Indian Consumers

Investors find their way back to retail and consumer checkout aisle

Valuations normalise, dealmaking surges and investors return to India's consumer sector, with record Q1 activity driven by aspirational demand and demographic tailwinds

Indian consumers warming up to data-driven mobility solutions: Report

Indian consumers are willing to share personal information with manufacturers or third parties for features such as anti-theft tracking, reflecting rising trust in data-driven solutions, according to the findings of a global study conducted by Deloitte. As per the 2025 Global Automotive Consumer Study, which saw participation of 1,000 people, 88 per cent of the Indian consumers were willing to share personal information with manufacturers or third parties for features such as anti-theft tracking. The percentage is significantly higher than 60 per cent in the US, the survey revealed. This signals a rising trust in data-driven and intelligent mobility solutions, it added. Indian customers are also optimistic about tech, with 82 per cent of the people surveyed viewing AI as beneficial, and they prioritise vehicle-smartphone connectivity, as per the study. In India, 62 per cent of consumers surveyed rank product quality, including safety, as their top priority when choosing their next

Indian consumers spent 15 bn hours for service complaints in 2024: Report

Despite AI agents and chatbots increasingly becoming a part and parcel of customer service, they have yet to significantly reduce customer service wait times, with a report revealing that Indian consumers spent over 15 billion hours last year waiting to lodge customer service complaints. The ServiceNow Customer Experience report analysed the widening gap between rising customer expectations and the reality of service delivery. It surveyed 5,000 Indian consumers and 204 Indian customer service agents. As many as 80 per cent of Indian consumers now rely on AI chatbots for essential services like checking complaint statuses and product recommendations. Yet, these same consumers collectively spend an astounding 15 billion hours on hold each year, according to the report. "While some headway has been made-- the average Indian spent 3.2 hours less time waiting for an issue to be resolved than the previous year--there is still a considerable gap between customer expectations and service ..

Surat rings loud in ultra-premium smartphone surge beyond metros

This Gujarat city accounted for 2.4 per cent share of the ultra-premium smartphones market in Octo­ber 2024

Consumer goods sector faces a muted quarter as urban demand stays sluggish

Despite these challenges, revenues for tracked companies are projected to grow 6 per cent year-on-year, primarily driven by price increases, while volume growth will stay in the low single digits

India's consumption conundrum: How not to talk about it in the year 2025

Conflicting data, fragmented markets, and outdated metrics: Here's why reframing the narrative on India's consumption is essential to address the diverse realities of 2025

Retail's balancing act: Customer's fickle loyalty in the phygital age

In the last quarter of the calendar year 2024, women's sentiment on the economy dropped by 8 per cent, while that of men increased by 6 per cent, a trend observed across all income levels

Westlife Foodworld Q2 results: Net profit declines 98.4% to Rs 35.78 lakh

The company had posted a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 22.37 crore in the corresponding quarter previous fiscal, Westlife Foodworld Ltd (WFL) said in a regulatory filing

India's consumer durables market to be world's 4th largest by 2027: CII

India's consumer durables market is expected to touch a size of Rs 5 lakh crore by FY30 and will become the fourth largest in the world by 2027, industry body CII said on Monday. While the country's products are inching towards global reliability, it is imperative to build a robust quality ecosystem and adopt standardisation in the sector and also export Indian standards globally, said B Thiagarajan, Chairman, CII National Committee on Consumer Electronics and Durables. Speaking at the CII Consumer Electronics & Durables Summit 2024, Thiagarajan, who is also the Chairman and Managing Director, Blue Star Ltd, further said the next decade is expected to create multiple opportunities across the value chain in the sector. "From finished goods as well as development of an indigenous component ecosystem, with the right focus on domestic scale, India's prospects of becoming a global manufacturing powerhouse holds great promise," he asserted. Thiagarajan said, "India is already the ...

