Abstract
The Background
In the last few years, India has been experiencing rapid urbanization. Many small cities have witnessed economic growth, driven by factors such as the expansion of industries, the establishment of small- and medium-sized enterprises, and increased investments in infrastructure. It can be witnessed that many smaller cities in India are catching up with their larger counterparts across the country and securing places in the list of world;s fastest-growing urban areas. However, most marketers have a black-and-white idea of our country, that is, there is an urban centre (read metro) at one end of the spectrum and then a rural (read villages) at the other end. The quintessential small towns, such as Dehradun, Vadodara and Kozhikode, were seen to feed off the crumbs of the metro or a slight upgrade from a village. Nothing could be farther from the truth. If black and white have strong hues, the grey of a small town is much more than just an assimilation of the black and white.
Some Facts and Figures
According to Census 2011, India has 46 cities with a population of a million plus, 43 cities having a population of half a million to 1 million and 88 cities with a population between half a million and a quarter million. At the turn of the century, these numbers were less than half of now. Thus, these small cities represent a largely untapped market with substantial growth potential. One can witness a rapid change in consumer behaviour in small cities. According to media reports, more than 50% of Amazon sales come from non-metro towns. In 2022, Amazon said that in the first 36 hours of its festive season sales, 75% of its total customer base came from tier 2 and 3 cities. Meesho and Flipkart claimed that the number of sellers on their platforms also showed a similar tier 2 and 3 bias.
Towns like Dehradun, Raipur, Jalandhar, Kochi and Nagpur, have arrived now.
Perception vs Reality
Let me take my experience, when I was shifting to Dehradun. My friends, mostly marketers, had slotted Dehradun to be the antithesis of a Gurgaon or Mumbai. In their mind, Dehradun did not offer what Mumbai had and Dehradun offered;what maybe rural India had. Not many corporate jobs (partially true), no nightlife (untrue), people do not understand English (untrue), no facilities for children (totally false), poor infrastructure (untrue), not many entertainment facilities (untrue) and so on.
The simple point here. It was interesting to see how these people had slotted India, as against Bharat. Entertainment meant malls and multiplexes (picnics were seen as a very rural or school kids phenomenon). Kids are very busy with extracurricular activities, such as dance, music and sports. Work meant well-paid corporate jobs, infrastructure meant flyovers and uninterrupted 4G from Airtel or Vodafone. (Yes, Idea was considered as a Bharat brand, more rural!). India seemed to be the antithesis of Bharat.
The reality, however, was very different. Bharat had moved quickly to adopt India. A new generation was already there which behaved as the Indians in India. But they had not abandoned Bharat. Their roots were firmly entrenched in Bharat but their hopes, ambitions and dreams were very Indian.
Welcome to Urban Bharat
The Urban Bhartiyas want to marry a partner of their choice but with the blessing of their parents. Arranged love marriage as these are called. They are taking bank loans to do an MBA, as an IAS, IFS or IPS job is not their Mount Everest anymore. They get Dainik Jagran at home but prefer to receive breaking news from it on their mobiles. They throng the multiplexes for new releases with popcorn but weekend outings are still Mussorie or Maldevta on bikes.
Some Insights About the Urban Bhartiya
Let us dive in to understand what makes the Urban Bhartiya stand out.
Cultural
The young Urban Bhartiya is still steeped in tradition. Festivals are celebrated with gusto. Religious affairs are taken seriously and family is still important. Yes, nuclear families are happening but at a slower rate. And given the small geography in smaller towns, the distance between families is not too great. This makes the youngster more social and less selfish.
They are as comfortable with Salman Khan as they are with Van Diesel. But they will not waste their data on foreign language programmes unless it has subtitles or dubbing in their language. Check how many Indian languages Netflix offers subtitles in and you will understand why Netflix has a poor subscription base, in spite of having reduced prices. An Urban Bharatiya wants more for the same price. Not less for less.
The Socio-economic Milieu
This plays an important role in their attitudes. While in the metros, most schools and private companies, at least the big ones, have a five-day-a-week work culture, in Urban Bharat it is still a six-day-a-week culture. What this means is that Sunday is the only day when everyone has to fit in personal, family and relaxation needs. Thus, Sunday becomes a day which is rationed off haphazardly. Unlike in Urban India when Saturday is the day for household chores and maybe some extra time at work and Sunday is the relaxing day.
The upside of this, of course, is that the young Urban Bhartiya is more hard working. He is accustomed to six days a week and has the mindset to cope with it. Not only that the one squeezed holiday in a week makes him appreciate his time much more, he does not waste it often too.
