Bengalureans tops in two, three-wheeler purchases

Amid concerns of depressed consumer demand taking a toll on Indian economy, a study by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) has found consumer durables demand rising in major cities in the last one year.

The survey sample of a thousand rural and urban poor across the cities showed that the highest number of respondents 72% had bought consumer durables in the last year were from Bengaluru followed by Kolkata at 62% and Delhi at 52%. Bhopal reported the lowest, with just about one-third 38%, having made any such purchase.

Even in a tepid automobile sale market, two and three-wheeler purchases were highest in Bengaluru at 23% followed by Delhi at 17%.

City-wise analysis of items bought suggested that mobile phone purchase were the highest in Mumbai (78%) followed by Bhopal (68%). But kitchen and home appliances purchases were second highest in Bengaluru at 48%, only next to Kolkata at 58%.

Consumer spending surveys produce most accurate result when conducted among middle and low-income group as these are the most price-sensitive consumers.

On credit availability for such purchases, 67% of middle-income group and 44% of low-income group consumer they were aware and availed personal loans to purchase durables. Again, Bengaluru had the highest number of 74% respondents, who were aware of loans by banks and NBFCs while only 31% of respondents in Bhopal were aware of the existence of loans through NBFCs.

Bengaluru also had the highest proportion of respondents who had availed of loans, 70% (belonging to different income slabs) said that they had availed of such loans in different slabs. The quantum of consumer loans taken by the respondents is showed, in Mumbai, 95% of the respondents had not taken any such loans in the last year.

In Bhopal, 98% of participants reported that they had taken loans from formal sources while for Bengaluru, the corresponding figure was 88%. Out of the respondents in Kolkata, 54% reported that they took most of their loans from informal sources.