Those of us born before 1980,saw our fathers,sometimes mothers,doing the familys shopping. Our parents were the influencers,buyers and consumers for all home requirement purchases. We accepted everything without questioning,be it food,clothing or pocket money,for fear of a reprimand. But showing good results in school was a licence to negotiate hard with your mother for extra pocket money. We even managed a small Lakshmi Bhandar (terracotta piggy bank) in the hope that the Hindu goddess of wealth would always protect our savings.
Up to 1990,every fathers pocket was sealed,but today,its all become topsy-turvy. Lakshmi Bhandar potters may have lost their jobs because the Zap generation (Digital Zap: born 1986 onwards: the span can go back to 1980 to all below 30 years,Compromise generation: born after 1965 upto 1980: 30 – 45 years,Retro generation: Born before 1965: 45+ years) does not save,they love to spend. Busy parents compensate guilt over denying quality time to children by becoming indulgent. The buyer,influencer and consumer are not the same person anymore. People from the age of five to 22 years make choices for all types of products for the family. From savings and frugal spending,the trend is to shop,shop and shop to overcome situations like boredom,depression or excitement at festivities.
Different living conditions: Tracking the impact of 1991 economic reforms,weve found that Indias traditional joint family has broken into seven living structures,especially in urban areas: 1) Young working boy or girl living independently when far from home. 2) Nuclear family where only the husband works. 3) Nuclear families where both husbands and wifes work panders to the childrens demands. 4) Unmarried boy and girl living together. Acceptance of this relationship is an inverted situation for Compromise and Retro parents. Those who cannot accept pretend not to know anything. 5) Joint family,inside which are self-indulging goodies like expensive chocolates not shared outside the nuclear unit. According to income or family size,there could be different refrigerators in a joint family where cooking happens in one kitchen only. Let me elaborate on 6) Neo-joint family and 7) Retired couples.
Neo-joint family: All married brothers living under the same roof with separate kitchens adhere to the great SAM principle,Solpa adjust madi meaning just adjust a bit in Kannada. This reflects the accommodating,tolerant character of Indians. Family members meet periodically for lunch or dinner in the parents kitchen. In consumer homes I visited in Ludhiana during research for a real estate company,a neo-joint family member was elucidating the boons and dilemmas of family bonding. He wanted to buy a Mercedes,but his elder brother drove a Maruti. Socially the elder had to own a car of similar or higher status so he felt constrained. Although his elder brother didnt mind,what would his parents think,or society say? Not to disturb family hierarchy,he resorted to family PR and persuaded his mother to speak to his elder brother to get everyones green signal.
Retired couple living alone: In a research trip to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar,I was taken aback talking with retired couples living in B class towns. Their vocabulary was buck driven,about exchange rate fluctuation with the dollar. The fact was that their children working in the IT sector in the US would send them monthly allowances with bonus on Mothers Day,Fathers Day. These were not yesteryears old fashioned retired couples; bankers were lining up to woo them to get a bit of their greenback savings.
Business gains: Why is it necessary to know how people live? For consumer market business,its among the most important opportunities to enlarge their offer. This multi-complexity arising from Indias diverse culture,religion,language does not exist anywhere else in the world. The family size cues product quantity or size,and clarifies different packet sizes to be handled for efficient supply chain management. It indicates the price band,sharpens the inventory and gives an idea of what products to bundle as special offers. If manufacturers know family living conditions,they can provide high proximity to different family size buyers through retailers. A retails neighbourhood catchment also rationalises the stores space accordingly. Without addressing this fundamental business source,marketers often bring Western marketing culture,which undoubtedly is innovative,but only its localised application in India can bring success.
Influencer,buyer and consumer: Purchase behaviour has radically changed even 60 km from metros. A 35-year-old mother with Rs 25,000 per month household income says her 11-year-old daughter decides the lipstick she should wear. Even the father of a 15-year-old bemoans his childs interference in his dressing. Clearly,Zappers are influencing every family purchase today. Sometimes they become buyers and consumers too. Compromise and Retro buy as per commanding Zapper influence. For instance,parents depend on Zapper recommendation for styling,technology and trend in buying a car although the father is the more frequent user.
In contrast,Zappers feel discordant in the corporate world. They cannot influence decision-making as Compromise and Retro do not value their knowledge of society and trend. So they often switch off,and flirt with jobs outside to enrich their CVs. To win their loyalty,work passion and reduce attrition,industries need to drastically change their traditional outlook and contemporarise corporate culture. Zap influence will more easily connect products and services to the external world because at the end of the day,Zappers are societys influencers.
Shombit Sengupta is an international creative business strategy consultant to top management. Reach him at
