The TOP 5 industries-My pick for 2020

As this decade comes to an end, we can look back and take stock of the changes in the world of marketing in India and the world. From laptops to the use of smart phones. From long copy ads to bite-sized communication. From Bollywood superstars to YouTube celebrities. From cable TV to Netflix. Rattles to iPads. From auto haggling to Uber. From Global to Glocal and back to Local.

In the midst of all these shifts, there has also been an evolving sense of aspirations and lifestyle choices among consumers. This change has dictated what people buy and how they buy it. It is the core of all business potential for the future.

Seeing these trends in consumers, here are the 5 INDUSTRIES I believe will be the hot cakes in the coming 5 years in India! They will probably not see a slowdown like other industries and will continue on a growth path for the next decade if not more:

1. Education and E-learning

Many people have already made a lot of money in this industry in the last 5 years. But this industry is only getting started in my opinion. As rationalization starts to happen, the education sector will get into the 5th gear and will truly excel offline. In the online space, the potential is endless. India has become the second largest market for e-learning after the US! Byju’s is one brand that will stand to gain hugely as e-learning industry is expected to grow by 8x to $1.96 billion in 2021 (KPMG report). The user base is pegged at 9.6 million by 2021 alone and there are already nearly 3500 start ups in this sector. As the decade progresses, we will see niche players come in and try to provide very specialized services to consumers to gain market share.

2. HealthCare and fitness

India’s healthcare market may see a threefold jump in value terms to reach $ 372 bn by 2022. The healthcare industry has become one of India’s largest sector- both in terms of revenue and employment. Driven by rising incomes, greater health awareness and increasing access to insurance (Source-IBEF)

• By 2020, India is expected to rank amongst the top 3 healthcare markets in terms of incremental growth. The hospital industry is expected to grow 15-16% CAGR, and reach $8.6 trillion by 2022.
• By 2020, the healthcare information technology market is expected to grow 1.5 times from current $ 1 bn. Medical tourism is expected to touch $9 billion by 2020.
• By 2022, the diagnostics market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20.4% to reach $ 32 bn from $ 5 bn in 2012

3. Stuff for Children

This is possibly the most dramatic aspirational change that has come about in India. With more and more parents traveling abroad, and also with dual income families, the disposable income to spend on children has increased multi fold along with their aspirations. The international exposure has created desires among parents and added to their willingness to shower their children with gifts with things which are nice to buy but not a necessity. The middle class and upper middle class in India is also doing much better than their previous generation, so this has led to a surge in consumption for kid’s products unlike their own parents. Today the variety of things on sale for kids is as good as that for an adult, if not more. This trend is expected to continue and will also fuel the growth of players like Disney, Hamley’s who are into kids’ gaming, animation series, movies, gadgets, toys, clothing, accessories etc.

4. Travel and Hospitality

We all know that the millennial and post millennial population is travelling more than ever before. The world is becoming their bucketlist and this trend makes this industry very lucrative. Also with the launch of Airbnb, MakeMytrip and other online portals, the ease of booking has ensured that more and more people can travel. Falling air ticket prices and increasing number of airports have also added to this aspiration along with the services of Uber worldwide. I see this industry going from strength to strength even in the future, both in India and abroad. Culinary sector will also see a massive surge as niche players come in offering unique food stories and health benefits. Hotels and resorts will see growing demand but so will green practices and waste handling solutions. Story-telling is big in this industry and consumers will opt of eco-friendly practices more and more.

Travel and Tourism being the largest service industry in India was worth $234 bn in 2018. The industry has become the third-largest Foreign Exchange Earner in India with a 17.9% growth in Foreign Exchange Earnings (in rupee terms) in March 2018 over March 2017.

According to The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), tourism generated $240 bn or 9.2% of India’s GDP in 2018 and supported 42.67 mn jobs which is 8.1% of its total employment.

5. IT and IoT

This is one industry that will quietly make it’s way through exponential growth in India. As our manufacturing in India matures, the need for efficiency will drive the demand for IT and IoT in the industrial sector. Data analytics, software development and automation will be the need of the hour for good companies. The same will apply to other businesses where resources are getting expensive and time is of the essence. IT will see a big boom in the HR space as well, along with agriculture. And IoT will bridge the gap between hardware and software in the coming years seamlessly and will also help in mass personalization which will be more and more in demand. Finally, Blockchain technology in healthcare and banking will also see an upward trajectory.

So these are the top 5 industries to watch out for in the next decade according to me. Am sure there are others with equally promising trends and I would love to know from you all on the same.