Why is shopping becoming more individualistic across urban India?

Fewer people are going shopping with families and in groups and more people have been making individual purchases in recent times, said an analyst

Shopping in urban India is becoming more individualised with younger and more affluent shoppers in bigger cities preferring to shop alone over doing so with their friends or family, an Economic Times (ET) report said.

This shift in consumers' shopping behaviour from a traditionally collective exercise can be attributed to the growth of ecommerce platforms and social media, as well as a rise in the number of consumers who attain financial independence at a young age.

Venugopal Nair, Shoppers Stop’s MD, told analysts last week that fewer people were going shopping with families and in groups and that more people were making individual purchases.

Despite the shifting trends, Shoppers Stop has been trying to bring in brands which cater to that segment, Nair added.

According to social commentator Santosh Desai, there has been a change in how people are exposed to fashion influences or purchase decisions more on a personal level through social media on private devices like mobile phones.

“There is a wider trend towards people realising who they are as individuals and recognising their own personalities, which is a noticeable change from the collective identity they used to have in a nation like India," he told ET.

"Although this is a phenomenon that affects all of India, urban India sees a greater reflection of it in individual shopping since consumers there have more means to buy,” said Desai, managing director, Futurebrands Consulting.

Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies said single-serve packs are selling better in markets with higher proportions of younger professionals and high penetration of quick commerce.

Nilesh Gupta, director at electronics retail chain Vijay Sales said that the touch and feel factor in purchasing appliances is reducing, particularly among high-income consumers, who are either coming alone to buy or even ordering over the phone.

“This could be because of ecommerce. However, first-time buyers are still coming in groups," Gupta said.

Young people are mostly shopping on their own, and brands catering to them are doing very well, said Devaranjan Iyer, CEO of department store chain Lifestyle. “But families are also coming,” he said.

Shoppers Stop has four direct-to-consumer (D2C) fashion brands that it has identified as an area of future investment, and it is preparing to launch a young streetwear D2C brand called Break Bounce.

B Krishna Rao, senior category head, Parle Products said that the demand for small packs in FMCG and grocery is higher in areas with a larger population of young consumers. However, they occasionally buy large packs for get-togethers.