Ag Voice | Evolution of the Indian consumer

Indian consumer is evolving like never before. With increased marketing spends & promotions that cut across FMCG, Retail, Automobile, Durables etc. Indian consumer has more chances of getting  influenced in its entire consumer decision journey from Consideration to the actual Instore / Online purchase.

There are some visible trends in India market which is clearly redefining the way Indian consumer is evolving.
- Increased usage & rise of Online/ digital channel for both marketing and ecommerce
- Global retail and shopping experience provided by Indian/MNC Brands
- Increase usage of Smartphone
- Consistent increase of premium segment across major categories  due  increased awareness/ preference of premium brands by Indian consumers.

Though Internet penetration in India is very low , but it still reaches across 90 million consumers in India. Major categories for searching & buying online are Healthcare products, personal grooming products & peripherals, Mobile handsets and accessories, Gaming devices & accessories etc. The big ticket items like Automobiles&durables are searched online to a large extent before the actual purchase. Approx. 40% of such customers are increasingly relying on the Online search, Social media interactions and feedback & Internet research as a pre purchasetool  on a regular basis.

Retail & shopper marketing is an emerging marketing category in India, that uses touch point marketing and Instore marketing activity to influence the entire shopper decision journey and moment of truth by providing more value for them.The investment on Retail and shopper marketing is radically widespread from traditional consumer goods to high involvement consumer goods and technical division. The retail & shopping practice is more visible and ROI can be measured frequently. In India more innovation in retail and shopper marketing is visible in festive season mainly.

Smartphone is another category which has playing agreat role in evolving Indian consumer aspirations. Smartphones are more of spontaneous association,seen as enhancing status of consumer providing functional benefits like applications, Internet access . Sleek looks, high pixel camera etc makes the Smartphone more desirable. Smartphone is seen as relative impulsive purchase compared to other similar functional products and customer prefer brands which have ahigh aspirational value &distinct premium  brand identity apart from the flaunt value associated with it.

The premium segment across various consumer segments have seen a big push in Indian market recently. While the definition of premium varies from one industry to another, price exclusivity is one common denominator. In general premium product is priced at least 70-80% higher than the category average price in case of FMCG / Food and beverages. For other industries such as durables / auto mobiles it ranges from 2-3 times higher to even more.The premium segment contribution in Durable market has increased from 11 % to 18% in last few years. In FMCG / Food and beverages, this is currently 20%. Premiumisation is a gradual but growing trend in India consumer market .

Today consumer awareness & preference on premium products have increased thanks to increased nos. of consumer touch points & increased spends on premium products by respective marketers. Premium product positioning in Indian market has also evolved to benefit & unique value driven differentiation rather than pure price based differentiation earlier. 

In today’s scenario  Marketers which have a Integrated marketing approach covering consumer touch points as per the latest trend are more likely to be successful in influencing Indian consumer for purchase and further engagement. | By Joginder Chhabra

About The Author:

A marketing and strategy professional with a strong management background and expertise of over 15 years in the industry- Joginder Chhabra has successfully led the Market Intelligence& Consumer Insights team at LG Electronics India for the last six years.

Currently, with LG Electronics India, Chhabra plays an integral role in Market strategy formulation, Consumer Insights & Market research across all product categories. He also overlooks efficiency tracking of all ATL and BTL Activities. He has immense knowledge in the fields of Strategy planning & Implementation , Consumer & Market research, General management, Brand & Media management , marketing and sales and leadership.