Strangely, Sunday is also the day when some markets in these non-metro towns are closed and of course, all banks and other commercial institutions are closed too. So, as it turns out many household chores, bank, government work etc. have to be squeezed in on a weekday. Now imagine if, in this Urban Bharat, banks offer some branches to be open on Sunday for a limited time. Or they are open till late evening on a working day. The same goes for government and municipal corporation offices.
The Lure and Mistrust of Government Jobs and Employees
As compared to Urban India, Urban Bharatiyas see government officials and their workings as more incompetent and more corrupt. The reason is simple. While in Urban India, a lot of government work is automated and online in Urban Bharat it is not yet the case. The Urban Bharat youngster is more frequently in touch with government officials. Corruption and inefficiency are more seen and experienced. This also leads to a lack of trust in authority.
And this mistrust in authority has bigger repercussions for a brand. A bad experience with a brand is not reported. They do not expect that customer service will help them. The concept of service is still not seen as a customer or consumer benefit. If a new cell phone goes bad they take it as their fate. Or if the new TV is not delivered on time, it is just shrugged off.
The Future of Urban Bhartiyas
But all this has already happened. One can see a much bigger change around the corner in these towns. And it will be because of the emergence of generation Z. The game changer for the Urban Bhartiya Gen Z is technology (referred to as UBZs). Let us see what are the characteristics of these UBZs.
The Impact of Technology
First, a good number of UBZs have also applied for MBA programmes in foreign universities. They have prepared and appeared for IELTS: online courses as well as classroom coaching. A lot of training happens online. They take online modules to test their English. Then they also have to write a Statement of Purpose (SOP). Till now, most of the UBZs were copying the SOP from some websites that specialize in the same. But now, most of the UBZ applicants are using chat GPT, Grammarly and some similar AI programmes. They had immediately caught onto the new technology.
The second trend is related to social media. One can find reels made by UBZs flooding social media and Instagram is child’s play to them. It is a fact that most GenZ are Insta bhakts. They shun Facebook simply because their parents are on Facebook. The parents are on Facebook as it is easy to use, and low technology. Instagram, on the other hand, has many technology features. These UBZs keep on discovering new technologies, new features and of course new apps that they use on Insta. And then is Snapchat and most UBZs are an expert on Snapchat.
How UBZs are Different from their Metro Urban Counterparts
The UBZs grew up in the lap of technology. So, they took to it like a fish in water. Now one can argue and say that this is true for the whole GenZ. The difference is that the UBZ’s parents were not the typical millennials. Yes, they had the latest smartphones and laptops but they hardly used the technology. Not many millennials in Urban Bharat were comfortable using a GPS or using net banking. The change was driven by their children, that is, UBZs. Of course, the use of Hindi and other local languages in the app helped. But two things happened here also.
One was the sudden rush of many English medium schools opening in small towns. All of them may not be of the same quality but the Urban Bhartiya millennial made it a point to send their children to English medium schools. They were clear that their children would not suffer like them because of poor English. So, the UBZs had a better orientation in English. This in turn helped them to have not just a language advantage but also a world view as they used the internet to widen their knowledge.
Secondly, the millennial parents already had access to technology. So, the UBZs while growing up used their parent’s high-end smartphones and laptops and went on a self-discovery of new features. They learnt new technology on the go. Making reels, editing movies, using filters, incorporating music, filtering out background sounds, etc. became their playfield. And when Covid hit and online studying took over, these UBZs discovered new ways to learn and imbibe. Now they use technology to educate themselves. On their part, the parents encouraged the children as for them it was a matter of pride about what all the child could do with a smartphone. The child was fulfilling their dreams.
The UBZs are more technology-savvy than the metro counterparts not by design but by circumstances. They have picked up the nuances of technology on their own. And they realize its importance. Even ‘Humanities-inclined’ students are keen to take some programming or AI-related online courses. We can see the resumes’ of intermediate students applying for BBA or graduates applying for an MBA, and a big chunk has done some technology courses. Business analytics and data analytics are the specialization of choice. Python and Tableau courses are much in demand. Many offline centres are mushrooming offering three to six months courses in smaller cities.
Are the Marketers Ready to Segment UBZs?
If marketers think that the technology revolution is about aiming for the metros and then looking at low-hanging fruits in non-metros, then they are in for a shock. Given the vast numbers of the UBZs, they cannot be treated as the poor cousins of the Gen Z metro population. I would stick my neck out and say to the marketers that do not be conservative or follow traditional models. Target your brands directly to the UBZs. You may skip the Urban Bhartiya Millenial in some categories. And that is just one example. Maybe, look at the metro Gen Z, as a subset of the UBZs. The possibilities are many.
The question is, are the marketers, sitting in their headquarters in big shiny towers in metros, even aware of UBZs?