75% Indians expect higher spending on clothes, footwear in 6 months: Report

74% think their spending on groceries may go up in the next six months

At least 75 per cent of Indians expect their spending on clothing and footwear to go up in the next six months, according to a report released on Thursday.

It is much higher than the global figure of 50 per cent.

According to PwC India’s ‘Voice of Consumer Survey 2024’, after clothing and footwear, 74 per cent of Indians think their spending on groceries is expected to go up in the next six months. Globally, this figure is 62 per cent.

The report, however, highlighted that most customers in India still prefer to buy products from offline stores. As many as 56 per cent of those surveyed said they “frequently” visit physical stores for shopping.

Also, 47 per cent said that they “frequently” shop online via mobile phones. Moreover, despite widespread social media use, with 58 per cent of consumers buying products directly through platforms, trust in privacy remains low.

While 77 per cent discover new brands via social media and 81 per cent use it to seek reviews before purchasing, 76 per cent say they worry about privacy and data sharing.

Separately, 82 per cent of Indian consumers consider the protection of personal data as the most crucial factor in building trust.

“Our survey reveals three main drivers of building trust. Firstly, how well do brands make life easier for their consumers; secondly, how well they connect with their consumers and finally how do they ensure inclusiveness with their consumers,” said Ravi Kapoor, Partner and Leader – Retail and Consumer sector, PwC India.

He added that these building blocks are in turn shaped by their six underlying imperatives - focusing on value-creating purchase journeys, proactively helping consumers manage their health and wellness needs, staying authentic on social media channels, building watertight personal data protection capabilities, creating sustainable business models, and deploying generative AI tools responsibly.

“In our survey, protecting consumer data has therefore not surprisingly been voted by 82 per cent of consumers as the most important factor that will help build trust,” he added.