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Monday, May 14, 2012

Growth of Middle Class Consumers in India

India is growing at a tremendous pace and the 350 million-strong middle class has buying power unmatched by any other growing nation. A huge shift is underway from spending on necessities such as food and clothing to choice-based spending on categories such as household appliances and restaurants.

Now-a-days value-conscious Indians are willing to spend big bucks on newer devices and wheels. I remember few years back when we used to see a Mercedes Benz or BMW in Mumbai Street we used to say wow because it was not commonly visible unlike now where BMW, Mercedes and AUDI have become very common on road. The buying power of an individual has increased tremendously in the Indian market in last few years. All top luxury brands are looking for business opportunities in India due to the increase of purchasing power amongst the Middle Class people. Apart from BMW, Audi and Mercedes having their own showrooms; Jaguar, Harley-Davidson, Land Rover, Kawasaki, Rolls Royce and Porsche have also opened their showrooms in Mumbai in last 2 – 3 years.

India's mobile market is currently growing even faster than China's, and we expect overall communications spending to continue to grow at a very rapid pace over the next two decades. During my college days an average student used to spend about Rs 2000 – 3000 on a cell phone however this has changed to Rs 8000 – 10,000 as an average in recent times. Blackberry and Apple handsets were rarely available in India hence were not common amongst individuals however the trend has changed, Blackberry and Apple are very common amongst individuals in India. Indians are willing to spend 25,000 – 35,000 on a good branded handset.

People in India love to make their weekends special and don’t mind spending big bucks on food and liquor. According to Forbes, 40% of Indians spend about 2000 on a meal for 2. Indians did their daily shopping at fresh-food markets and regarded packaged foods as "stale." However, our new generation of busy urban Indians have started to appreciate the convenience and choice offered by packaged foods.

The nature of the spending shows that the biggest driver of the economy is the youth. Young people are earning money, spending on their daily chores and are still left with enough disposable incomes. All that money is going, or will go, into buying vehicles, TVs, mobiles, FMCG products, clothes and a decent education for the next generation.

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