The Indian wedding and events industry is one of the largest in the world. The industry is largely unorganized and highly fragmented, due to its sheer size and volume. As per the KPMG report on the Market Study of Matrimonial Services in India, the wedding industry was estimated to be INR 3,681 billion in 2016. Further, it is also estimated that over 10 million weddings take place annually in India, making it a highly lucrative space.
Weddings have always been rooted in tradition and have largely been planned by families and prospective couples on the basis of recommendations from friends and family. Moreover, wedding planning is cumbersome and brutally time-consuming. However, with the advent of technology and every one being connected digitally, the era of wedding aggregators dawned.
Websites and apps that help with everything connected to wedding planning have simplified this cumbersome process. Digital Wedding aggregation has introduced efficiency to the planning process and created monetisation opportunities for the vendors. They have provided massive business opportunities for small vendors to reach their potential customers, by introducing innovation.
The wedding aggregators have essentially created an online marketplace for vendors. Furthermore, there is an upward trend in weddings being planned by prospective couples rather than families and thus paving the way for further digital revolution of this industry.
The online wedding planning platforms not only aggregate wedding service providers by creating exhaustive directories, but also use technology to help people plan weddings with a click of a button. The wedding aggregators are a goldmine of wedding service providers across a given geography, for the couple.
Millennials can now easily plan their weddings online, right from searching for vendors, comparing their services via price points, reviews and their availability. Not only that, these websites also share real bride experiences, tips, trends, ideas and inspiration.
The ongoing Covid pandemic also saw the users actively using the digital platforms to book wedding services through virtual calls. The pandemic has proved that the digital platforms are here to stay and that they have disrupted the traditional wedding planning process, greatly.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of India TV)
