Won't spend on home but will travel: How India's consumption story is unfolding

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

home upkeep but they are splurging in travel. They are spending more, and on things that indicate a growing preference for premium consumption. Despite pandemic-driven setbacks in the recent past, India's private consumption has been growing stronger since 2019 and reflects an increasing tendency to spend in categories that are driven by prosperity, says a Redseer report.

The Indian macros are best positioned with a GDP of $6.5 trillion and a retail goods market size of $2 trillion, with the private consumption at $4 trillion. India’s digital ecosystem is powering consumption, with over 350 million active digital payment users, more than 50 million digital-using merchants, and over 50% digital ad share. While the macro picture has been bleak for the last two quarters, India’s private consumption, which had dipped to $2.2 trillion in Q3-Q4 FY23, is on its way up and expected to touch $2.4 trillion in Q4 FY24, the report says.

Indicators across emerging sectors, such as credit card spends, air travel, and sales of vehicles, show signs of recovery in Q1 FY24. Travel, financial services, recreation, and insurance, among others, the «prosperity-driven categories» have experienced an acceleration. “India’s long-term consumption trends are gradually reflecting increased prosperity as the consumer behavior evolves towards higher categories,'' says Mrigank Gutgutia, Partner, Redseer Strategy Consultants.

Other categories expected to accelerate with long-term growth, include education, personal vehicles, personal care, food, and clothing. Premiumization, brand proliferation, and digitizations are the core consumption themes across sectors. While the journey so far has been turbulent, India’s Internet is poised to be in cruise