By a correspondent
New research published by Titan Company’s Paradox Panel, a think-tank convened to research, debate and develop insights into India’s 21-35 year-olds states that the status associated with communicating and sharing each stage of the purchase process is potentially more important to India’s millennial consumers than what they actually purchase.
According to the report, with 89 per cent of Indian millennials researching online before making a purchase, and 74 per cent believing that they influence the buying decisions of others, the entire consumption process has become an opportunity to enhance profile and status – from research to post-purchase.
While India’s millennials are extremely individualistic in their shopping habits, the report suggests that 43 per cent Indian millennials shop alone and a third of them cite ‘personal satisfaction’ as the single most important factor behind their decision-making – the need for endorsement, validation and communication of each stage of the purchase process remains ever-present. Further, 9 out of 10 Indian millennials actually believe it’s their responsibility to share feedback with companies after a good or bad brand experience; sharing is not merely desirable for millennials, it has become a fundamental aspect of consumer behaviour.
The concept of Collective Individualism highlights this demographic group’s obsession with self-expression, individual choice and personal opinion, while at the same time exhibiting an unprecedented desire to share and belong to some form of community, both in the professional and personal context. According to the Paradox Panel’s Second Quarterly Report – India’s Millennial Paradox and what it means for the way they consume – this contradiction is palpable at each stage of the purchase process.
Another consumer trend revealed in the report is millennials’ obsession with the search for wisdom; not knowledge in the traditional sense, but rather information which is compelling yet difficult to find – the more compelling the information and complex the search the greater the resulting prestige.
According to S Ravi Kant, CEO, Eyewear Division & Executive Vice President Corporate Communications, the purchase process perfectly reflects the Collective Individual paradox at the heart of India’s millennials. “India’s millennials see value not just beyond the product but in all stages of the ‘highly involved’ purchase cycle; from the research and selection to the acquisition and the final experience. The ability to share and validate each step of the process is absolutely critical. The contradiction being that, while today’s millennial consumers demand an experience which is genuinely personalised and unique, they also crave endorsement and approval at each stage of the process.”
To mark Titan company’s 25th anniversary, the Paradox Panel comprising Aditya Swamy – Executive Vice President, MTV India, Dr. Bino Paul – Professor and Chairperson, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Kaustav Sengupta – Associate Professor at National Institute of Fashion Technology, Sam Ahmed, Film Director and Arun Nair, Your Design and Punchline will be exploring the implications of the Millennial Paradox on India’s youth in terms of their consumer behaviour, family and relationships, professional lives and careers, and leisure.