Brands
Loyalty’s no longer blind: India’s marketers say it’s earned, not bought
MUMBAI: In a world of swipe-right consumption and split-second brand switches, loyalty is less about freebies and more about frictionless delivery. This was the consensus at Indiantelevision.com’s Media Investment Summit 2025 during panel six, ‘Decoding the Evolving Indian Consumer: What Drives Loyalty in 2025?’ Moderated by Omnicom Media Group India CGO Anand Chakravarthy, the session dissected how Indian consumers are thinking, buying and staying (or straying) from brands today.
Featuring voices from pharma, beauty, wellness, QSR, BFSI, and heavy industry, the session proved that while brand allegiance may be waning, there’s a silver lining for those who can predict—and personalise—customer moments with precision.
Mahuya Chaturvedi of Century Paper framed loyalty as a “contract between buyer and brand”, akin to dating in a pre-app era. “It used to be purer”, she quipped, “fewer choices, fewer distractions. Now the moment that contract’s terms aren’t met—customers walk”.
She argued that brands must over-index on at least one pillar—price, performance, trust, or experience—to sustain recall. “In commoditised sectors like paper, scientific selling and product knowledge—not the product itself—drives repeat”, she noted.
Sayantani Das of Jumboking Burgers traced loyalty’s new anatomy, “It used to be about NFM (Net Frequency and Monitored value); now it’s about emotional bandwidth and physical availability”. She shared that metro station outlets triggered repeat behaviour simply by being the default option. “Loyalty is no longer a campaign, it’s a commuter habit”, she said.
For the healthcare crowd, loyalty isn’t convenience—it’s consequence. Pulak Sarmah of Sun Pharma stressed, “Consumers don’t obsess over brands like we do. They want reliable solutions. If Saridon says pain goes in five minutes, it better work in five”.
Ritu Mittal of Bayer Consumer Health added, “People in pain don’t want to experiment. Trust runs through families. That’s loyalty you can’t buy—it’s earned over generations”.
When discussing pharmacists’ roles in the ecosystem, she revealed how new launches like Saridon GO were backed by frontline chemist education. “Pharmacists aren’t just retailers—they’re trust brokers”, she said.
Krithika Sriram of PLIX noted that loyalty no longer depends on product quality alone. “Those are hygiene factors now. If you’re not helping customers in their wider journey—through diet plans, coaching, or credible education—you’re just another supplement on a shelf”, she said.
By offering custom meal plans alongside apple cider vinegar tablets, Plix increased stickiness without a discount in sight. “Transparency works”, she added. “We told consumers: nothing will change in seven days. Stick with us for 12 weeks—and it worked”.
For Nishant Nayyar of Kaya, loyalty is about staying relevant—physically and emotionally. “We realised if you close a retail outlet, loyalty drops. We’ve learned to stay at a customer’s moment of truth for as long as possible”, he said.
Kaya’s strategy involves using doctors as “influencers”, not celebrities. “Their authority on FDA-approved treatments becomes our marketing currency”, Nayyar explained. Kaya now releases digestible, science-backed video content to explain results without overwhelming jargon.
Drawing from her past life in banking and insurance, panelist Anjali (ex-BFSI, currently at D2C firm Dana) recalled, “Customers hated that we only called them once a year—to sell a renewal”. Her team countered by building content-based engagement models to create consistent touchpoints throughout the year. “Loyalty in BFSI isn’t about points. It’s about not ghosting your customer”, she said.
As the session closed, Chakravarthy prompted each panelist to finish the sentence: “In 2025, the future of loyalty lies with brands who…”
Their answers said it all:
. “…stand for something and do more than transactional strategies” — Krithika Sriram
. “…solve real-life consumer problems and create moments of delight” — Nishant Nayyar
. “…humanise science”— Ritu Mittal
. “…are radically transparent” — Sayantani Das
. “…are agile enough to evolve with each customer’s heartbeat” — Mahuya Chaturvedi
. “…offer extreme personalisation through AI” — Pulak Sarmah
In short, loyalty isn’t dying—it’s diversifying. And in 2025, it seems you don’t own your customer. You earn them, repeatedly.
Brands
33 per cent of women believe the salary scale is rigged: Naukri report
Voices @ Work study finds rising calls for equal pay audits and lingering bias
MUMBAI: Progress may be visible in India’s workplaces, but many women still feel the need to tread carefully. A new report by Naukri reveals that one in two women hesitate to disclose marriage or maternity plans during job interviews, worried that such information could influence hiring decisions.
The findings come from the second edition of Naukri’s annual Voices @ Work International Women’s Day report, titled “What Women Professionals Want.” Drawing insights from more than 50,000 women across over 50 industries, the survey sheds light on evolving workplace aspirations alongside the biases that continue to hold women back.
One of the report’s most striking insights is the growing demand for equal pay audits. The share of women calling for regular pay parity checks has climbed to 27 per cent this year, up from 19 per cent a year ago. The demand now stands alongside menstrual leave as the most sought after workplace policy.
Interestingly, the call for pay transparency grows louder higher up the income ladder. Nearly half of women earning between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore annually say equal pay audits are a priority, suggesting that pay gaps become more visible as women move up the career ladder.
At the same time, confidence and ambition appear to be rising. About 83 per cent of women say they feel encouraged to pursue leadership roles, a significant jump from 66 per cent last year. Cities in southern India appear particularly supportive, with Hyderabad leading the way as 86 per cent of respondents there reported encouragement to step into leadership positions. The education sector recorded the highest sense of encouragement at 87 per cent.
Yet the report also highlights a growing trust deficit around pay equity. Nearly one in three women, or 33 per cent, say they do not believe men and women are paid equally at their workplace. That figure has risen from 25 per cent last year, pointing to widening perceptions of disparity as careers progress.
Bias in hiring and promotions continues to be the biggest hurdle. About 42 per cent of respondents say workplace bias is the main challenge for women from diverse backgrounds. The concern is consistent across major metros, with Chennai and Delhi NCR reporting similar levels.
Reluctance to discuss personal milestones during hiring processes is also widespread. While 34 per cent overall said they hesitate to share marriage or maternity plans in interviews, the anxiety increases with experience. Among professionals with 10 to 15 years of work experience, the figure rises to 40 per cent.
Info Edge group CMO Sumeet Singh, said the data reflects both progress and unfinished work. “Behind every data point in this report is a woman who is ambitious. The fact that 83 per cent feel encouraged to lead is something to celebrate. However, the fact that one in two still hide their marriage or maternity plans in interviews tells us the work is far from done. As India’s leading career platform, it felt not just important but necessary for us to shine a light on these gaps through the second edition of our report,” he said.
The report suggests that while ambition among women professionals is growing, structural changes around pay transparency, fair hiring and supportive policies will be key if workplaces hope to keep pace.
