KOLKATA: Today, our digital devices have managed to shrink the world into our palms. And this is not a fancy slogan but the truth. As a business leader, it feels amazing and also overwhelming at times. Because although we have access to almost ‘everything’ happening globally, the entire civilization has changed with evolved priorities and preferences. But what’s more intriguing is, different audience groups have varying takes on such trends.
It’s the end of 2025, and one more digitally-advanced year is unfolding. We can now proudly say that we have compressed our entire worlds within the 20:9 smartphone screens.
In India alone, nearly 806 million people use the internet and 491 million among them are on social media. And 96% of people use smartphones to connect with the digital world. While these numbers seem like opportunities to the Managing Director of a digital branding company (Comval), I have recently started looking at them from the lens of behavioral psychology, traits and responses in a diverse audience. And what I found out is quite interesting.
A Drastic Shift In Preferences And Priorities
We are witnessing a major generational gap in the ways we consume digital content and get reciprocated by our virtual experiences.
Just a decade ago, people used to ‘search’ online for stuff they wanted to buy, shortlisted them, purchased them or left them on the carts.
Today, you rarely search. You browse through stuff and personalised ads pop up on your screens, one after another, until you are convinced to buy them right away. You’re also nudged on WhatsApp regarding cart abandonment until you go back and finish off the order.
We marketers smartly call it personalised retargeting, which has varied responses from different audience groups. While one group may block the automated messages, others seem to enjoy it.
And mostly, it’s the younger generations, who can’t or don’t want to ignore such personalised approaches. They like being pampered by brands, social media platforms and the internet at large. They mention brands and send collab requests, and it makes their day if those simple gestures get reciprocated through reshares and collab acceptance.
Just the way we, the millennials, used to feel when we got a new video gaming software.
Rapid Digitisation Is Influencing The Indian Mindset
If I’m to speak openly, people are spending more, traveling more and flaunting more. It’s like everyone is competing against each other virtually. eCommerce stores are mushrooming all over the internet. Currently, the number is more than 2.5 million.
Quick commerce services, like Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy, etc., are being exploited like crazy. The GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) of Indian quick commerce jumped from $0.5 billion in 2022 to $3.3 billion in 2024. In March 2025, these apps collectively generated more than 4 million daily orders.
And the GenZ only is not to blame here. Millennials too are happily contributing to these trends. And why not? You’re getting everything literally with ‘just a few clicks’.
However, one group (GenZ) seems to be more conscious even if they prefer the digital more. They can control their habits unlike other groups (the millennials), who seem to lose themselves more in trends. According to a recent survey, about 80% of GenZ customers wait for sales offers, and a little above 20% pay in full. Also, the former are 1.5 times more likely to compare prices on different platforms, ensuring their money isn’t wasted.
It seems that the ones more exposed to digitisation have a conscious, default way of not going overboard.
Finding Digital Balance Through A Multi-Generational Approach
Based on my observations, it can be said that digital balance in marketing, the corporate world and in real life can be achieved through a multi-generational approach. For example, we have a diverse workforce at Comval, including professionals across different demographics. Even in casual discussions, I find out about how they manage the growing digital influence in everything, from work to life in general. I gather information about their content preferences, shopping and traveling habits and even about what they like to share on social media.
Many times, those differ from my digital patterns, which, again, cater to how a different audience group might be thinking. We craft our strategies based on those real life observations so that those can come of use to real people, beyond bots or search engines. We have established a balance in our business activities by emphasising the changing priorities of multiple generations. And according to me, that’s the best way to approach the evolving digital landscape.
What do you think about this approach? Do let me know if you want to extend the conversation over a casual chat some day.