Homes in top-10 cities cut expenses sharply as fuel prices continue to rise

Most households in top-10 cities have been sharing concerns related to rising fuel prices and their focus on budget while shopping during this festive season.

A majority of households (around 60 per cent) in top-10 cities of the country are spending during the ongoing festive season, but the rising prices of petrol and diesel and increased prices of essentials have made them more budget- or value-conscious, according to a survey released on Sunday.

Online platform LocalCircles in its 'Mood of the Consumer' national survey covering over 61,000 households across top-10 cities claims to have seen a huge improvement in consumer sentiment.

According to the survey, the percentage of households planning to spend during festive season 2021 jumped from 30 per cent in May 2021 to 60 per cent in September 2021, as COVID-19 cases drastically reduced and economic certainty improved in these four months.

"Most households from these top-10 cities have been sharing in the past 30 days the concerns related to rising prices of fuel and essentials and their focus on budget when shopping during this festive season in the various online communities on the LocalCircles platform," LocalCircles founder Sachin Taparia told PTI.

He said that due to this, residents of seven of the top-10 cities rated budget as their top shopping criteria in the survey.

The LocalCircles survey covered Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Pune, Gurugram, and Noida, and it claimed that the study received over 1.95 lakh responses from over 61,000 households located across these cities.

"Budget is the top criteria for households of Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurugram, Kolkata, Pune and Ahmedabad; while for households in Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai and Noida 'Safety' is more important. 'Convenience' is also quite an important criterion for Noida, Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad households," the survey said.

The survey found that at least one of two residents in the top-eight cities out of the 10-top surveyed are doing the majority of their festive shopping by ordering online or locally for home delivery.

LocalCircles said that based on the inputs received, while the majority of households in Mumbai and Kolkata are likely to visit stores and markets as their primary channel for festive shopping, in other top cities, most households are likely to order the majority of what they need for home delivery.

"The key standout cities were Hyderabad (75 per cent), Noida (72 per cent), Pune (67 per cent) and Chennai (60 per cent), where over 60 per cent of the respondents said they prefer purchasing most of what they need to be delivered to them instead of going to stores and markets.

"Kolkata (57 per cent) and Mumbai (52 per cent) were the two large cities where more people will visit markets," according to the survey.

Smartphones, consumer electronics, white goods and appliances, home renovation, and devices upgrade are some of the big-ticket purchases that residents in the top-10 cities are planning to make during the festive season.

All households in Hyderabad and Noida, 83 per cent in Gurugram, 80 per cent in Bengaluru, 57 per cent Mumbai, and 48 per cent in Chennai are likely to purchase products under smartphones and consumer electronics.

Seventy-five per cent of households of Pune, 58 per cent of Delhi, and 42 per cent in Ahmedabad are likely to buy white goods and appliances, the survey said.

In Kolkata, 80 per cent of households doing big-ticket spending are likely to buy home renovation products like furnishings and furniture.

In the foods and grocery category, during the festive season, all households of Hyderabad, 84 per cent of Delhi, 84 per cent of Gurugram, 83 per cent of Noida, 80 per cent of Kolkata, 72 per cent of Mumbai, and 70 per cent of Pune are likely to spend on dry fruits, traditional sweets, chocolates, bakery products, etc, the survey report said.

Residents in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Noida surveyed are all likely to purchase apparel, while 42 per cent of households in Chennai and 35 per cent in Ahmedabad are likely to spend on buying cosmetics, fragrances, shoes, bags and other accessories, the survey report said.