Travel is now the dominant spending category for India's affluent consumers, who are prioritising experiences and luxury goods over retail buying, according to a new report.
'In India's case, an extended earnings slowdown accompanied by rich valuations have dimmed returns since late 2024.'
BMW India has outpaced rival Mercedes-Benz India in luxury car registrations for the first quarter of calendar year 2026, driven by new product launches and a growing electric vehicle segment, even as the overall luxury car market remains largely flat.
India's luxury auto market is rebounding after a slow start to 2025, with GST 2.0 emerging as the main catalyst.
The shares of Titan Company hit its all-time high on the BSE and was the top gainer in the Sensex on Wednesday after the company released its business update for the third quarter of 2025-26 (Q3FY26). The stock closed at 4,272, up 3.94 per cent as compared to the Sensex, which was a tad down.
'The Indian consumer is moving so quickly and they have so many options.'
How much protein is needed for a healthy daily diet? A healthy adult needs a minimum of 0.80 gram of protein for every kilogramme of body weight per day. The average consumption of protein in India is around 62 gm per day, which is way lower than the global average of 78 gm.
Leading FMCG firms reported a nearly two-fold increase in the share of quick commerce within their total e-commerce sales, and this surge is anticipated to continue, said a joint report by Deloitte and industry body FICCI. Quick Commerce, also known as hyperlocal delivery, is now reaching around 35 per cent of online sales and has become a preferred channel for urban consumers. "About 18 per cent of consumers prefer purchasing food and beverage items from Q-commerce channels.
'A balanced portfolio mix of domestic and international equity, fixed income, and precious metals is recommended.'
The rise of startups and a thriving entrepreneurial culture in Tier-II and Tier-III cities is contributing to the increasing sales of high-end cars.
Police said they have made five arrests in the incident. Those arrested have been identified as Prabhjit Singh, the main accused, Kulbir Singh, Sahib Singh, Gurjant Singh and Ninder Kaur, they said.
Very sensitive items -- such as apples, which carry political weight and are closely tied to farmer interests in states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand -- may face restricted concessions.
The country's biggest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India, has raised concerns about the continuing slide in small car sales.
Consumer anxiety is at the highest levels since the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic in India with the less affluent most skeptical about economic outlook while a majority of consumers think their income in the next six months will be lower than the pre-COVID levels, says a latest study. As per the COVID-19 consumer sentiment research by global management consulting firm Boston Consulting group (BCG) conducted between May 23 and May 28, 2021, covering around 4,000 respondents across metros, tier I, II, III, IV and rural India, 51 per cent of consumers expected their spends over the next six months to be lower. In the last round of survey conducted from July 20 to August 2, 2020, the figure stood at 40 per cent.
With digital adoption fast gaining currency, India is likely to see retail digital payments double to $7 trillion by 2030 from current levels, a study by Kearney and Amazon Pay said. In the report 'How Urban India Pays', Kearney-Amazon Pay said strong adoption of digital payments in online purchases has potentially led to a permanent shift in consumer behaviours, fuelling offline adoption as well.
What can malls do to entice customers? Brand coach Ambi Parameswaran has a few suggestions.
For Indian parents, sending a child abroad for a three-year degree could deplete 48% of their retirement savings, while a four-year degree may consume up to 64%.
'If you are watching cricket and don't want to leave the screen, you could check the menu and order through Zomato (or any other app) from a small part of your screen. That is what we are working towards.'
High-end apartments, penthouses, and bungalows boasting amenities like swimming pools, expansive driveways, and premium interiors are becoming highly sought after.
Buoyed by regulatory overhaul and infrastructure boom, engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has identified realty business as one of its growth engines for the next 10 years and plans to acquire land parcels while expanding pre-sales, said a senior company executive. L&T Realty has started looking out to acquire land parcels and grab partnership development opportunities across markets to scale up its business. "We are making some strides in that direction, albeit cautiously.
Standard Chartered's India strategy will focus on wealth management while credit card will remain core to its business though will avoid competition with the country's private banks, said a senior executive of the British lender. "Our focus on wealth management and affluent clients are central to our existence. "We are strong in these areas and we want to grow in these areas.
In the first quarter (Q1) of the ongoing financial year ending June 30, Westlife Foodworld, which operates McDonald's outlets in the South and West, reported an 88 per cent drop in net profit. While net sales remained flat, its same-store sales growth (SSSG) fell by 6.7 per cent, impacted by "subdued in-store business, although the off-premise segment saw positive same-store sales", the company said.
Customers want formats which have wide assortment, international products, and so on. Basically, it is an assortment play.
No great achievement or discovery or invention has been achieved without hard work. While the inspiration may have been an insight, it needs work to flesh the insight which requires hard work, asserts Mudit Jain.
Its state-controlled companies are losing a lot of money, and private rivals can't compete.
An improving economy and the rapid opening-up of the Indian market has given rise to a group of affluent consumers who are more than eager to adopt the latest fashion trends. According to the latest Nielsen Global Luxury Brands study, nearly 35 per cent Indians, who participated in the survey, confirmed buying luxury brands. This is the third highest percentage globally. Greece leads the pack with 46 per cent, followed by Hong Kong at 38 per cent.
The consumer markets of India and China would together be worth $10 trillion by 2020, according to The $10 Trillion Prize, a book by Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
The gap in demand for electric vehicles between large and mid-sized cities in the country is shrinking and the Tier-II 2 cities are likely to emerge as the next big demand centre for EVs, a report said on Tuesday. An analysis of the electric two-wheeler and car sales by strategic research provider BloombergNEF (BNEF) from 207 cities across 10 states also suggests that the electric two-wheeler sales in some tier 2 markets have surpassed metropolitans while within tier 2 cities, state capitals generally leading the growth in electric car sales.
Many of these companies have a waiting period from 6-18 months now, indicating a rise in demand.
'it's not just youth in India who are left behind because of their inability to find jobs; nearly two-thirds of Indian women of working ages do not participate at all in the paid labour force.'
In an interaction with Viveat Susan Pinto, Thomas Lutz, head of the consumer and retail practice at The Boston Consulting Group. highlights some of the top consumer trends in India and the way forward for companies.
Its studies have shown that the spending patterns of consumers -- particularly decision-makers -- can be influenced to a large degree with great deals, strong brand presence on the Internet, and productive person-to-person interactions.
'Our approach has been to work with consumers and help them drink better, not more.'
MMFS is looking at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18 per cent in assets under management (AUM) during FY23 to FY26 on the back of the strong recovery. The company has initiated risk-mitigating initiatives, including diversification into non-vehicle loans, building digital capacity and re-classification of customer profiles into affluent and mass-affluent in semi-urban segments to better target marketing.
'The risk is in not being invested and missing out on an upmove.'
Sixty-five per cent of the company's sales are coming from Tier II cities and beyond, says the company CEO.
There has been a 45 per cent growth in 'active internet users' in rural India since 2019, according a study by Nielsen, a global company for audience measurement, data and analytics. The Bharat 2.0 Internet report said that female active internet users grew by 61 per cent since 2019. The report said that India has 646 million active Internet users aged 2 years and above as of December 2021. Rural India has 352 million internet users--almost 20 per cent higher than urban.
Axis Bank's acquisition of Citibank's consumer finance business for Rs 12,325 crore - the second biggest deal in the Indian banking sector - is seen as a good deal at a good price. The acquisition enables Axis Bank to close the gap with competition in some key segments such as credit cards. At the same time, there are some key issues that are crucial for the deal's success, apart from the fact that it will take some time for Axis to reap the full harvest of its investment.
Consumers are opening up their wallets for intangible promises.
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