Iding the Indian Consumer: IMRB STUDY

Iding the Indian Consumer, Part I

Iding the Indian Consumer, A three part series from TGI (A syndicated by IMRB International)

What Makes Them Tick?

According to the calculations of the Department of Economic Analysis at Goldman Sachs, the five largest economies in the world in 2050 will include the four BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) plus the United States. While the GDP growth in the BRICs have slowed in the recent years post-recession, it is still expected that the balance of power in the global economy will change in the near future with the emergence of the new “growth markets”.

Much has been said about India going the global way, how the aspirations and lifestyle of the average Indians increasingly mirror the West and yet on the other hand there are those die hard traditions which are difficult to let go. So where does India fall on the global scale – how does it compare with countries which are developed and countries which are on the same stage of economic development

What defines the Indian consumer and how similar or different is this from others?

INNER SOUL

On the road to development, we Indians haven’t given up on Faith and Family. It is important and much more so than other countries. Brazil and Sri Lanka were the only other nations which outshone us in our fervor for faith. However, would we live it out by giving our time for a good cause...not so much with our scores lower than most countries which though not overtly religious believe in giving for a good cause.

Though increasingly becoming individualistic we still judge others and worry about how others see us. As compared to other BRIC countries, Indians are more likely to crave acceptance by others. In this regard we mirror the citizens of Great Britain, Sri Lanka and China

PERSONALITY

We are control freaks. We like to have control over people and resources. The need for “controlling” is lesser in the developed countries. Indians, like the Chinese and Sri Lankans, like to keep abreast of development in technology, much more than their counterparts in developed nations. This explains how and why the mobile phone has caught on in such a big way in India. The mobile phone not only puts all the technology at the consumer’s fingertip, it also satisfies his need to control (in terms of surfing, gaming or communicating).

With most of the global nations gloomy in its future outlook, close to half the Indians would still like to enjoy life without Tomorrow’s Worries looming in front. Russians and Sri Lankans are the most optimistic of the lot.

FOOD

So we love cooking and trying out new food but…..

Not everyone enjoys eating foreign food. This probably means that while Indians don’t mind trying new food items, not all would try foreign foods. This explains why Pizza Hut and McDonald’s come out with options specifically to satiate our Indian taste buds

INTERESTS

So what if we are not as creative as the Brazilians and the Americans and Music is not an integral aspect of our lives, we enjoy Cooking and Entertaining. We also like spending time with our family, though not as much as the developed nations and Russia & Brazil. One reason could be that an Indian probably spends more time with their family as compared to an American or a Britisher so the need is more in case of the latter. We also have a keen sense of adventure and are willing to experiment with new food products