If individual Key Urban Towns (KUTs) do not score as high as metros with regard to affluence, the high scores on future growth potential push them up in the overall ranking.

The Ernst & Young study highlights the huge potential for KUTs such as Pune and Chandigarh that rank higher than metros like Chennai and Kolkata.

Explaining the reasons behind this growth of small town India in consumer spending patterns, it says that earlier the key challenge for marketing beyond metros, especially in Tier 3 and 4 towns and rural India, had traditionally been logistics. But recent investments and developments in infrastructure and connectivity have brought the marketer in closer contact with KUTs, Rest of Urban India (ROUI) and rural areas. “In addition, the movement of organised retail into smaller towns has meant that it is easier and more cost effective for the marketer to access KUT,” the study says.

The rise of organised retail chains and malls provide a one-stop shop for marketers to purvey their goods and services.