Economy
Consumption patterns may change as nuclear families now make up 50% of India
Summary
Even though family sizes are shrinking, monthly expenses of nuclear families are actually higher than those of joint families. Penetration of premium segments is also relatively higher among nuclear families
New Delhi: Nuclear families made up 50% of Indian households in 2022, up from 34% in 2008, a development that marks a significant shift in the way Indian families inhabit large and small cities. This shift in family structure has a bearing on future consumption as nuclear families outspend joint families and experiment with more premium products, researcher Kantar Worldpanel said in a report.
Nuclear families are better educated with 80% having some level of education. They also have higher instances of working women - 40% of women in such households are employed. Meanwhile, in urban markets, nuclear households enjoy similar levels of affluence to their joint family counterparts. As of 2022, India had 32 crore households.
When it comes to consumption, such households also typically consume more and buy into more premium products, researcher Kantar said. “Even though nuclear and joint families are of a similar socio-economic profile but nuclear families are liberal in their consumption and spends," it said as part of its Consumer Connections 2023 research.
India has for long held close the joint family structure where generations of family members live together. Social norms aside, such familial structures also thrive as households dip into a common pool of resources such as shared housing, food, child-care, among others. However, over the years, this structure has been slowly breaking down, giving way to nuclear families.
As of 2022, a typical nuclear family in India had an average of three members as opposed to seven in a joint family set-up. South India paves the way when it comes to adoption of nuclear families, with 69% of households classified as nuclear in 2022. North India is a laggard, with joint families still making up a majority of households.
Meanwhile, Kantar said that even though family sizes are shrinking, monthly expenses of nuclear families are actually higher than those of joint families. Penetration of premium segments is also relatively higher among nuclear families, it added. “Nuclearisation of family is leading to premiumization of FMCG in India," the researcher said.
In fact, on an average, nuclear families buy into 21 categories of fast moving consumer products against 20 purchased in a joint family set-up. In terms of pack sizes, nuclear families actually consume more too.
“As family size increases, families become more judicious in their consumption. Home hygiene, snacking and beverages are chosen more in nuclear homes. Contrary to popular opinion, large families don’t necessarily buy large packs; higher consumption is mainly due to increased number of packs," it said.
