People are seeking offline experiences to escape screen fatigue: Kommune report

Kommune has partnered with its insights vertical, Stumble, to release its first culture report, 'Consumed: A Deep Dive Into Consumer Culture In India.' This report explores both online and offline consumer culture and behaviour in India.

This report offers tangible and actionable takeaways for brands and creators, using relevant case studies to support their analyses. While most reports are tailored to highlight the products or offerings of the brands supporting them, 'Consumed' is a no-agenda report that only seeks to capture the understanding of the zeitgeist of our times. The insights are gleaned from research reports and insights from over 100 experts across 17 sectors like media, music, cinema, literature, and entrepreneurship, including artists, marketers, strategists, creators, and entrepreneurs, each of whom brings a distinct voice. The experts who have contributed to the report include Tanmay Bhat, Viraj Seth, Smriti Kiran, Amit Varma, Roshan Abbas, Mandovi Menon, Reema Maya, and more.

It dives into five 'Mega Trends', each a cultural wave shaping India's content and consumption landscape. These Waves are composed of 'Ripples', micro trends that explain how these forces uniquely operate and create opportunities. Lurking beneath are 'Undercurrents', warning signs, and nascent forces that savvy individuals and businesses should note. The five mega trends paint a vivid picture of modern India: India + Bharat, Default Mode: Online, Compulsive Convenience Vs Conscious Consumption, Worlds of One, and Humans Rewired.

These trends offer a roadmap for planners, brands, creators, and agencies to navigate the complexities of the Indian consumer market in 2025. By understanding these forces, marketers can develop more targeted and impactful campaigns that resonate with the evolving needs and desires of Indian audiences. Additionally, with lines blurring between creators and consumers, we witness the rise of a burgeoning new class, the Neo Creator. This helps drive democratic content creation, fostering creative careers, redefining social capital, and opening up new opportunities for brands through the creator economy.

'Consumed' has tactfully created pathways for innovation by combining primary research methodologies with meticulous study of the success stories of brands like Duolingo, Try Guys, Reliance Jio, Mokobara, Ather Energy, and Beco spanning across 17 sectors.  

Culture on speed-dial

Key Trends Shaping India’s Consumer Landscape, the five 'Mega Trends' identified in the report include:  

1. Default Mode: Online 

One day, we logged in to the internet, and we never left. This section captures the omnipresence of our online engagement, transforming consumers into voracious content consumers. It offers insight into how creators and brands must align their voices, identities, and offerings to foster genuine connections.  

2. India + Bharat 

This trend emphasises the diversity within India, advocating for brands to adopt hyperlocal strategies that resonate with specific regional identities.  

3. Compulsive Convenience vs. Conscious Consumption

Here, the report explores the tension between the desire for instant gratification and a growing interest in mindful, intentional purchasing behaviours.  

4. Worlds of One

This trend reflects how individuals are curating personal experiences and seeking community and belonging while grappling with feelings of isolation.  

5. Humans Rewired

This trend examines how technology's integration into daily life is reshaping human interactions and societal structures, raising critical questions about our digital future.  

Here are a few takeaways. 

• The rise of Neo-Creators blurs the line between content makers and consumers. This fosters parasocial relationships with their audience.
• As on-demand content and digital streaming are on the rise, consumers are seeking curated content while dealing with FOMO on what’s beyond. 
• There is an uptick in people wanting to unplug, seeking IRL extensions of their URL personas, giving rise to phygital communities like Cubbon Reads, Zomato’s District, and Nike Run Club.
• The Indian diaspora is growing. It's important to find ways to stay connected, and hence, how we represent ourselves online is becoming a crucial part of our identity.
• People are seeking offline experiences to escape screen fatigue. While the idea of 'buying experiences, not things' was popular, we often treat experiences as disposable objects; in fact, we hardly see things and experiences as different at all. 
• The digital divide is widening. This creates a two-tiered world: those who are digitally connected and those who are not. India is a stark example of this divide.
• People are increasingly using credit to buy things they can't afford, leading to a debt crisis. While financial literacy is improving, the credit boom is a major concern.
• Social media has changed our friendships, where we now microdose our friendships through soft check-ins and passive interactions – such as sending memes to each other and reacting to them without actually having a conscious interaction.  

Roshan Abbas, Founder of Kommune India, says, “At Stumble, we're cultural soothsayers decoding today's technicolour chaos. As we went through reports and gathered opinions, we peeked into our crystal ball of post-pandemic trends, speaking to experts with surprising insights and tomorrow's zeitgeist of our times. The output both surprised us and helped us make sense of our whirlwind present and glimpse the future that's already here.”