The Indian consumer market is one of the most promising markets in the world, evolving faster than ever across all socioeconomic strata, regions and town classes. Post liberalisation Indians have seen a tremendous increase in incomes, multiple income households, exposure to international lifestyles and media, easier financial credit.
In these fast changing times, it becomes imperative for companies reaching out to the Indian market, to catch the pulse of the Indian consumer, to gain a better understanding of the Indian consumer behaviour and to get key insights into issues like:
• What does the Indian Consumer’s shopping basket consist of?
• What is it that the Indian consumer is buying - Is it Apparel? Books? Music? Or Durables or Grocery? How is she paying for her purchases?
• How much is she willing to travel to get one-stop shopping options?
• Is she discount driven enough to wait for promotions or markdowns?
• How different is the Delhi consumer from the one in Kolkata or Chennai, and how different are they from those in Lucknow or Ludhiana?
All these questions have taken a top priority not only to domestic marketers but also for companies like Wal-Mart and Carrefour that are planning to set up retail chains to tap the potential Indian consumer market.
Marketing in India is growing through an indefinable phase. Various print, electronic and other media are influencing everyone right from "Karta" of the family to the kid, the consumer‘s making decision and the way in which the new generation Indian consumer behaves is undergoing change at a never before pace. In today's global marketing era, which stresses on customization and localisation, influencing the consumer’s decision has become more important in this changing environment.
Many new upcoming trends have been noticed in the last decade. According to the data provided by (NCAER) latest Indian market demographics report 2002 in the