Mumbai: Rural India is on the periphery of an e-commerce revolution. There has been a massive increase in the number of users of e-commerce apps in the last six to eight months, according to the latest edition of the Rural Barometer Report. The rural population is now looking at digital as a medium that provides economically valuable information/services with digital consumption shifting beyond basic services such as entertainment and social media, the report stated.

Insights and consulting company Kantar, along with GroupM’s rural and experiential marketing unit- Dialogue Factory has unveiled the third edition of its bi-annual report. It explores concerns about the post-pandemic impact on consumer behaviour and purchase patterns across rural India.

According to the report, digital financial inclusion continues to see a growing footprint, and payment apps especially have created a fertile ground for the advancement of e-commerce in rural hinterlands.

More vocational information is being consumed via the internet, though entertainment and social media remain the dominant factors of internet usage, said the report. There is an emerging constituency of technology-enabled farmers, who are using digital apps to track their crops. The Rural Barometer Report indicates that five per cent of farmers were using crop monitoring apps and this digital adoption for crop monitoring is the strongest in the states of Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana, and Gujarat.

Some of the other key highlights of this latest version of the Rural Barometer Report are:

FMCG witnessing the resurgence of indulgence and vanity categories: The pandemic had profoundly changed FMCG spending in rural India. Through the lockdown and the first half of 2021, consumers continued to prioritise health and hygiene categories under uncertain financial circumstances. As a result, indulgence and vanity categories remained subdued until the first half of 2021. The report shows a rebalancing of the FMCG spends. Food categories such as biscuits and chocolates, snacking, etc, and personal care and beauty categories bounced back and show positive momentum for growth.

On the flipside, health and nutrition, along with job security remain a concern. The findings show that the nutrition and health of one in five children are of concern. Due to continued patriarchal notions, the girl child is not being provided a sufficient protein-based diet.

In terms of sentiments regarding job security, lower social classes (NCCS CDE) and rural youth (18-24-year-olds) have been the most affected, as per the report.

“The pandemic has changed ways of living for rural India," said Dialogue Factory head of experiential marketing- APAC Dalveer Singh. “We see our rural citizens more vigilant about their consumption patterns. As per the Rural Covid Barometer Report 2021, rural India is more confident in recovery and adopting new technology and putting it to the right use. There are existing concerns like nutrition and health of children in rural areas but thanks to government intervention, rural purchasing power has improved."

"Close to a fifth of rural India is concerned about the health parameters of their children. We’ve also witnessed rebalancing in FMCG spending. With technology penetrating further and rural consumers evolving in this digital and e-commerce led era, we see a brighter tomorrow in rural regions,” Singh further said.