1 out of 2 Indians plan to upgrade smartphones, reveals HT Media-Aroscop survey

The report involved a pan-India survey of over 13,000 Indian consumers who read various HT Media platforms, and asked them to reveal their shopping and purchase channel preferences this festive season. The survey revealed that Indians are ready for much needed revenge shopping and travel after two years of low-key celebrations.

According to the report, HT Media has become a preferred destinations for the brands who want to establish the high brand recall among its premium, affluent and engaged audiences. Here are the other findings from the report.

1. One out of four HT Media readers said they are planning to buy a four-wheeler around Diwali and Dussehra. The most popular choice of car is hatchback with 38 per cent of the readers opting for it, the multi-utility vehicles or sports utility vehicles preferred by 31 per cent buyers.

2. Out of the readers surveyed, 40 per cent of them said they received information related to automobile offers from newspapers while 31 per cent of them got it from digital ads. The message was clear: almost ¾th of the willing shippers are utilising HT Media’s print and digital platforms as channels for information on new launches, festive offers and deals.

3. One out of two readers said he/she is planning to buy a smartphone this festive season. Out of these, 76 per cent of them wanted to buy or upgrade their smartphones via e-commerce platforms whereas the remaining would prefer offline shopping experience.

4. More than half of the population surveyed indicated they have a budget of over ₹25,000 for smartphones. Moreover, 50 per cent of the survey respondents said they plan to buy consumer electronics like headphones, speakers, television sets etc.

5. According to the report, one in three respondents who planning to buy electronic products said he/she would shop for wearables. Nearly 60 per cent of them stated they receive information on consumer electronic product offers from newspapers and digital ads.

6. At least 66 per cent of the HT Media readers said they intended to buy gold, jewellery or investment in other gold vehicles this festive season. A whopping 90 per cent of the respondents said they will be visiting stores to buy jewellery.

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7. At least 45 per cent of the Indians are planning to buy home and kitchen appliances during festive season like refrigerators, food processors, air-fryers and more. At least 50 per cent of them said they will buy these products online while the remaining 50 per cent preferred to visit the stores.

8. The report said that the same ratio and channel preferences were observed for buying apparel and footwear accessories. The discount and other offers were the main reasons for the people to choose e-commerce platforms for shopping.

9. At least 42 per cent of the Indians said they missed going on family vacations followed by 30 per cent saying they missed going to restaurants and movies.

10. The report is HT Media’s attempt at capturing the Indian consumer sentiment towards festive spending that reflected an optimistic picture for businesses across the country. The consumers are fast turning towards online channels for large percentage of their shopping needs across the country. The opportunity for e-commerce and D2C brands to be visible to a premium audience on HT Media properties is immense, the report added.