The Indian consumer

Today I went on a market tour. A trip to the local bazaar to learn more about the Indian consumer. A typical street filled with people selling all sorts of stuff – right from a “Hidesign” bag to glass bangles. With hardly any space to walk, this street has got buses trying to squeeze through. So here goes post#1 of my Lessons from the Marketplace series.

1. Bargaining is everything.

2. Religion and emotional sentiments are used to sell. (They work!)

3. Prices are decided based on market conditions and your face.

Bargaining power – I walked into / upto a slightly modern large push cart / shop that sold footwear. And there, I could see the latest peep toes advertised in Vogue right in front of me. The woman who bought them is far from the original TG of those designs. The price asked initially was Rs. 250 (Vogue … take notice). She bargained, argued, fought, negotiated. Ten minutes from then, she was the proud owner of the latest red shiny peep toes after paying Rs 50.

Religion & emotional sentiments - I didnt know it works in the most blatant form too. India is one land that is highly superstitious irrespective of the religion. Here was a man who sold guavas from a cycle. He was offering them at 20 bucks each. A woman tried to get him to give 5 for 50 bucks. He came down to 3 for 50 and she bought them. All with a mere mention of God! He said (and Im not kidding) “Please, in the name of God, Im telling you, I cant offer it for anything lower than this.”

Prices are decided based on market conditions and your face -

General market conditions – So many people selling the same thing, prices are completely market-controlled. Money is made / lost in extremely small margins. A lot depends on the bargaining tactics employed by the consumer.

Your face – True. Thanks to my jeans, tee and the new hairdo, I got cheated. With a camera slung over, clad in jeans and tee, I did not exactly look one with the saree clad crowd. I paid 500 bucks for my “pashmina” while a girl who walked in after me paid 100 for the same.

On my next tour to the marketplace, I want to try and draw comparisons between the regular local marketplace visitors and the upper class Indians. Somehow I believe that these three insights are not alien to the upper class Indian consumer. What do you think?