A study, called 'Wallet Monitor', has found that Indians are now spending as much as 17 per cent of their income on personal grooming and entertainment.
The study, done by international strategic marketing consultancy Henley Centre and IMRB International, has found that the spending pattern of an average Indian household points towards the emergence of an 'individualistic, indulgence happy and confident' consumer who enjoys spending money and yet is prudent enough to save and spend on his family.
The study found that on an average, an urban Indian consumer invests 10 per cent of his monthly income, spends 32 per cent on every day purchases such as groceries, followed by utilities such as electricity, fuel, laundry, house help etc (13 per cent).
The north clearly leads the way with investments/savings at 15 per cent of monthly income, while the south and west save the least, about 8 per cent. People in south and west India spend more money on entertainment compared with the north and east.
A north Indian family is more willing to spend on communication. In terms of entertainment, the west leads the way with spend at 10 per cent. As far as personal grooming is concerned, the north and west spend proportionately more.
Kolkata tops the charts in terms of percentage of spend on groceries (37 per cent) while Bangalore spends the least (20 per cent). In terms of investments, Delhi tops the chart at 21 per cent while Chennai is at the bottom (5 per cent).
As far as personal grooming is concerned, Hyderabad leads the pack at 10 per cent. Consumers in Mumbai and Bangalore believe in living life to the full and are high spenders on entertainment at 14 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively. Predictably, Chennai spends the highest on children (11 per cent).
The study, to gauge the spending/saving pattern of urban India, was carried out across 67 sample towns and cities in the country.
According to Sian Davies, CEO of Henley Centre, "As markets mature, consumers move beyond materialistic products and goods and actually look at money to buy enriching experiences. We are seeing the beginning of this change in India as well. India is beginning to move from a product or feature-rich economy to an experience-rich economy."
Thomas Puliyel, president, IMRB International, said the Indian consumer today is characterised by a new confidence.
