NEW DELHI: There was a time when chocolate was an item of guilt to be shared with friends and family . Even brand promotions for daily use items like soap and toothpaste would target families, usually a constituency of four or five in a household. Now, marketers are wooing a constituency of one -the individual buyer, who blithely buys his her own chocolate, and eats it too.
Fragmenting families and changing consumer habits have prompted the market to tweak strategies to suit these individual consumers. For instance, the latest Cadbury Fuse ad shows a young yoga teacher fantasising about the chocolate bar in her bag, and is aimed at urban youth who are on the move and looking for a quick snack. This is quite different fro m the iconic `Kuch meetha ho jaaye' ad which was about celebrating together. The change isn't surprising since solo consumption now makes up almost 35% of all chocolate occasions today , according to industry estimates. It was practically non-existent a decade ago.
Prashant Peres, director of marketing (chocolates), Mondelez India[1], agrees that there's a lot of `me consumption' happening, that too without guilt. "Earlier, sharing a chocolate always addressed the guilt factor associated with eating it whole and alone. Today's generation does not mind being self-indulgent in its consumption," says Peres.
As individuals make guilt-free choices, solo consumption has transitioned from smaller categories like soaps and chocolates to larger ones like cars[2]. Earlier, an individual bought a car when he or she got married or started a family. Today, she aspires to own a car on the first job. In the last six years, the number of millennials[3] driving a car purchase has grown by 22.7%. In 2016, they comprised 27% of car buyers.
With its youthful, quirky design, Maruti's new model Ignis[4] is aimed at this segment. Vinay Pant, associate V-P of marketing, Maruti Suzuki India, points out that millennials are children of an era of abundance. "They have an innate urge to be different and would love to walk the extra mile to own assets (car, phone, tablet) that reflect their personality.
" To address this need to look unique, Ignis not only offers personalisation but also comes equipped with Android Auto, Apple[5] Carplay and MirrorLink for the connected young consumer.It's tagline is `None of a kind.' Brand expert Harish Bijoor says that "personalisation of desire is the new trend for marketers to milk".In the old days, all branded buys were for group use."Ten years ago, one bought a toothpaste or soap for the home of 5.5 people (as the Indian census defines and average home size). The family of 5.5 became a unit of 4, and at times a unit of 2 as well. Even within the same unit size of 4 in family, in came differentiation of needs, wants, desires and aspirations. Today, we have hit the smallest unit of one," says Bijoor.
The change, he feels, was driven by mobile phones."Unlike the landline which was for common use, the mobile phone was very, very personal."
Now, solo consumers are being lured not just on the basis of small pack offerings but also affordability.Thanks to certain food delivery apps, there's no `minimum order' required for an individual to make a purchase.
As Bijoor puts it, everyone has a mind of their own so why shouldn't they make choices of their own?
References
- ^ Mondelez India (auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com)
- ^ cars (auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com)
- ^ millennials (auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com)
- ^ Ignis (auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com)
- ^ Apple (auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com)