NCCF to sell tomatoes at subsidised price in Delhi-NCR from July 29

To provide relief from soaring tomato prices, the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India (NCCF) will begin selling the commodity at a subsidised rate of Rs 60 per kg in the Delhi-NCR region from Monday. The move comes as tomato prices have surged due to supply disruptions caused by recent rains in producing centres. While the Consumer Affairs Ministry data showed retail tomato prices at Rs 77 per kg in Delhi on July 27, prices have been exceeding Rs 80 per kg in some areas, depending on quality and locality. "The mega sale will commence on July 29, 2024, and will gradually expand to other locations in Delhi-NCR in the coming days," NCCF said in a statement. The subsidised tomatoes will be available at various locations including Krishi Bhawan, CGO Complex, Lodhi Colony, Hauz Khas, Parliament Street, INA Market, and several areas in Noida, Rohini, and Gurugram, it said. This initiative aims to stabilise the market and provide substantial cost relief to consumers. NCCF

Govt asks retailers to cut profit margins on pulses for relief to consumers

The government on Tuesday pointed out that retail prices of tur, urad and chana dals have not declined in proportion to about a 4 per cent fall in major wholesale markets in the past one month and asked retailers to charge reasonable profit margins for providing relief to consumers. The government warned that it would take stern actions against unscrupulous speculation and profiteering by market players. On Tuesday, the Department of Consumer Affairs organised a meeting with the Retailers Association of India (RAI) here to discuss the price scenario in respect of pulses. The meeting, chaired by Nidhi Khare, Secretary, the Department of Consumer Affairs, also reviewed compliance with the stock limits for tur and chana. The meeting was attended by representatives of RAI, Reliance Retail, D-Mart, Tata Stores, Spencer's, RSPG, and V-Mart, among others. RAI has more than 2,300 members, having over 6,00,000 retail outlets in the country. According to an official statement, the secretary

Rising disposable income a big opportunity for us: AABL's Tushar Bhandari

Associated Alcohol Breweries Ltd (AABL), one of the leading distilleries in India, is strategically targeting the evolving preferences of new-age consumers

World Consumer Rights Day 2024: History, Theme, Importance, and more

World Consumer Rights Day is marked on 15 March of every year. The day is observed for creating awareness about the rights of all consumers against fraud, discrimination, and other such practices

Indian consumer sentiment dips to a four-month low, shows data

The survey asks households about their current well-being and their expectations from the future

Optimistic about overall growth prospects, good demand ahead: Pidilite MD

Rural and semi-urban markets are growing 1.5 times faster than the urban market for Pidilite Industries, helping it register a double-digit volume growth and it sees positive demand environment in the last quarter also, says its Managing Director Bharat Puri. The company achieved a double-digit volume growth in the first three-quarters of FY24 and Puri expects to continue the momentum with a broad-based growth across categories. "We see a good demand environment, government spending on infrastructure, the housing sector and real estate is seeing an upsurge. So, overall we remain optimistic about the overall prospects of our sector," said Puri in a virtual media roundtable. Pidilite, which passed on the benefits of lower-cost prices to consumers, does not see any disruption in the supply chain from the geopolitical crisis, which is brewing in the Middle East. "Fortunately for us, most of our raw material comes from the East rather than from via the Red Sea. Right now, raw material

Only 7% of Indian consumers buy fruits, vegetables online: Survey

"Quality of fruits and vegetables delivered via online platforms was always average and the return/refund process mostly painful, according to consumers," said Sachin Taparia, Founder of LocalCircles

Govt starts hackathon to fight dark patterns on e-commerce websites

Dark patterns are defined as practices or deceptive design patterns using user interface/user experience interactions on any platform, designed to mislead or trick users

Global giants tap Indian consumers, spend $3,600 a second on World Cup ads

Brands are likely to spend about Rs 2,000 crore ($240 million) in advertisement spots on streaming platforms during the tournament, estimates Jehil Thakkar, a partner at Deloitte India

Indian consumers to spend more on luxury this festival season: Study

Increased spending on back of improved finances, says Deloitte study

Prices in India are rising faster than many large economies, EM peers

Dozen states have reported higher inflation numbers than the all-India figure of 7.44 per cent