RURAL BUYING BEHAVIOR

Emergence of Rural Buying

Behavior
• Excessive competition and saturation
in urban markets is driving many
FMCG and consumer durables
companies into the rural markets of
India for survival and growth.
 When normal human beings get into trouble
they remember god and when Indian marketers
get into trouble they remember rural markets.

• Are rural buyers really different?

• Are they more brand loyal and less brand
aware?
• Are they all price sensitive?
• Do all of them prefer bright colors?
• Do rural women form a substantive buyer group
and have a say in buying decision?
UNDERSTANDING RURAL BUYING
BEHAVIOUR: DEVELOPING THE
FRAMEWORK
Customers in India can be divided into three
broad terms in form of geography and
sociological characteristics: Urban, Rural and
Rurban.
Rurban being the overlap between the two, with
pretension to being closer to urban in physical
features and proximity to larger urban centers,
but deep rural sociological moorings.
 SOME MYTHS AND POSSIBILITIES
Following is a brief commentary on some
popular myths and possible realities regarding
rural buying behavior:
• Huge geographical dispersion, unable to serve
• Wealth is in metros and mini-metros, hence the
demand for urban groups
• Low aspiration levels, particularly for poor
• Rural buyers are non rational
• Rural buyers are price sensitive
• Role of opinion Leaders, Elders and Women
• Traditional Vs. Modern
• Brand Awareness: Low Exposure and High
Loyalty
• Quality consciousness
 RURAL POOR AS CONSUMERS
• Marketers have raised aspirations through
displays and communications without making
products affordable and available
• Despite their knowledge of the low literacy rates
prevailing in the rural areas and the very real
possibilities of counterfeits marketers have not
done enough to educate the customers
• Creating confusion in the market through brand
proliferation and extensions in the name of
consumer choice
• Promoting social evils like dowry through ‘sleek’
communication during the marriage season
 BUYING BEHAVIOR OF RURAL
CONSUMERS
Factors influencing buying behavior:
• Influence of culture: Culture and tradition
influence perception and buying behavior. For
example, the preference in respect of color,
size and shape is often the result of cultural
factors. Rural consumers perception of
products is strongly influenced by cultural
factors
• Geographic locations: Rural consumer
behavior is also influenced by the geographic
location of the consumers. For example, we
can point out the fact that the lack of electricity
in many rural households acts as a barrier to
the purchase of certain consumer durables.
• Exposure to urban lifestyles: Extent of
exposure of rural consumers to urban lifestyles
also influences their buying behavior. An
increased exposure and interaction with urban
communities has been the trend in recent
years.
• The way the consumer uses the products:
The situation in which the consumers utilize the
product also influences their buying. Example,
since rural consumers cannot use washing
powders/detergent powders that much, as they
wash their clothes in streams or ponds, they go
in more for washing bars and detergent cakes.
• Places of purchase: Buying behavior of rural
consumer also varies depending on the place
of purchase. Different buyers buy their
requirements from different places/outlets.
Some buy from the village shopkeepers; some
from village markets/fairs.
• Involvement of others in the purchase:
Involvement of others in the purchase decision
is yet another relevant factor in this regard.
There has been a change here in recent years.
In the past, the head of the family used to make
the purchase decision all by himself. In
contrast, the involvement of the other members
of the family in the purchase decision has been
growing in recent years. An increase in literacy
coupled with greater access to information has
resulted in this development. The marketer has
to reckon the role of the influencers while sizing
up the buying behavior of rural consumers.
• Marketers efforts to reach out the rural
market: In recent years, many corporate
companies have been trying hard to develop a
market for their products in the rural areas,
investing substantially in these areas. This has
brought about some change in the way buyers
purchase different products. Developmental
marketing has created discriminating buyers
and hitherto unknown demand in the rural
market.
THANK YOU