India's retail consumers tightened belts this year, as price hikes pushed grocery spending down 1% in the March quarter, with rural households cutting 5%, according to Worldpanel by Numerator. When budgets tighten, households put necessities first," said Umesh Kumar Agarwal, director at Haldiram Marketing.
Despite the downturn, consumer durables earned a larger share of wallet spend after GST cuts, yet 68% of FMCG categories saw volume declines, with washing liquids, detergent bars and toilet soaps leading the slide," said Manoj Menon, director at commercial worldpanel division. Overall volumes fell 2%.
Rising input costs have knocked magic price points, forcing firms to hike prices multiple times. Jayatheertha Chary, MD at Mother Dairy, said the company will keep adjusting to keep affordability, distribution and availability in focus. Mayank Shah, CMO at Parle Products, added that the focus would remain on affordability rather than further price increases.
The CPI data slated for July will let the RBI gauge inflationary pressures, potentially shaping its forthcoming policy meeting.