CHANGES IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR OF INDIA

Introduction:Possibly the most challenging concept in the marketing is to deal with understanding the buyer behaviour. The attitude of Indian consumers has undergone a major transformation over the last few years. The Indian consumer today wants to lead a life full of luxury and comfort. He wants to live in present and does not believe in savings for the future. An important and recent development in Indias consumerism is the emergence of the rural market for several basic consumer goods. The Indian middle class has provided a big boost to the consumer culture during the recent past and it is hoped that their buying behaviour will continue to change in the coming future. Due to fast growth of the services sector per capita income of people of India is also increasing. The number of middle class is increasing due to another fact that people are fast shifting from agriculture to the services and industry sector where growth prospects are reasonably high as compared to the agriculture sector which is showing slow growth. The consumption pattern of a country depends on liberalization of economic policies, buying

habits of the younger generation, financial independence at a young age, increase in number of nuclear families and increase in media exposure of the people. The tastes and preferences of the current generation are changing rapidly. The current generation does not mind paying extra for better facilities and ambience. Another major factor that has led to increased consumerism is the growth of credit culture in India. The Indian consumer does not feel shy to purchase products on credit and pay tomorrow for what they use or buy today. This tendency has led to a tremendous increase in purchase of homes, cars, two-wheelers and consumer goods. The market for luxury products in India is also climbing at an astonishing rate as compared to a decade ago when it was almost negligible. The reason behind this is that the purchasing power of people of India is rising very steeply. The Indian consumer

today is highly aware about the product, price, quality and the options available with him. The purchasing is done by keeping all these factors in mind. Today, price is not the only consideration as it was a few years back when prices played a major role in purchasing. Marketers are trying hard to capture this ever increasing Indian middle class as they form the bulk of Indian consumers.

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Literature Review:Consumer behaviour reflects the totality of consumers decisions with respect to the acquisition, consumption and disposition of goods, services, activities and ideas by human decision making units. (Hoyer, Macinnis and Pinaki Das Gupta, 2008). Consumer behaviour means more than just how a person buys tangible products such as bath soap, digital music players and automobiles. It also includes consumers use of services, activities and ideas such as going to the doctor, visiting a theme park, etc. (Source- Hoyer, Macinnis and Pinaki Das Gupta, 2008)

David M Potter (1954) presented the situation of consumers with diverse nature and ambitions. Cyndee Miller (1995) has described the 80 different natures of women as a purchaser in different capacities. Fitzerald (1994) has described the role of life style in deciding the consumer behaviour factor. The advertising age (1995) has given the reasons for developing different consumer images. Maxine Wilkie (1995) has advocated that Demographic plays a vital role for deciding the culture of consumer. Adweek's Marketing week (1994) has given the scene of vanishing culture of housewives and replacement by working wives. Howard and Sheth (1969) explained how consumers buying behaviour influenced by internal and external factors. They explained that human mind is BLACK BOX which receive stimuli. This stimulus creates perception in the mind of consumer which implied the kind of learning favourable or unfavourable. This will give the output in the form of acceptance or rejection. Basically this model is based on Stimulus -Response theory.

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generations. They will be willing to try out new careers, new ideas and new ways of doing things. 3) Indian consumers will be more logical in their thinking and foreign brands will not only be considered as the standard of quality. Each brand, be it Indian or foreign, will be judged o n its merit.

4) The middle and lower class consumers buying behaviour will change and they may
behave as if they are rich. 5) The contribution of women in decision making will increase with growing number of nuclear families, educated women and working women. The number of middle class working women will rise sharply. This will lead to introduction of women oriented products that may range from insurance products to vocational education.

6) Tomorrows consumer will focus more on technology and credit purch ase. 7) Number of nuclear families will increase. 8) Health care will become very important in the coming years. How to Succeed: - Companies like Nokia, Reebok, how they've faced and overcome

the Challenge in India, Coke, PepsiCo and major automobile giants like Toyota, Suzuki, Ford, Chevrolet, Mercedes etc. has made a market for themselves in India. How did they establish their own individual market in a country like India which is prone to diverse cultures?

Lets take the example of Ford. Before establishing their base in India, they engaged in a lot of researches. Their researches were made on the Indian peoples social life, personal tastes and preferences, way of life, how they identify an effective product and what

makes them get attracted towards a product. The social and economic conditions were analyzed. They had modified their product to suit the Indian conditions. Their technology had to be adjusted and suited to such an extent that their car is adaptable to Indian conditions. Indians are generally prone to be rough and tough customers and especially taking into account the road conditions and other social factors they designed the product in such a way that its best suited to the conditions and its received by the target customers. Today Ford is enjoying a huge market in India. If an automobile company from a different country can make wonders why cannot our own manufacturers adapt to these techniques? A customers want has to be identified and his expectations must be matched with the other economic and social factors so that their product is receptive. This can be related to any product. Reebok today is enjoying a huge market in India even though they have hired a company which is phoenix to manufacture shoes and operate under Reebok. How did they achieve this? Adapting to social conditions play the most important role in establishing your brand in the market.. Its just that they want the product to be flexible and adaptable to their needs and preferences. People are changing from time to time, so do their tastes and preferences. Identifying those is the first step towards achieving success and the rest depends on the performance of the product. Conclusion: behaviour - From above analysis it is very clear that Indian consumers buying

and their attitude have changed drastically in the recent past. With changing economic situation of India, its not that only the rich are spending more and more but in fact its the great Indian middle class that's thrown caution to the winds and enjoying themselves like

never before and are on a spending juggernaut. Brand India is riding high. Its a new mindset at play. Living for the day is the new motto. This translates into spending on a new home, a new car, the latest digital camera, appliances for the kitchen, home decor etc. The change is drastic compared to a generation back where saving for a rainy day was the usual practice. There was a clear line drawn between necessities, which could be counted on the fingertips of one hand, and luxuries. Loans were not forthcoming. Never borrow, never lend was the favourite theme. Banks and credit card companies are vying with each other in offering loans to customers. The credit card business is booming. Indians were sold 45,000 credit cards a day last year and together they spent Rs 120 crore a day through credit cards during the year. The face of changing India is reflected as Airlines, hotels, FMCG companies, auto giants, retail chains, mobile phone companies are all reworking strategies and slashing prices to reach the low-end consumer in rural areas. The success-driven Indians dont have to wait for opportunity to knock at their doors. It is all around them and in plenty. With a job scene that is booming a host of avenues are open to even college students. A slew of industries that had almost no presence in the country a few moons back are dishing out jobs in plenty. Call centres, retail chains, mobile phone

companies, data processing firms have all contributed to the job explosion. But that's not the whole story. Even as high-tech gadgets have invaded the Indian consumer market with the liberalization of the economy, finding two square meals a day is a daunting task for some. It is this broad spectrum of people perhaps that makes India keep its head on its shoulders and not get carried away. One thing is for sure that the pace of change in the needs, desires and wants of the Indian consumers will be even steeper and will further change drastically in the near future.