Kantar India study reveals the emerging purchase behavior of the post-pandemic consumer
A new report ranking the most chosen FMCG brands in India has shed light on improved purchase frequency in the post-pandemic world.
The report concerns the evolving purchase habits of Indian consumers
The 10th edition of Kantar’s ‘Brand Footprint’ study deploys consumer reach points (CRPs) as currency, which is based on the actual purchases made by consumers and the frequency at which these purchases are made in a calendar year.
Study findings
-
Indian-born consumer company Parle Products came at the top of the chart as the most chosen FMCG brand, followed by Amul, Britannia, Clinic Plus and Tata Consumer Products in the following four positions
-
Overall consumer reach points showed an increase from 89bn to 98bn, with the growth rate going up from 3% in 2020 to 9% in 2021
-
The growth in CRPs has been driven by food, health and beauty and beverages categories
-
Snacking brands grew over 30%, with Indian brand Balaji growing by 49%, followed by Pepsi-owned Kurkure at 45% and ITC Foods’ Bingo at 37%
-
Within the beverage category, Nestlé’s Nescafe registered a 19% CRP growth followed by Boost at 15%
Lessons for marketers
While the pandemic did change purchase behavior drastically, this report suggests a return to normalcy in the post-pandemic world. The impact of this shift on some of the key categories is interesting, according to K Ramakrishnan, managing director, South Asia at Kantar Worldpanel, who discussed the findings with The Drum.
For example, as people start commuting more, demand for soft drinks and grooming has shown a spike, he shared. On the other hand, the relative normalcy has also led to hand sanitizers and handwash seeing a significant decline in their penetration levels.
The other shift seen is that while Covid-19 concern seems to have waned off, the impact of the pandemic hasn’t. Ramakrishnan said: “Nearly 70% of [consumers] still feel the financial stress induced by the pandemic and about 20% of them are highly impacted by it from a lens of wealth, mental health, socialization or daily routines.”
While these highly-impacted households continue to display pandemic behavior, the lightly-impacted households are quickly returning to pre-pandemic normalcy in their behavior, he added.