INTRODUCTION

Differences between Rural and Urban Consumer lifestyle

Marketers cannot afford to overlook the behaviour of rural consumers since the rural market
(68.84%) is greater than the urban market (31.16%).
A rural consumer is a person who purchases goods from rural markets. More specifically, a
rural consumer is someone who purchases goods and services for their own use, resale, or
reproduction in rural areas.
Less disposable income is available to rural consumers. As a result, they favour purchasing
cheaper goods. In terms of lifestyles and thought processes, they differ from urban customers.
Understanding rural consumers, getting services to remote areas, and engaging with a diverse
audience are just a few of the problems that the rural market concept in India still needs to
overcome. Even though there are several obstacles to reaching the rural market, practically all
businesses are flocking there. This is primarily due to a saturated urban market and positive
changes in the rural market, including bettering lifestyles, habits, and tastes; rising levels of
literacy; rising incomes; raising expectations and aspirations; bettering infrastructure; and
government support through various programmes, etc. Today's rural consumers use branded
products as well, and India's rural markets provide practically all major brands.
Even if the gap between Indian consumers in rural and urban areas is closing, there is still a
significant disparity between them in terms of geographic, demographic, and psychographic
factors. These variations are leading to varied consumer behaviour in rural and urban areas,
necessitating various marketing methods for these areas. This report aims to examine lifestyle
variations between rural and urban consumer on the basis of Mobile Phones
People buy and consume goods whether they live in a city or a village. They are all buyers.
However, their purchasing behaviour is influenced by their location, and some differences in
their purchase, decision-making process, and product use have been observed. This report
explains how rural lifestyle differs from urban lifestyle by using a product that we have
chosen, namely Mobile phones
Mobile phone technology effectively reduces the "distance" between individuals and
institutions, making information and knowledge sharing easier and more effective. The use of
a handset can strengthen social networks and empower individuals.
Mobile phones are now used to provide information to farmers. Many Asian countries use
SMS and multimedia-enabled systems.
Stakeholders are utilising various aspects of mobile telephony to improve rural development
because it: provides a reliable and timely communication channel in the context of markets,
extension advice, monitoring, finances, health, and so on; provides multiple formats for
information in one device; provides accessibility for illiterate users (i.e. voice and images);
and provides speed of communication for time-sensitive information (e.g. disease outbreaks).