Mobiles and cars most popular with Indian consumers

In the Business Standard – Ipsos report on the most successful Indian product launches of 2013, the top three places went to mobile handsets, as did four of the top 10, and 12 of the top 30.  Samsung S4, Samsung Note 3 and iPhone5s/5c were the winners.   All of the top 10 places went to mobile devices and automobiles (see chart).

Brand experts explain that mobile devices dominate the list due to superior segmentation.  Coming from richer customer information, experts claim this enables device manufacturers to split “traditional” segments and fill the gaps that exist between them with new offerings. This reasoning seems fine, but to claim that better segmentation is the reason why mobile devices dominate the list complicates the matter and misses the point.

Better customer data is available for all products and services, not just for mobile devices.  It is not just Samsung and Apple who are good at understanding customer needs–FMCG companies, banks and airlines are pretty good at that too. Finer segmentation explains why marketing today is so much more personalised and targeted, resulting in customer relationships, which are interactive and individualised. Thanks to new depths in customer insight, product offerings meet our needs more distinctly than ever before. The Volkswagen I bought recently came with my phone contacts synced into the car’s in-built phone system.

Segmentation and deeper customer insight is resulting in new product segments being created too. The best example of this in recent years has been the iPad. Written off by pundits when launched, the iPad created the tablet segment which within a decade has matured into a product which is distinct from a phone and a laptop.

So, if it’s not because of segmentation, then why are mobile devices dominating the brand launch list in India?  The reason is because in today’s fast-changing economy, these products represent the most popular and unified way in which all consumers in India can express their diversity as well as their progression. Functional and design-rich, these possessions mean a lot to the user–reliability, security, value and style.  Mobile devices span the customer base, priced from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,00,000 and with brands that are meaningful and expressive.

It is no surprise that automobiles are the other top product in the launch list – cars too are an emblem of progress in India, and, like phones, one that crosses many income brackets. You can buy a car for Rs 3 lakh, or Rs 3 crore. Consumer durables, possibly the most well-researched products in the market, fare less well on the list because nobody gets as excited about buying a new brand of shampoo or toothpaste compared to a Samsung S4 or a Ford EcoSport.  Telecom peripherals remain among India’s most aspirational products and with digital convergence just beginning, they will remain so for some time to come.

The thoughts and opinions shared here are of the author.