With less than a week to go for Diwali, marketers have rolled up their sleeves to light up their MarTech game.

A recent report by Adjust and data.ai revealed that there has been an exponential increase in app installs and session lengths across all verticals that have been analysed as compared to the previous year. In 2022, shopping app installs and sessions during Diwali week (Oct. 22 - 26) were 47% and 14% higher than the 2022 average. Additionally, food & drink app revenue events were 38% above the yearly average during Diwali week.

The festive season has long been a beacon of opportunity for businesses, as families come together to indulge in shopping. As the Adjust report shows, in recent years, this tradition has taken a digital twist, with the emergence of e-commerce and the evolving landscape of martech.

Tweaking the Martech Game

Consequently, for marketers, it's a season that demands not just the customary decorations, but also a unique approach to their MarTech strategies.

The reason is simple – during Diwali, consumer behaviour undergoes a dramatic shift. People are not just shopping; they're seeking experiences, meaningful connections, and the thrill of gifting.

MarTech experts suggest that to capture the hearts and wallets of this audience, marketers must recalibrate their MarTech strategies, introducing a touch of magic that aligns with the spirit of the season. Like Ankit Grover, lead integration director, Wondrlab network says, a tweak in the martech strategy is not just advisable, but often necessary.

“The festive surge alters consumer habits, necessitating real-time analytics, personalised campaigns, and advanced data integration. We incorporate festive-specific metrics like Diwali shopping trends and it's a necessity rather than strategy,” shared Aabhinna Suresh Khare, Chief Digital & Marketing Officer and Head of Strategy, Bajaj Capital.

In 2022, TV brands spent mostly during the festive period, while home appliances had 2.5X GRPs (Gross Rating Point), paints category had 4X GRPs, and branded jewellery had 9.5X GRPs during this period as compared to the non-festive period in 2022, according to Deloitte India.

Delving more on the above statistics, Irvinder Ray, Executive Director, Deloitte India says that to target specific demographics that are more active during the festive season, brands may need to fine-tune their marketing strategies by adjusting ad placements, messaging and timing.

What happens when this fine tuning goes wrong?

Failing to adapt MarTech strategies to the changing consumer behaviour during the festive season can be akin to missing the sleigh for marketers, experts believe. A lack of customisation and personalisation may lead to generic campaigns that fail to resonate with the festive spirit and the diverse preferences of consumers.

It thus is not merely a missed opportunity; it's a risk of alienating clients who are inundated with generic messaging during this time.

Rajat Abbi, Vice President- Global Marketing, Chief Marketing Officer, Schneider Electric India, says that for brands, it is important to adapt martech strategies to suit the unique dynamics of the entire market landscape during the festive season. “While the impact of the season may be different according to different categories, the season provides an excellent opportunity to engage with clients. It is here that martech tools can be leveraged to send personalised offers tailored to the specific needs and preferences of customers,” he added.

Martech Budgets Shoot Up

While recent reports have highlighted how Indian marketers are a tad hesitant to allocate budgets to martech, the festive season seems to have changed the game. The marketing war chests have opened and marketers are going all in.

For instance, Mahesh Narayanan, Chief Marketing Growth Officer, Netcore Cloud, shared that marketers are eager to utilise generative AI-powered martech tools to improve personalisation, campaign effectiveness, and overall customer engagement. “As a strategic investment, marketers increase their martech budgets to drive greater growth and profitability,” he said.

Both Khare and Abbi also agree that the festive season requires them to up their martech budgets. “With higher engagement and conversion rates expected, we allocate more to martech, targeting specific Indian festivities and leveraging increased disposable income during this period. The euphoria allows us to invest wisely too,” Khare said.

According to the data shared by National Payments Corporation of India, India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions saw their highest-ever value in October, touching Rs 17.16 trillion. This is 42 per cent higher in value terms compared to Rs 12.12 trillion last year.

Building on this, Grover says that it is quite evident that the shopping frenzy begins much before the festivities. “With the recent data that shows that digital transactions recorded by UPI surged by a whopping 40 per cent in October compared to the previous year, marketers should indeed allocate a higher budget to martech at the onset of the festive season,” he added.

He further explained that whether it’s investing in advanced analytics, increasing ad spend or deploying chatbots for better customer support, the extra budget can give brands the edge they need to stand out in a crowded marketplace during the festivities.

However, it turns out that not all marketers believe in tweaking the martech strategy & allotting higher budgets just during the festive season.

Karan Kumar, Group Chief Marketing & Growth Officer, ART Fertility Clinic, feels that an investment as strategic as any martech decision usually cannot be influenced by tactical short- term influences like festive season. “Honestly I don't see anything spectacularly changes in your martech journey just because Diwali is around the corner!”