Digital Evolutions
For as long as we’ve known the Internet, websites have been integral to our digital landscape, serving as our destinations for news, entertainment, shopping, and more. My own Internet journey began in 1995 with an omnibus website (IndiaWorld) that I launched, followed by the creation of many others for different verticals. Even today, websites remain central to our online browsing. The early 2000s saw the emergence of mobile websites on clunky browsers on Nokia and other phones. Then, with the launch of the iPhone in 2007, apps revolutionised our interaction with the digital world. Our phones now host dozens of apps catering to every imaginable need. For the past three decades, websites (in both desktop and mobile formats) and apps have been the primary interfaces for interacting with the digital world and for brands to connect with their customers.
However, brand websites have become cluttered with pop-ups. Visit a homepage, and a chat window materialises. Browse a bit, and another pop-up emerges, soliciting an email address or urging us to download the app. On mobile devices, these pop-ups often cover much of the screen. Additionally, many websites are not optimised for the diverse range of mobile devices, making navigation and form entry challenging. Apps come with their own set of issues. We all have screens brimming with apps, much like our desktop screens once were. Every new app adds to the clutter, prompting the question: do we really need to download yet another app?
Push channels also face challenges. Email, the oldest push channel, has inboxes filled with ads and receipts. SMS, though more expensive, is no longer the instant P2P messaging haven it once was. WhatsApp is also heading in the same direction, with marketing and service messages along with spam outnumbering the important messages from friends and groups.
These frictions create barriers between brands and their customers, making it difficult for customers to engage easily. As a result, brands struggle to drive engagement, conversion, and retention (what I call “EnCoRe”). This leads to increased spending on adtech platforms to reach their own customers via retargeting. Every dollar spent on reacquisition reduces the brand’s bottom line, enriching adtech platforms, which have become “profipolies” (profit monopolies).
A transformation is on the horizon. The balance of power is shifting from clutter to clean, from adtechs to brands, and from acquisition to retention. New interaction interfaces, such as email apps (Epps) and AI agents, will revolutionise our daily lives and change the way brands connect with their customers.
Before we explore the new, let’s examine the old.
