experience still holds value. According to the survey,
71% of businesses say customers shop in-person to touch and see products before buying.
As per the retailers,
personalised in-store service (66%), and instant product access (59%)
are the other top reasons for consumers to prefer an in-store experience. Interestingly, nearly 50% of retail MSMEs considering a physical presence said they prefer to start with pop-up stores as they are flexible and and cost-effective. The survey also found some key challenges that retailers face when it comes to maintaining a seamless omnichannel experience. Around 60% of retail MSMEs cited facing issues in logistics and supply-chain management, while 57% found the operational costs high for physical stores.
Consumers prefer Speed, Convenience, and Tech-enabled Experiences
Around 57% of retailers identified faster delivery as the most critical customer demand, with over half of the online retailers seeing increased interest in same-day delivery. Businesses cite convenience (82%) and competitive pricing (71%) as top motivators for online shopping.
Meanwhile, technology is revolutionising in-store experiences as well. Nearly 70% of the respondents now offer
mobile payments, while others are adopting tablets for product browsing (66%) and kiosks for instant ordering (50%).
Features such as
digital reviews, online discounts, and AI-powered personalisation are making physical stores deliver the convenience and interactivity of an online store.
Social Media: The Top Customer Touchpoint for Indian Retailers
Social media emerged as a key discovery and engagement channel for Indian retailers, with 72% of businesses citing it as their primary customer touchpoint, followed by search engines (67%) and marketplaces (60%). Apart from discoverability, retailers are also leveraging social media platforms as a prominent source of customer engagement, with 61% of digital businesses and 30% of offline businesses collecting customer feedback from the platforms.
Zoho Commerce Enhances Platform to Meet Evolving Retail Demands and Support Omnichannel Selling
In line with the findings from The Indian Retailer Survey, Zoho is unveiling a new version of its comprehensive commerce platform,
Zoho Commerce
, that helps businesses build, market, and manage their online store. The enhanced platform delivers a redesigned, intuitive user interface with over 15 modern online store templates for rapid digital store front creation, and native mobile applications for both Android and iOS, enabling seamless store management from anywhere. The platform enables businesses to sell digital downloads, manage loyalty point programs, offer multi-currency checkout, and track and recover cart abandonment.
Zoho Commerce now also supports social selling, enabling retailers to sell using multiple channels, including WhatsApp. Customers can view the catalogue from the business profile, add items to the cart, and automatically transition to the online store for a smooth checkout experience. The platform also offers end-to-end order lifecycle management and workflow automation for streaming internal processes for retailers. Businesses operating in B2B and wholesale selling can manage quote requests, price negotiations, and set credit limits as well.