Response Magazine - April 2008

during the past seven years.

“This shows that the customer is ready to buy via the DRTV medium,” Israni says. “The number of [DRTV] companies has increased from just a few to about 10 in the past five years.”

Israni admits that stability of these new companies “is still of concern,” but adds the larger picture is “still positive.”

Driving some of that positive outlook is that new welcoming attitude of consumerism among Indians. According to ICMR, a business research firm that focuses on Asia, consumer spending in the past 10 years in India reveals a jump in sales of many different kinds of goods.

ICMR says the factors influencing that consumer spending are: growing income levels, changing attitudes towards consumption, changes in prices, introduction of new products, availability of credit, rising aspiration levels, increased literacy, growing brand consciousness and rapid urbanization.

And insiders say that universal element of wanting to look and feel good is at play in their purchase decisions. “Vanity is alive and well, especially among the wealthy and aspiring market segments,” says Priya Ghai of Guthy-Renker India.

Plus, Ghai says Indians are beginning to use credit cards more. “While COD remains a standard method of payment, people are embracing debit and credit cards for purchases, maybe moreso amongst the younger generations, but that’s important because more than 70 percent of the population is under 35,” Ghai adds.

And they’re perfectly fine with rolling out the welcome mat to Americans — especially Americans — and their way of life. “During the past few years, India has become more and more Westernized,” says Tony Sziklai, president of Moulton Logis-

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

Cell phones sell in India.

❯ Before India started its economic reforms, less than 1 percent of the citizens had a fixed phone line, and practically no one had a mobile phone. While fixed-lines have nearly tripled, the real story is the mobile market — more than 211 million subscribers today, and the growth pace is faster than China’s. Plus, communications spending is expected to continue to grow at 13. 4 percent per year during the next 20 years.

Source: McKinsey Global Institute

❯ Number of mobile subscribers in India: December 2005 — 76 million; July 2006 — 111 million; December 2006 — 129.5 million; December 2008 (estimate) — 300 million

❯ World’s highest monthly mobile subscriber increase, summer 2006: India, with 7 million new mobile subscribers every month

❯ Increase of mobile subscriber base between April and August 2006: 19 percent

❯ Growth in cell phone market 2000-2005 — almost 2,700 percent Source: Neoncarrot India, a Web site of Indian statistics

Sales for TELEBrands — in India, a telemarketing, mail order and wholesale company — have increased five times over during the past seven years. Much of the growth coincides with the increase in India’s disposable income.

tics Management, a fulfillment company in Van Nuys, Calif. “They speak English in commercials to show they’re advanced and can keep up with Western trends.”

Sziklai says they also put an American spin on things because of a national desire to look and feel like a first-world country.

“They also place a lot of trust in American products, and they sell very easily,” he adds.

But Sziklai contends that while commercials in India today look a lot like ads shown in the U.S., the country is still fairly conservative. “The commercials that appeal the most to consumers there are the ones that stress cultural values or ideals,” he says. “There isn’t anything inappropriate or overtly sexual; it is all very respectful of the Indian population.”