India has changed a lot over the decades, but we Indians haven't changed a bit when it comes to our tenacity for bargaining hard. Be it for an air conditioner or a paper clip.

Axis Bank chose this insight to goad for a behaviour change towards the small shop owners, who had suffered a massive blow during the pandemic imposed lockdown.

By using a folk storytelling musical style, this work makes an appeal for change in a deeply engrained cultural behaviour. It delivers a very relevant message in a way that's entertaining yet calls for introspection.

The small businesses of India took a massive financial hit during the lockdown.

Most shop-owners suffered over 60%* drop in income and many more faced closure.

Consumer sentiment towards shopping and spending was also at an all-time low.

As a banking partner for retailers, how does Axis Bank grow, if the small shopkeepers’ businesses don’t?

Axis Bank wanted to help these small shopkeepers get back on their feet, and in the process improve total transaction volumes as well as its own POS presence in retail.

The brand had a 9.4%** share of POS terminals amongst small shopkeepers. Can the new initiative create an emotional connect with the retailer segment in order to further boost brand preference?

*Economic Times “Coronavirus impact on India’s Retail Sector” April 14, 2020.

**Axis Bank data.

Pay a humorous ode to every tenacious, bargaining Indian by taking them on a journey down memory lane through 75 years of independent India. The idea was to show much we've changed as a country, but how little we've changed when it comes to the habit of bargaining hard till the last Rupee!

While this habit might have been a fun Indian quirk for decades, it's now time to pause the bargaining, so that our small businesses can recover from the huge losses they've faced due to the pandemic.

A popular phrase Indians use to bargain is, “Chaar rupaiya kum karo na pleej” (Reduce it by 4 rupees, please?). We turned this into a catchy self-deprecating folk song to show a mirror to all Indians, and entertained them into giving up this habit for a while.

What makes Indians love bargaining?

The inherent striver mindset is always seeking more-for-less. This is so deeply ingrained in our culture that every Indian feels it is akin to a birth right to get a ‘few bucks off’ the list price. This habit had become the biggest obstacle for small businesses to get back on their feet post the pandemic induced lockdowns.

Axis Bank realised that true transformation for small businesses can only happen, if the predominant shopper sentiment for bargaining can be arrested.

But change in deeply ingrained cultural behaviour cannot be achieved by giving binary choices of do’s and don’ts . We had to hold a mirror to people in a manner that doesn’t raise their defences, but leads them onto empathy through the medium of humour.

The video was put up on mobile screens at busy marketplaces across the country where shoppers could watch it. A reach of over 80 million shoppers.

It was shared on all Axis Bank social channels - Youtube, Facebook and Instagram. With over 38 million views, it was one of the most shared videos on social media.

Point of Sale reminder messages were put up in over 150,000 small shops and businesses across cities. These were strategically placed in the shops so that customers could easily read them while paying for goods.

This campaign encouraged a behaviour change towards shopping and bargaining, like never before.

With over 38Mn views, a reach of 80Mn shoppers and highest ever engagement rates it became one of India’s most shared videos.

As transactions and ticket sizes went up, retailers earned more. This created a sense of optimism and hope amongst small businesses in India. This impact on the small business economy also impacted Axis Bank’s brand preference and penetration in this segment.

Not only did their average number of transactions go up but so did the ticket size.

The direct impact of the campaign over the period was above expectations.

Avg. no. of Transactions went up from 2,70,51,982 to 3,45,64,316 (up 27.76%)

Avg. ticket size per transaction too went up from INR 2,512 to INR 2,786 (up 10.90%)

The market share of Axis Bank POS in such shops increased from 9.4% to 16.4% post campaign.