2020 has been a series of unprecedented events and times. The onset of the global pandemic and the social restrictions that followed have changed the way businesses work across industries. But it’s not all downhill. Adversity brings in several opportunities to navigate disruption, and that’s precisely the resilience with which the Indian economy seems to be adapting to trying circumstances.
Here’s a look at the industry-wise trends in the country:
Adopting all things digital
Reliance on digital platforms for shopping, entertainment, education, and work has increased since March 2020. Digital payment solution providers in India believe contactless payments are here to stay. According to Global Mobile Consumer Trends, there is a whopping 398% jump in daily active users on appsin India, indicating an unprecedented increase in the app user base. In the overall Media & Entertainment space, India saw a rise of 11.52% among app users. Gaming apps have seen the largest growth in India in terms of the number of new users, active users, and frequency of usage.
Many Indians have also started using fitness apps, fintech apps, EdTech apps, MedTech apps, and e-commerce apps. Healthcare companies plan to pursue innovation, which could create $400 billion in the next five years. There is also a rise in digitizing financial services, with video KYCs, open banking APIs, and AI adoption to provide real-time personalization leading the way for banking in the post-COVID era.
Signs of recovery in impacted sectors
With offices and retail outlets closed due to the nationwide lockdowns, more and more people work, shop, relax, and study from home using their devices. Companies that build and sell electronic devices are experiencing a massive increase in first-time laptop buyers. Sectors such as manufacturing, construction, travel, and hospitality were most impacted by COVID-19, thanks to massive layoffs, travel cancellations, and restaurant closures. These sectors hope for higher adoption among customers as states open up travel, tourism, and hospitality to support these fledgling businesses.
COVID-19 has altered how the infrastructure is monetized and has significantly affected the demand and revenue realization in projects across sectors. While some industries, especially transport and logistics, have witnessed a recovery in recent months, other sectors are still struggling. At Tata Capital, our teams have been working round the clock to support these impacted sectors with moratoriums and additional funding to survive the crisis.
While almost every two-wheeler and four-wheeler maker registered year-on-year growth last month as compared to October 2019, according to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), the auto sector is a long way to go still. The steel industry mainly focused on exports until domestic demand picked up. However, there are signs of recovery since August. Major steel players have ramped up their production capacity with an improving market, some going back to 100% production.
The rise of tech giants
When it comes to investments, stocks of technology companies such as Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, and Google now correspond to more than 20% of the stock market’s total worth, making them the world’s biggest publicly traded companies. These five companies have unprecedented reach into people’s lives with the lockdown caused by the pandemic.
A diversified earning system makes sure that revenue is collected from a variety of services. Brick and mortar companies heavily rely on people visiting their stores to make a profit. Many start-ups and middle-size companies depend on investors’ money to grow and innovate. However, the tech giants have their eggs spread over a variety of services. Amazon still has its revenue coming from online stores, subscription services, and web services. Video-conferencing apps such as Zoom and entertainment aggregator platforms such as Netflix use Amazon’s cloud services. The pandemic has caused people to use these services more often, which increases Amazon’s revenue. Similarly, Microsoft owns LinkedIn, which has seen a surge in users since the onset of COVID-19.
We live in an interconnected world with an ecosystem of businesses and partnerships, and nobody is immune to the effects of a hurting global economy. A shock typically creates a new order, and those companies that redirect and respond carefully to such shocks will come out unscathed. To sustain and thrive, one needs to carefully assess and analyze the possibilities and pivot to make the most of the opportunities to come.
Wondering how to successfully pivot your business from the consequences of the pandemic induced crisis? Reach out to us at Tata Capital.
16 December 2020
4 mins read
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