What marketers can do to unlock India's booming 'rurban' potential

A just-released study by Nielsen shows how only a third of the country's 600,000 villages account for the bulk of rural consumption

The importance of India’s rural markets has never been lost on companies in auto, consumer goods or telecom. Almost a third of a consumer goods company’s sales come from rural areas, while almost 45-50 per cent of a two-wheeler major’s and a telecom operator’s revenues come from the hinterland. Similarly, passenger-car makers derive 30 per cent of their revenue from the countryside. 

Yet, rural areas are constantly evolving, much like their urban counterparts, and throwing up interesting insights in the process. A just-released study by Nielsen points to how only a third of the country’s 600,000 villages account for the bulk