MAM
The potential of AI in personalising festive shopping experiences
Change is the only constant in life and nowhere is the more evident example than the marketing industry undergoing a significant transformation. The introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI like ChatGPT, has provided marketing teams with several options to reach out to their customers. With festival season approaching the Indian subcontinent, brands are all set to make the most of AI technologies and maximise their sales; they allow customers to immerse themselves in personalised shopping experiences by anticipating what they want to buy before making their own decisions. Moreover, AI along with machine learning and deep learning goes beyond conventional personalisation and produces relevant and customised ads for specific customers.
Considering the diverse implementations of AI in marketing, Statista conducted a marketers’ survey in India in 2023. Approximately 42 per cent of respondents revealed that their organisation is now in the trial phase of implementing AI into their marketing strategies. In contrast, over 9% of them stated that their companies have fully integrated these modern technologies into their marketing strategies. This increase in numbers reflects the numerous benefits of AI, including data-driven customisation, precision targeting, return on ad spend (ROAS), and so on.
Data-driven personalisation
The increasing popularity of artificial intelligence over the last two-three years has brought about a revolutionary shift in conventional marketing processes. The concept of personalisation has gone old with hyper-personalisation gaining momentum. By employing real-time data to deliver contextually relevant information, hyper-personalisation delivers more real-time and individualised experiences.
Personalisation is the activity of gathering customer data, analysing their preferences and behaviour and providing personalised experiences. On the other hand, Hyper-personalisation provides tailored information based on the customer’s present context, geographic location and even time. As a result, consumers are enjoying their shopping experiences both in-store and online. Based on the InMobi research, 83 per cent of Indian customers raised their shopping budget in 2023, indicating their satisfaction with improved marketing strategies.
Gen AI conversational chatbots
While traditional chatbots provide one-way communication leading to a monotonous shopping experience, generative AI chatbots assist brands in performing two-way communication with customers. For instance, a customer wants to purchase a t-shirt online. A standard chatbot might not understand the customer’s requirement for t-shirts with a “V-neck” or “round neck.” However, a Gen-AI bot can recognise it and will precisely present the buyer with relatable t-shirts. This means that the customers can ask direct queries and receive appropriate options, making conversational commerce a go-to option for customers.
Precision targeting
Companies may now get unparalleled insight into the complexities of consumer behaviour and preferences by leveraging the power of artificial intelligence. This comprehensive data enables the construction of highly targeted marketing strategies that appeal to certain audience segments. For instance, Google provides tools and insights to help marketers identify customers, measure success and modify their approaches in real-time. Companies may use Google Ads to acquire new consumers during peak hours by setting a new customer acquisition objective for performance max and search campaigns.
Enhanced return on ad spend (ROAS)
A smart marketing ROAS employs powerful machine learning algorithms to evaluate a company’s marketing actions and outcomes. By comparing current and previous efforts, AI delivers a full picture of their performance. In addition, with the implementation of AI, creative marketing techniques are identified based on enormous volumes of data, like marketing reports, industry trends and customer behaviour patterns. This becomes extremely useful for the brands during the peak festival season.
Conclusion
AI in marketing is not just the latest buzzword but rather a disruptive force. By adopting AI in marketing, companies can gain benefits with more personalised, efficient and successful campaigns. This, in turn, helps in substantially improving consumer experiences and achieving better outcomes. The impending festive season in India will provide several possibilities for marketers to boost brand value and sales. Companies may use generative AI and hyper-personalisation to transform client interactions and achieve success in a variety of industries, including e-commerce, grocery, and fashion. However, it is critical to note that, while AI may assist businesses with data-driven insights, it cannot replace the amount of human creativity and intuition required for effective marketing efforts.
The article has been authored by ETML co-founder & COO Amitek Sinha.
MAM
Beacon Group appoints Dr Rajesh Patel as Group CEO
36-year healthcare veteran to lead Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek, Biogeny.
MUMBAI: A new chief, a fresh diagnosis and a sharper prescription for growth. Beacon Group has appointed Dr Rajesh Patel as its Group Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2026, signalling a decisive push to scale its presence in the diagnostics and IVD space. Patel steps into the role with 36 years of experience across the healthcare and diagnostics industry, bringing a career shaped by leadership roles spanning sales, marketing, business development and operational strategy. His mandate is both expansive and precise: to steer the group’s overall strategic direction while tightening coordination across its three core entities Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek and Biogeny Diagnostics.
In practical terms, that means driving cross-company synergies, accelerating market expansion and strengthening organisational capability areas increasingly critical as diagnostic players compete for scale in a fragmented yet rapidly evolving healthcare ecosystem. The group is positioning itself to capture unmet demand across chain laboratories, key accounts and standalone labs, segments that remain underserved despite growing diagnostic needs.
The appointment comes at a time when the In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) sector in India is entering a more competitive and innovation-led phase, with companies focusing not just on product pipelines but also on service delivery, integration and customer-centric models. Beacon’s leadership appears to be betting that Patel’s execution-focused approach can help translate ambition into operational momentum.
Welcoming the appointment, Chairman Dr D K Joshi described Patel’s induction as a strategic move aligned with the group’s long-term vision, emphasising the role of leadership depth in navigating the next phase of growth.
For Beacon Group, the message is clear, in a sector where precision matters, leadership is the new differentiator—and this appointment is intended to set the tone for what comes next.
