From vision to visibility: How AI is reshaping growth across markets

Time of India

07-06-2025

By Anuj Sidharth,
India's digital economy continues its rapid expansion, with the e-commerce market projected to reach $580 billion by 2030—$380 billion from B2C transactions and $200 billion from B2B. This growth, while encouraging, presents a complex challenge for brands: how to stand out and build lasting visibility in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
In today's hyper-connected environment, visibility is no longer an incidental benefit of market presence. It must be earned—through consistent storytelling, technological differentiation, and sustained customer engagement. The question facing many enterprises is not simply how to grow, but how to grow with clarity, credibility, and connection.
Across both B2B and B2C domains, businesses are realigning their strategies to reflect a shift in buyer behavior. Decision-makers—whether end consumers or enterprise customers—expect more than transactional value. They seek relevance, trust, and personalized experiences. To meet this demand, companies are adopting AI-driven analytics, enhancing digital platforms, and investing in omnichannel strategies to maintain continuity across customer touchpoints.
This shift is particularly relevant for enterprise leaders tasked with steering digital transformation. Technology is no longer just an enabler; it is central to how brands establish identity, differentiate offerings, and foster long-term engagement.
A critical demographic influencing this shift is Generation Z. By 2024, Gen Z accounted for nearly 30% of the global population and 27% of the workforce. Growing up alongside digital ecosystems, this group approaches technology not as a tool but as a native environment. They are discerning, performance-oriented, and deeply influenced by online communities.
Recent insights from a CMR survey highlight that 30% of Gen Z smartphone users prioritize high-performance gaming, and 57% actively engage in eSports. For brands operating in sectors like mobility, gaming, or content, this signals the need for precision-tuned experiences rather than mass-market messaging.
Capturing this market segment requires more than conventional marketing—it calls for ecosystem partnerships, co-creation models, and immersive engagement. Collaborations between hardware OEMs and software platforms are helping deliver more responsive products and quicker market entry, while also creating brand experiences rooted in authenticity and shared value.
One emerging trend is the rise of community-led engagement. This approach moves beyond brand promotion toward experience curation—where tech-savvy audiences are not just buyers but contributors to product evolution. Such models offer companies a way to build deeper resonance, gather insights early, and adapt rapidly to changing preferences.
Initiatives like the MediaTek Connect Program reflect this shift, bringing early adopters into the fold through product showcases, discussions on gaming and AI, and direct access to technology experts. These efforts show how brands can move from passive communication to participatory engagement, especially among younger, digitally native audiences.
Alongside demographic changes, geographic shifts are also reshaping India's digital consumption patterns. Tier-2 and tier-3 cities, once seen as peripheral, are now central to growth in premium tech products and smart devices. While tier-1 cities account for around 35% of premium smartphone sales, nearly 64% now come from smaller towns, with tier-3 markets growing nearly 20% year-over-year.
This surge is prompting companies to rethink outreach. Retailer education programs, for instance, are becoming critical for building product literacy and customer trust in emerging markets. Understanding local preferences, purchasing behavior, and digital adoption trends is key to crafting strategies that work beyond urban India.
For enterprise leaders—particularly those overseeing marketing, product innovation, and technology—growth today must be approached as a multidimensional goal. It is about visibility, yes, but also about resonance. It is about reach, but equally about relevance.
Whether it's engaging Gen Z through immersive experiences, collaborating with ecosystem partners, or deepening presence in high-growth regional markets, enterprises must build agility into their brand strategies. In an era defined by short attention spans and long-term disruption, visibility alone is insufficient. Brands must be seen—and remembered—for what they deliver, how they adapt, and who they serve.
In this dynamic landscape, those who invest in relevance, not just recognition, will lead the way forward.
The author is Director, Marketing & Corporate Communications, MediaTek India.
The views expressed are solely of the author and ETCIO does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETCIO shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organization directly or indirectly.