Digital is the new ‘symbol’ of emerging lifestyles among urban Indian net users
- Digital is increasingly dominating net users’ lifestyle choices.
- Digital friendly features top their gadget buying agendas.
- Netizens
- are fairly ‘integrated’ Indians in their media habits.
- More of them prefer to ‘invest’ rather than to ‘save’.
- They associate success very highly with ‘monetary’ success, but essentially look up to Indians as their role models.
Consumers do not buy products and brands they buy lifestyles. If that is the scenario, then what are the lifestyles that regular net users are seeking or buying? And how has the Internet impacted and influenced their lifestyle and consumption preferences?
For urban Indian net users, the digital age is slowly but surely dawning. They are using digital means of entertainment more and aspire to upgrade to a lifestyle that is digitally driven.
These and other key insights have emerged out of one of the largest online surveys conducted by JuxtConsult in April 2005 among the Internet users in India. The survey sampled more than 30,000 users with the aim to unravel the identity of the net user along with his lifestyle choices. To estimate the penetration of Internet among urban Indians a telephonic survey spread across ten cities with over 3,000 participants was also conducted.
Digital is increasingly dominating net users’ choice of passing time at home. Net surfing is the most preferred pastime at home already for one in every five net users. It is the third most popular pastime at home among them at 21% and not far behind of the top two choices - watching television and listening to music. The three digital forms of entertainment together are dominating home lives. Social ‘interaction’ has to fit within this way of life, or else it gets left out.
Interestingly, net surfing ‘at home’ is more popular among housewives with access to Internet than it is with working women with access to the net. Though housewives constitute only a miniscule proportion of urban Indian net users presently, it may be seen as a ‘pointer’ of good times coming in the future for the marketers on the net.
The digital wave is also reflected in the kind of gadgets ‘netsumers’ (consumers with access to the net) want to buy to enliven their lifestyles. Camera equipped mobile phones; computers, digital cameras, DVD and MP3 audio systems, home theater systems, fully automatic washing machines, microwaves and air conditioners top their buying agendas. And these buying preferences are not just exclusive to users based in metro cities but are equally aspired for in the smaller cities.
It seems that the ‘integrated technology’ features have become the new ‘symbols’ of the emerging lifestyle aspirations of netsumers.
Money mark of success, Indians top idols
Netsumers associate success very highly with ‘monetary’ success and their top role models are the rich and famous. Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan rub shoulders with Dhirubhai Ambani, L.N.Mittal and Narayana Murthy among the top 10 role models of success for net users. Only president APJ Abdul Kalam stands out for his success without any ‘money’ factor involved in the top ten.
However, Indian net users essentially look up to only ‘Indians’ as their role models of success. Bill Gates is the only foreigner in their list of top 20 role models. The next foreigner to follow is Michael Schumacher at number 38.
Teenage net users look up to their fathers as role models. Male users, however, do not cite any women who can be the epitome of success for them. On the other hand, female netizens do not share any such bias and their idols of success belong to both genders.
Online loyalty has offline roots
The web also serves as the favorite medium to stay in touch with the world for net users. Internet is also the preferred way to keep in touch with news for 42% net users. Television follows at number two with 32% net users picking it, followed thereafter by newspapers. Magazines, mobiles or radio are still fairly insignificant means for staying in tune with what is happening around them.
The ‘big four’ of the Indian media predominate the net users’ mind spaces across the country. Star TV among TV channels, Times of India among newspapers, India Today among magazines and Radio Mirchi among radio channels are clear favorites in most geographical regions.
To a certain extent, only south stands out as a region with relatively more distinct media preferences.
Confidence in the future fuelling investments
Netizens share a buoyant optimism in their future and are investing in it for better security. Invest first, spend later is their motto. Around 60% of them prefer to invest in riskier-but-higher return saving options like shares and mutual funds rather than in safer-but-lower return options like insurance or pension schemes, bonds or fixed deposits. While 33% users prefer to invest in mutual funds, 26% of them have an inclination for investing in shares.
Classier choices, Premium preferences
Netsumers are willing to invest in upgraded lifestyle products. They do not mind shelling out for better quality buys. In fact, two out of every three in the net tribe is willing to pay ‘mid or upward’ price for their desired product type and value added features. Be it FMCG or lifestyle products, netsumers are enthusiastic about adopting a premium way of life.
Some instances of netsumers reaching out for a first-rate lifestyle are:
- 35% net users display interest in buying a mid size or premium car which may carry a price tag of over 4 lakh.
- Diamonds are best friends for 41% of the web shoppers and 30% of them are loyal to gold jewellery.
- A mobile cum palmtop is likely preference of 20% users.
Branded binds consumer minds
Those brands, which are highly visible and relevant to user lifestyles, irrespective of product or service category, sustain themselves in the mind space of netsumers. At the unaided brand recall level, netsumers recollect more ‘lifestyle’ brands such as those of clothes, accessories and lifestyle products like cars, bikes, mobiles, televisions and home appliances. And this is despite the fact that at the unaided ad recall level, netsumers bear in mind ads of ‘personal’ brands such as those of FMCG products like soft drinks, chocolates, toiletries.
While Pepsi, Tata and Sony are highest recalled brands across the net population, it is Pepsi, Coca Cola and Cadbury’s, which are recollected for their advertising. Pepsi clearly scores as the most visible of brands, which dominate the netsumers’ mind space.
In conclusion, the lifestyle of net users is gearing up gradually towards a more ‘integrated’ and ‘digitized’ way of living. And that is increasingly determining not only how they spend time at home or when they go out, but also what products, value added features and brands they choose and prefer.
The marketers who are using the net to reach to these consumers must catch these lifestyle trends to fit in and remain relevant, or they face the threat of being left out of the shopping basket of these netsumers.
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