Sri Lanka isn’t known for setting digital trends by any means. However, we do pick up on some very interesting trends from time to time, which have often taken off in other markets first. Therefore, as 2022 gets going, I think it’s time to think about potential digital trends that are likely to take off in Sri Lanka this year. Among the many trends that will be a part of consumers’ and brands’ digital behaviour, these are my top 7 predictions, in no particular order:
NFTs
NFTs, or non-fungible tokens are all the rage these days with lots of people having heard of them but very few having fully understood them. In fact, some of our own locally made NFTs have begun to hit the market. But what’s an NFT? Based on blockchain technology, NFTs are digital assets or tokens that cannot be replaced by any other token. Owning an NFT is like owning an original piece of art, you cannot replace that piece of art, it’s unique. Best part, NFTs can be traded like other digital assets, potentially netting the owner monetary gains in the future, or at least some good bragging rights. Brands are likely to see this emerging trend and will try to capitalize on it. Of course, market liquidity for NFTs in Sri Lanka is still low but we’re seeing some traction as of late.
Long-Term Influencer Partnerships
In case you haven’t noticed, influencers have become a regular part of the digital marketing mix in Sri Lanka. Everybody’s using them and it’s been quite effective. But as this method has matured, it warrants a “next step”, and that is long-term influencer partnerships. This means that brands will want to enter into long-term agreements with specific influencers that speak to their target audience, where these brands then become an intrinsic part of the lives of these influencers. Influencers have their work cut out and brands needn’t constantly look into every detail of the content created by influencers.
Conversational Commerce
People like interaction. That’s why “live support” and “online chat” and things like “WhatsApp” and “Facebook Messenger” support have become so popular. While brands are still largely using these platforms for customer service, it won’t be long before they pick up on the potential for sales and shift towards a conversational commerce approach. As we have seen in overseas markets, brands will start using these channels to talk to consumers (through automated and live means) to upsell, cross-sell or simply sell products and services by integrating e-commerce. Plus, it provides a veneer of personalization that other channels do not.
TIKTOK
Everyone’s getting on TikTok and the brands are following. The easily consumable format and the wide audience all make for excellent marketing tools. I believe the trend of marketing on TikTok is set to boom, with several high-profile brands considering the possibility of launching major campaigns on the platform. Brands are still trying to understand how the platform can be used, so many are still in the “experimental” phase. However, with experience, they will soon understand how to send out messages that fit with the brand and the platform. It’s great for providing customers with access to valuable, even complex information in a very approachable way.
Voice Search
Did you know that 20% of the searches in the Google App are now done by voice? That’s huge, and it’s a growing trend in Sri Lanka too. Particularly among the affluent segment, voice assistants and voice searches, both on mobile and at home, through smart tech such as Alexa, are becoming increasingly popular. Searching by voice is easy, but it’s different to typed searches, and marketers should be aware of this. For example, when it comes to SEO, while typed searches will do better with short-tail keywords, voice searches are more likely to contain and look for long-tail keywords. SEO will need to consider both going forward. It’s also important to remember that long-tail keywords are likely to generate much higher conversions than short-tail ones, which means it may even become more advantageous to tailor for voice search, as it becomes more popular.
Live Selling
It’s telemarketing for the digital age! Using a live feed, brands are now selling to consumers in real-time, through product demos, showcases and other interesting methods. Usually, this is accompanied by various discounts, offers or benefits if the product or service is purchased right now, live. Brands are likely to consider this approach and this is likely a trend that will pick up in Sri Lanka during this year, simply because it makes sense, it’s engaging, effective and people can make purchases from home and have stuff delivered to them.
Mobile Wallets
We’ve seen the emergence of digital wallets in Sri Lanka over the past few years, and we’re highly likely to see an influx in 2022. They are increasingly popular worldwide and digital wallet apps in Sri Lanka are now almost on par with major global payment apps in terms of quality of service. The plethora of savings and offers and discounts they provide are a huge attraction on top of the convenience. People may have been reluctant to embrace them earlier, but that’s just the way it is with new payment tech. There was a time when people didn’t want to switch from cash to cards, or in-person banking to online banking. But can you imagine life today without online banking or cards? It’s the same with all new and emerging tech; there’s a period of “resistance”, which I believe, for digital wallets, is giving way to a period of increased adoption.
Great initiatives like Lanka QR, which allow you to pay with your mobile using any Sri Lankan payment app are making mobile wallets even more attractive. We must also remember the huge Chinese population in Sri Lanka for whom mobile wallets are second nature. However, further integration of mobile payments with global providers like WePay, Google Pay and Apple Pay is needed to capture the widest possible audience.
The marketing potential through these apps is plentiful. We’re already seeing some great partnerships on top of partnerships when you consider how some local wallet apps have partnered with online gifting platforms, who in turn have partnered with tons of brands and retailers to make it easy to give gifts. This is just one example and it’s this kind of innovative, collaborative approach that is likely to yield phenomenal marketing success stories in the future. However, to truly enable this trend to take off, which will be beneficial to all stakeholders, businesses need to enable payments through mobile wallets.
Those are my 7 digital trend predictions for Sri Lanka this year. All the best for your marketing efforts in 2022!
About the Author
Wasaam has 15 years of experience that comprises Business Strategy, Marketing & Management. He has worked with clients in multiple industries including but not limited to Finance, FMCG, Retail, Telecom & Hospitality.
Apart from his daily involvement in managing the operations as CEO of Loops, he is also a Senior Lecturer for the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing, a Corporate Trainer, Dramatist, and Voicing Artist.
He holds a Professional Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK), in which he holds a Sri Lanka Prize for Marketing Planning. He also has a Masters in Business Administration (AUS). His guidance to the teams at Loops has helped the agency gain recognition for several awards for Creative and Digital excellence.