In India, emotion is not a layer you add to a product; it is the product. How do we create products that resonate with the Indian heart?

• The Numbers Speak for Themselves
  India is WhatsApp’s biggest market, with approximately 500 million users. Over 20 billion New Year’s messages were sent by Indians on WhatsApp in 2020, making up about a third of all messages sent globally. (Source: WhatsApp Blog)
• Challenges & Missteps
  Remember Google+? It missed capturing the emotional undertone of India and fizzled out.
• Case Study Highlight: Zomato
  When Zomato started, they realized they couldn’t just be about “food delivery.” They needed to capture the Indian love for food, family, and community. Hence, the quirky one-liners, the aunty-approved “ghar ka khana” options, and the prompt for festival specials. That wasn’t just UX; it was EX—Emotional Experience.

A Zomato user puts it best: “It feels like Zomato knows me personally when they recommend festival specials.”

• The Local-Global Conundrum
  Amazon India found the balance. Regional languages were introduced, yet they maintained the global interface.
• Learning from Failures
  Learn from the fall of Yahoo Messenger, which didn’t adapt emotionally. It missed adding the little touches like festival emojis that could have made a big difference.

** Diversity Matters
India is a land of diverse cultures, languages, and emotions. What works in Tamil Nadu may not resonate in Punjab. Keep this complexity in mind.

** Global Context
How does India differ from other markets? In the U.S., people may appreciate directness, while subtlety may be essential in Japan. India often sits at the crossroads, valuing both boldness and nuance.

*** The Common Sense Approach
From local markets to festivals, immerse yourself in these epicentres of emotion. Use them as your storyboard.

*** Action Steps

1. Research: Get into the emotional weeds.
2. Test: Use focus groups.
3. Iterate: Keep enhancing until it feels right.

*** Trend Forecast
As AI evolves, hyper-personalized emotional experiences are on the horizon. A tech enthusiast anticipates, “Soon, my music app will not only know my playlist but also my mood swings.”

Designing products for India is not just a technical task but an emotional undertaking. Nail it, and you’re not just building a user base but crafting a community of brand promoters.