Around 75% of Indian respondents who have participated in a PwC study say they are concerned about their personal financial situation, as opposed to 50% globally.
Consequently, some 63% of consumers in the country were cutting back non-essential spending altogether, found the 2023 PwC Global Consumer Insights Pulse Survey.
The India leg of the study included 500 Indian respondents (views of 9,180 consumers were captured from 25 territories globally) across 12 metros, tier-1 and tier-2 cities including Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata, Nagpur, Jalandhar, Hyderabad, Meerut and Rajkot.
Also, 47% of consumers said they would shop with retailers that offer free/discounted product delivery and seek less friction in the shopping experience, as per the survey.
Ravi Kapoor, Partner and Leader - Retail & Consumer, PwC India said: “PwC’s latest survey for India drives home the key message of ongoing financial stress in the lives of the consumers, where 75% of them are very concerned about their financial situation.’‘
This sentiment would have a potential restraining effect on spending in highly discretionary categories of electronics and luxury. Consumers will continue to demand world-class buying experiences in both physical and digital channels with work cut out for brands to reduce costs, enhance availability, and ‘go local’, he observed.
Mr. Kapoor, however, added, “The silver lining here remains the unequivocal growths in the adoption of digital channels and the desire to spend more on travel in the coming months.”
Published - April 06, 2023 11:24 pm IST
