Changing Dynamics of Family Purchase Behavior in Rural India

Given that India is one of the world's largest consumer markets and is an emerging world economic champion too, this market presents a potentially vast untapped source for research and business. With about 69% of population living in the villages and generating nearly half of the national income, the rural market is increasingly playing a very important and decisive role in the Indian marketing environment. In India, gradual changes are taking place in the cultural and sociological ethos, which have triggered changes in the purchase process and consumption patterns of Indians. As the influence of the family members in product purchase decisions is likely to vary across cultures and regions, the present study, attempts to explore the dynamics of family purchase behavior for selected products in the rural context. The Indian rural set up is undergoing a gradual change with increased literacy, a shift from agriculture to non-agricultural activities, emergence of 'individualized joint families', triggering a transition, in the purchase process of rural consumers, from unilateral decision making to a joint decision making process involving all the members of the family.