← External Forces: Demographic, Consumer & Market (all topics)
Gen Z & millennial consumers
What it is
Consumers born from the late 1980s onward, who will be roughly three-quarters of Indians by 2030 and already account for a large share of consumption. They research digitally before purchase, expect transparency on ingredients and sourcing, and switch brands readily
They are the first cohort with no memory of scarcity-era Indian retail
Impact on industries
- Higher willingness to spend and to trade up, with less attachment to legacy brands - which is an opportunity for challengers
- Digital discovery lowers the cost of reaching them, so a new brand can build awareness without a national distribution network
- Low brand loyalty cuts both ways, so incumbents lose positions built over decades far faster than they once did
- They demand claim substantiation on health, sustainability and sourcing, which raises compliance and reformulation cost