What Are the Differences with Regard to Cultural Values Across Social Classes and Their Implications on Different Product Categories?
• “emerging India” households could be classified into five groups based on annual household income (Social Classes): o “deprived” consisting of 103 million households of mostly subsistence farmers and unskilled labourers o “aspires” consisting of 91.3 million households including small-scale shopkeepers, famers with small areas of owned land, or industrial workers (expected this group would reduce from 41 percent to around 35 percent due their moving to the middle class o “seekers” consisting of young college graduates, government employees at intermediate levels and owners of small- to medium-sized businesses o “strivers”, the upper end of the middle class, consisting of senior government employees, owners or managers of large businesses, professionals and wealthy farmers (in 2010, the middle class numbered approximately 50 million individuals and was expected to grow 10 times to become approximately 41 percent of the population between 2020 to 2025 o “global Indians” consisting of more than one million households made up senior executives in large corporations, owners of large businesses, politicians and rich farmers with large land holdings
Fundamental values of conservatism and risk avoidance were being replaced by openness to experiment and to spend money on items beyond the essentials – translated to conspicuous consumption for the “global Indian”
• In 2010, real average household income in India doubled over the past 2 decades and consumption increased with the emergence of India’s growing middle class
• With consumers characterized by rising income and increasing affordability of products, urban consumers looked more for material success and understood the need to satisfy their desires rather than practice restraint. While they respected traditions, they did not tie their lives to the traditions
• Indian consumers traditionally saved their money and contemporary Indians were not looking for cheap goods, but were looking for value and were
Fundamental values of conservatism and risk avoidance were being replaced by openness to experiment and to spend money on items beyond the essentials – translated to conspicuous consumption for the “global Indian”
• In 2010, real average household income in India doubled over the past 2 decades and consumption increased with the emergence of India’s growing middle class
• With consumers characterized by rising income and increasing affordability of products, urban consumers looked more for material success and understood the need to satisfy their desires rather than practice restraint. While they respected traditions, they did not tie their lives to the traditions
• Indian consumers traditionally saved their money and contemporary Indians were not looking for cheap goods, but were looking for value and were