Rural India will continue to outpace urban expansion in FMCG sales: Kantar

As per Kantar's latest report, Rural India is emerging as a robust growth engine for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sales and is expected to outperform urban markets in the second quarter of 2024. The report underscores rural markets' resilience and potential resurgence, bolstered by targeted government initiatives from the interim budget earlier this year to foster stability. It anticipates that rural areas will continue to show robust growth, surpassing urban counterparts, which have struggled with stagnant growth over the past three quarters and face challenges due to a high base in the second quarter of 2023.

Kantar Worldpanel's Managing Director for South Asia, Mr. K Ramakrishnan, highlights the shift in urban consumer dynamics, noting a slowdown in categories such as noodles and salty snacks that had previously seen rapid growth since the pandemic. Despite concerns over varying rainfall patterns impacting rabi crop yields, particularly in Central and South India, the report predicts sustained momentum in rural FMCG sales. It suggests that rural markets, typically contributing 35 to 37% of total FMCG sales, will likely maintain their growth trajectory, outperforming urban areas for the foreseeable future.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.