“Tweet” to sales – focus on the "Gen Y" in the Indian retail industry

Online retail is nascent in India and will over time, evolve and more closely. Though nascent, India's online retail market is growing at double-digit rates and is likely to be the next format that retailers will incorporate into their array of channels. With over 100 million active twitter accounts, this social network is becoming omnipresent in the business world. The problem marketers now face isn't simply how to use twitter, but how to turn it into a closed-loop marketing process and combine it with their traditional mediums of advertising to the target audience. Understanding why and how to engage with today's social business environment starts with recognizing the changes in buyers’ behavior. This research paper attempts to answer the following questions: 1. What is the future of retail in India? 2. How is retail industry transforming to use twitter as a medium to generate sales? 3. How are the "Gen Y" consumer's expectations from the industry?

The goal of this research paper is not to determine the exact shape of the future, or to promote a particular vision of that future, but rather to investigate the trends that will affect the next decade.

For corporations serious about tracking their “return on influence” and “sales” – that is, not just standard “Return On Investment,” but a long-lasting return – in social media and being able track and compare the results in the form of sales. Twitter is a medium which has more than a 100 million users. Marketers are making use of this medium to reach out to the huge customer base and convert their message to sales. The expected outcome of this research paper is an insight on the power of the social medium “Twitter” and the way retailers are making use of this medium to reach out to their target customer base and enhance their sales to maintain a competitive edge over their competitors in the market.