Lockdown 4.0: Indians to buy more food and healthcare products in the coming months, finds survey

A recent survey conducted by Mintel, the world’s leading global market intelligence revealed that Indians would ramp up their expenditure on food and healthcare products in the coming months. Household care, leisure/entertainment and clothing accessory products were also among the top 5 products wherein Indians would be prioritizing their expenditure, the survey found.
The survey stated that Indians would spend more on healthcare products (64 percent) followed by food (60 percent), household products (56 percent), leisure/entertainment (54 percent) and clothing accessory products such as footwear (53 percent). Amongst these, 72 percent of those in the 35-44 age group said they would buy more food products compared to 35 percent of those in the age group of 18-24 years. In fact, 77 percent of the consumer aged between 35-44 will spend more on healthcare products compared to 49 percent of consumers aged (18-24).
Moreover, in terms of regional demographics – consumers from South India (71 percent) are likely to spend more on food followed by North (64 percent), West (57 percent) and East India (47 percent). Similarly, for healthcare products consumers from South (72 percent) are likely to spend the most on healthcare products, followed by North and West India (63 percent) each and East India (59 percent).
Speaking on the findings, Nidhi Sinha, Head of Content, Mintel India said, “Post staying at home for over two months, many Indians are prioritising their expenditure and needs basis their immediate requirements. Healthy lifestyle is a top priority among Indian consumers, and understandably so. In fact, as consumers spend more on food, most Indians are going back to eating home cooked food and this can now be seen across age groups, including millennials who are warming up to this trend.”
In the present scenario, it is important for brands to continue focussing on the health and wellness aspect of their products while at the same time being empathetic and understanding of consumer needs in the current situation.”
The survey found some interesting insights on what Indians would like to do once the lockdown has been fully relaxed.
Amongst the top activities that Indians would like to engage in post complete relaxation of the lockdown include spending in-person time with their family or friends (33 percent) followed by going back to their normal work/study life (32 percent). Health also comes as a top priority for Indians as 28 percent mentioned that they would like to return to their usual exercise routine. There were also 19 percent of Indians who mentioned they would be interested in going out for a meal while 21 percent would be interested in going out for drinks.
“This one-of-a-kind shutdown is sure to have long-term effects on consumer behaviour – ranging from personal hygiene and health to social interaction. It is important for companies and brands to connect with consumers now in a personal, yet responsible, way to establish or deepen build trust and loyalty, which consumers will remember once the crisis is over. Brands that can innovate and stand strong in order to be there for consumers to help them through times of crisis, as well as meet their evolving needs are the ones that will find success today and post-COVID-19,” Nidhi added.
The survey was conducted amongst 500+ Indians by Mintel and Dynata in the period of May 11-13, 2020.