Rural consumers tighten spending as Gen Z spends on new product categories

New Delhi: Rural Indian consumers are becoming more cautious with spending amid pressure on household incomes and rising costs, even as younger shoppers continue to add new product categories to their purchase baskets, a report said on Wednesday.

The report from WPP Media and Kantar said the share of rural adults whose monthly household income rose over the previous six months fell to about 14 per cent in June 2026 from 29 per cent in 2025. Among consumers whose expenditure increased, the proportion reporting higher spending declined to 77 per cent from 91 per cent.

Consumers have started becoming a lot more cautious with the money that they are spending and are making deliberate choices on where to spend, said Puneet Avasthi, Director, Specialist Business, South Asia, Kantar India.

However, rural Gen Z is making room for new categories and expanding their shopping baskets spending on products from packaged snacks and health products to personal grooming.

Brands must understand these trade-offs rather than assuming that all rural consumers behave alike, the report noted.

Rural Gen Z consumers aged 18-29 emerged as a key growth segment, accounting for 33 per cent of rural mobile users and buys across an average of 19.1 product categories a month, up from 17 in February 2025.

Their convenience-food basket expanded 27 per cent to 5.9 categories, while health and wellness purchases rose 36 per cent. Personal grooming purchases rose 9 per cent even as the category remained flat across rural India.

Products such as ready-to-eat snacks, packaged foods, face wash and hand wash are seeing increased uptake among younger consumers and women, said Abhishek Singh, Senior Vice President and Head of Rural, Social & Health, Media Solutions at WPP Media India.

Nearly 32.3 per cent of rural adults follow online influencers, and the figure rose to 40.9 per cent among Gen Z. Nearly 77.3 per cent said they trust influencer’s advice and 55.5 per cent said they decide independently after viewing their content.

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