7/29/2019 Consumerism and Rise of Indian Middle Class
1/12
Consumerism and Rise of Indian
Middle Class
Course: Business Government and Society
Saumya Ranjan Dash
7/29/2019 Consumerism and Rise of Indian Middle Class
2/12
Consumerism
Consumerism is a wordwith two meanings:
A movementto promote the
rights and powers of
consumers in relation to
sellers.
A powerful ideologyin which
the pursuit of material goodsbeyond subsistence shapes
social conduct.
Consumer
A person who uses
products and services
in a commercial
economy.
7/29/2019 Consumerism and Rise of Indian Middle Class
3/12
Consumerism as
an Ideology
Consumerism describes a society in which people definetheir identities by acquiring and displaying material goods
beyond what they need for subsistence.
Long way ahead from the Philosophy of invisible hand:
the self-regulating behavior of the marketplace (Adam
Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, written in 1759. )
The full emergence of consumerism came as economic
changes interacted with cultural and social developments.
Declining influence of religion
The industrial revolution
7/29/2019 Consumerism and Rise of Indian Middle Class
4/12
Consumerism in Perspective
Marketing research reveals a widespread, profoundeffort to find love, status, and individuality inproducts.
Materialism is an emphasis on material objects or
money that displaces spiritual, aesthetic, orphilosophical values.
Thorstein Veblen, in his bookThe Theory of the Leisure Class(1899), The Theory of Business
Enterprise (1904 challenged theconventional economic wisdomthat consumers bought goods fortheir functional utility.
7/29/2019 Consumerism and Rise of Indian Middle Class
5/12
Glocalization, the Flat World and
Consumerism The term glocalization is a newly coined blend of globalization andlocalization refers to a concept to describe individual, group, organization,
product or service that reflects not only global standard but also local one.
A combination of the words "globalization" and "localization.
As one Indian executive told us: "Emerging nations used to aspire to have rich-
world products. Now they want rich-world quality in their own products. In theend, businesses that practice only glocalization will fail to exploit the full
emerging-market opportunityto the detriment of their bottom lines and the
economy as a whole. (By Vijay Govindarajan, How U.S. Businesses Can
Really Win in India November 16, 2010.
Reverse innovation.
http://www.businessweek.com/authors/2524-vijay-govindarajanhttp://www.businessweek.com/authors/2524-vijay-govindarajanhttp://www.businessweek.com/authors/2524-vijay-govindarajanhttp://www.businessweek.com/authors/2524-vijay-govindarajan7/29/2019 Consumerism and Rise of Indian Middle Class
6/12
Case To Case Basis? Thinking about the
Consumers
http://www.alllife.co.za
AllLife designs, distributes and administers life
insurance products.
We provide affordable life cover for
individuals living with HIV or Type 1 or Type 2diabetes mellitus who commit to follow an
appropriate health monitoring and treatment
program.
AllLife is underwritten by Centriq Life
Insurance Company (RF) Limited.
http://www.alllife.co.za/http://www.alllife.co.za/7/29/2019 Consumerism and Rise of Indian Middle Class
7/12
The Global Rise of Consumerism
The ideology of consumerism has risen in Russia, Asia,Latin America, the Middle East, and even Africa.
It may be less a Western than a universal phenomenon,
coming with human nature, economic progress, andcultural change interact at a certain moment in a
modernizing society.
Once it takes hold, consumerism seems irrepressible,
but resistance continues.
7/29/2019 Consumerism and Rise of Indian Middle Class
8/12
Consumerism and a Rise of Consumer Society
Spread of western consumerism.
High level of material consumption is are closely linked to
identities, aspirations and leisure activities.
Growth of Middle Class having surplus disposable income
So who counts as middle class?
According to organisations like the
United Nations and the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD), it's someone who earns or
spends $10 to $100 per day.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22956470
The new wave of growth:
Emerging markets surge
Multi Technology Future
The resource economy
7/29/2019 Consumerism and Rise of Indian Middle Class
9/12
Growth of Indian Middle Class
The base of high-spending middle-class consumers is still small.
The middle middle (spending $4 to $10 a day) and the uppermiddle (spending $10 to$20 a day) together make up just over 50 million people.
This group is essentially part of Indias elite, when contrasted with the rest of the
population, yet barely middle class by global standards.
Indias total household consumption is
expected to multiply four times in just twodecades, between 2005 to 2025, according to
the McKinsey Global Institute.
By its estimates, the countrys middle class
will be 583 million strong by 2025, making
India the worlds fifth-largest consumermarket.
By more optimistic projections, like one by
the World Bank economist Ejaz Ghani, India
will have more than a billion middle-class
citizens by 2025 that is about two-thirds
of its estimated 2025 population.
7/29/2019 Consumerism and Rise of Indian Middle Class
10/12
Material Values Vs. Higher Values
Commoditization of all parts of life. Do happiness is a commodity?
Consumerism beyond practical needs for emotional reasonsencourage unproductive use of money.
Heavy consumerism worsens the environmental degradation. Can
consumer culture be disposable?
Materialism becomes new national ideology. Division of class in the society: have and have-nots.
It promotes having rather than being. Material goods to communicate
social rank.
Consumerism distorts our values. Vedic philosophy vs. modern daylife.
Consumerism is a pathology of corporate capitalism.
7/29/2019 Consumerism and Rise of Indian Middle Class
11/12
Consumerism as a
Protective Movement
The idea of collective interest in protecting consumers. Consumer protection is today a major function of government.
Ethical Consumption
Ethical consumerism should be about using our purchasing powerto make the world a better place. Feeling pure will not help the
world's poor.What is not ethical consumerism, The Hindu, Aug 19, 2004.
Legal Structure:
The Consumer Protection Act, 1986
Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969
(With subsequent amendments)
Food and Drug Administration
7/29/2019 Consumerism and Rise of Indian Middle Class
12/12
Concluding Observations
Consumerism is a word with two meanings: it refers
both to a kind ofsociety and to a protective movement.
Consumerism as a way of life is spreading around the
world because the conditions that support it are
becoming more common.
Consumers are now more protected from injury, fraud,
and other abuses than in the past because of stronger
government regulation and more consumer-friendlycommon law doctrines.
Top Related