A silent consumer revolution in the smaller metros

For years, marketers have pampered the top metros of India by showering all their attention on consumers in these cities. If a recent report by consulting major EY is to be believed, the focus has to be enlarged much more quickly than one can anticipate.

 

According to an EY report titled ‘India’s growth paradigm: How markets beyond metros have transformed’ tapping the next ten high-potential new wave markets can deliver an incremental reach equivalent to the combined spends of Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and Ahmedabad – in a short time span of the next three-four years. 

 

According to the study, when the population and per capita incomes are considered together, the purchasing power of these ten cities (Bhopal, Chandigarh, Indore, Jabalpur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Nagpur, Patna, Vadodara, Vizag is nearly INR 4 trillion which is on par with four metros mentioned above.

 

The factors in favour of these cities is their growing population and increasing investments from the central government. All the cities except Patna in the next 10 have already won funding from the Smart Cities Mission. “At INR 40-60 billion each the planned projects of Chandigarh, Indore and Jabalpur are particularly notable and are set to boost development,” says the report.

Key indicators like a leap in air passenger are also favourable to these cities. Air traffic to these cities increased by as much as 57 per cent in the period 2012-16 as compared to 35 per cent in the case of metros.

 

The media markets of these ten new wave cities are different to that of metros, in that they skew more towards print and radio compared to television in the major metros. “This means marketers cannot take a one-size-fits-all approach and must select appropriate media vehicles to target audience.

 

For instance, Chandigarh despite having a population of just over one million (compared to Mumbai’s 21 million), serves as a major print hub in North India and has the country’s seventh largest print ad volume. Meanwhile, markets like Lucknow and Patna have also seen rising print penetration, recording over 8 per cent annual circulation growth in recent years.

 

“Not coincidentally, these three literate, print-centric markets are also amongst the top-ranked non-metros in terms of digital consumption,” says the study.

 

Ashish Pherwani, media and entertainment advisory leader, EY India says, “Non-metro growth is out-stripping that of metros in India. There are clear cases of unmet demand in India’s top 50 cities in certain sectors. This provides a huge opportunity for various sectors to both widen and deepen marketing strategies, and effectively tap into one of the world’s largest earning populations.”