A Nielsen survey on the Urban Middle and Rich (Umar) estimates a total of 2.5 million affluent households in India, of which 2.2 million belong to the Upper Middle segment, the Upper Upper Middle consists of some 0.2 million households and The Rich of about 0.1 million households.
The survey says the top 10 affluent Indian cities are Delhi, Bangalore, Greater Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kochi, Pune, Jaipur and Ahmedabad.
The survey defined the affluent class on lifestyle and consumer durables. The variables considered for lifestyle mapping were: employment of domestic help (maid/driver), holiday trips abroad and dining-out habits. For durable ownership, the variables considered were laptop/desktop, air-conditioner, car, television, microwave, washing machine, and number of family members with internet connection at home and the type of connection used.
Households that own a car and a computer, but without an LCD and a holiday abroad, were considered as upper class. Likewise, the Upper Upper Middle segment consisted of the owners of a car, a computer, an LCD, but miss a holiday abroad. The Rich segment owned a car, a computer and an LCD, and also take a holiday abroad.
“The primary reason for conducting Nielsen Umar was to obtain, first, a realistic estimate of this segment, as there is no study in India which provides an accurate estimate of this target group. Large scale surveys like the NRS and IRS grossly underestimate this segment, as their sampling procedures are directed towards a mass audience,” said Partha Rakshit, MD, South Asia, Nielsen.
