PhonePe, Paytm look to knock down the age barrier with new ad campaigns

Pitching ease and convenience instead of discounts and offers, mobile wallets go all out to woo the silver generation

Aamir Khan impersonating a genial grandfather with an all-white mop of hair tells his rather talkative grandson that he always plays safe, be it tackling a spinning ball in a game of cricket or making payments via the Flipkart-owned mobile wallet, PhonePe app. Paytm’s campaign with the tagline ‘Kisi ki life ka Paytm bano’ (Become somebody’s Paytm) targets seniors too. The ads show younger users helping  older men and women conduct simple tasks on the app. 

In the first flush of growth, young Indians were the power beneath the wheels of the digital payments ecosystem. Now, with the market more cluttered and the need to expand the footprint more acute, digital wallets are focusing the lens on an older demographic say experts. Also, the companies point out, the true impact of technology is better understood among a more dispersed age band today than it was ever before, which makes it an opportune moment for brands to build their appeal.

“With the growing popularity of the Internet, the older age group is increasingly becoming more aware of the benefits of technology. They are also becoming more conversant with digital and willing to ‘sample’ a lot more of it for their everyday needs,” said Jaskaran Kapany, vice president, Marketing, Paytm.  

The Paytm ads seek to address misgivings among older users, hence the focus on bill payments, booking movie tickets and the safety of the technology used. Safety is a common subtext; even the Phonepe ads talk about the hassle-free and safe nature of payments. 

A young girl shows an older woman how to navigate the Paytm app

“In India, it is important to have different demographics. Since the younger population is more aggressive, brands initially tend to focus on them. Wallets have exhausted their possibility with the young and now are climbing up the pyramid towards the older generation,” said brand expert Harish Bijoor. He added that the younger generations with the higher volumes help to start a business while brands target older generations and higher value transactions as the market matures. 

Both Paytm and PhonePe said that their advertisements are age agnostic and reflect ease of payments for all sections of the population. However experts see this as more of an age-specific communication, a move to enhance brand appeal among a generation sceptical about transacting online. “The younger generation cares about offers but the older generation wants speed, reliability and convenience,” said Bijoor. 

Mobile wallets battle lack of trust, low technological skills and clutter in the Indian market. With big retail brands such as Amazon offering similar services with AmazonPay or the mushrooming of community-focused payment systems, pure mobile wallets are struggling to differentiate their offerings while building an appealing value proposition. And in this endeavour, cashbacks and gimmicky offers could well turn people off or create a perception that wallets are frivolous experiments. 

Underlying the current communication narrative is a deeper problem, point out experts Standalone wallets are struggling to stay relevant, they said. Loyalty is low among young users and the constant shifts in technology have meant that the apps are rendered redundant even before they can deepen their footprint. At the same time, frequent updates irritate users. 

Both Paytm and PhonePe said that their app is user friendly and specified no plans for a simpler version for senior citizens, for the moment. Until then, adding a dash of grey to their advertising is what they hope will do the trick.