Priyam Veer Singh, a worker in a restaurant in south Delhi, recently bought a smartphone worth Rs 25,000. Not only that, he gifted his wife one too. Like Priyam, Axat Bharadwaj, a Delhi-based techie, too used his credit card to buy a smartphone that cost Rs 50,000.
Proliferation of credit cards, easy EMI options, cash back and other rewards are luring the young into splurging on premium products. The Rise of Affluent India, a recent report by investment bank Goldman Sachs, says the consumption of premium goods in India has seen a significant rise in recent years. This trend has been labelled the “premiumisation of the Indian economy” by analysts.
According to the report, premium brands have grown vis-a-vis mass brands. While sales of Royal Enfields have gone north, mass motorcycle brands have shrunk by nearly 20% compared to pre-Covid levels. Similarly, sports-utility vehicle sales have been higher than overall car sales.