Pandemic results in 50% growth in soap sales in rural India
StoreKing, India’s only rural retail ecosystem that connects suppliers/ brands and financial institutions to rural consumers with kirana as an anchor, conducted a study to understand consumer consumption behaviour during the lockdown period. The study conducted across 22,000 rural kirana stores monitored purchase habits in categories like baby care, food and beverages, home care and personal care staples.
02 Jun 2021 | 2502 Views | By Dibyajyoti Sarma
The study revealed that chips, biscuits, and popcorn consumption grew by 83%. However, additives and packed food like ready to cook and eat, mayonnaise, chutney, flavoured juices saw a sharp drop across states.
With people spending more time at home due to the lockdown, pest and mosquito repellent categories registered more than 200% growth in consumption.
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka saw 134% growth in herbal solutions in the hair care category. Fancy articles such as talcum powder, lotion, cosmetics, scrubbers lost their sheen and dropped by more than 70%. On the other hand, consumption of hair colour, shampoos, shaving needs face wash grew by more than 47%, as the parlours and salons are shut. But sales of deo, hair gel, hair removal cream, bleach have fallen by more than 70% as offices and colleges are closed and professionals and students are homebound.
The study also highlighted the consumption patterns of sanitisers and soaps. Rural Madhya Pradesh and Telangana are moving towards hand wash while other cities still prefer traditional soaps. Soap is still one of the largest categories and it grew by more than 50%. Sanitiser demand was high in 2020. However, it's going flat at present.
Sridhar Gundaiah, founder and CEO of StoreKing, said, “It is rather interesting to note that hygiene and cleanliness have become a priority in rural India. We have registered a huge spike in the sales of handwashes and soaps across cities.”
He added, “While we could clearly demarcate the most preferred personal care products like sanitiser, hand wash and soaps, from consumption analysis, we were also interestingly able to identify some of the regional favourites like hand washes in rural Madhya Pradesh and Telangana, soaps in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, etc.”
Highlights of the study
- Chips, biscuits, and popcorns consumption grew by 83%
- Pest and mosquito repellent category registered more than 200% growth
- Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka saw 134% growth in herbal solutions in the hair care category
- Talcum powder, lotion, cosmetics, scrubbers dropped by more than 70%
- Consumption of hair colour, shampoos, grew by more than 47%
- Sales of deo, hair gel, hair removal cream, bleach have fallen by more than 70%
- Soap is still one of the largest categories and grew by more than 50%