A Joint effort by Dainik Bhaskar and Kantar Highlighting that India’s Next Wave of Consumption Growth Lies Beyond the Metros
Harsh Goenka, Chairman, RPG Enterprises, today unveiled the Urban Bharat – India’s Consumption Story Report, a landmark joint study by Dainik Bhaskar Group and Kantar that highlights how India’s next wave of consumption growth is shifting beyond the metros.
The report provides one of the most comprehensive views of how rising aspirations, evolving lifestyles, increasing affluence and changing consumer behaviour are reshaping Tier-2 and Tier-3 India, enabling brands, marketers, media planners, agencies, investors and policymakers to make sharper, data-driven business decisions.
The report tracks changing consumer behaviour across 11 high-growth sectors—Automobile, Personal Finance, E-commerce, Education, FMCG, Healthcare, Jewellery, Real Estate, Retail, Telecom, and Travel & Tourism—revealing a decisive shift from need-based purchasing to aspiration-led, branded and premium consumption.
The report also introduces the Urban Bharat City Opportunity Index, a first-of-its-kind ranking of the Top 50 cities best positioned to drive India’s next phase of consumption growth, enabling businesses to make investment and marketing decisions based on credible data rather than assumptions.
Speaking at the launch, Harsh Goenka, Chairman, RPG Enterprises, said, “Our attention is often confined to metro cities like Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai, but the real aspirational India lies beyond these metros—in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. The market has long suffered from a lack of authentic data, making it difficult for businesses to formulate effective strategies. This research report will be a significant asset for the entire marketing community. Instead of relying on assumptions, marketers will now be able to make decisions based on credible data points, enabling them to better understand and unlock the immense potential of Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets.”
Girish Agarwal, Director, Dainik Bhaskar Group, said, “For years, marketers have looked at Bharat through the lens of metro India, often relying on assumptions due to the absence of credible market intelligence. That reality has changed. Today, cities like Jaipur, Lucknow, Surat and Indore are emerging as powerful consumption hubs. Consumers across Tier-2 and Tier-3 India are highly aspirational, digitally connected and increasingly willing to spend across categories. Through this joint initiative with Kantar, our objective is to equip marketers, media planners and businesses with robust insights that help them identify where India’s next phase of growth will come from.”
Biswapriya Bhattacharya, Director – B2B & Technology, Kantar, said, “In recent years, 76% of the growth in India’s affluent population has come from Urban Bharat. More importantly, 60% of this affluent population is below the age of 35. This young demographic is in its peak earning and spending years and is actively driving India’s new consumption economy. These insights reaffirm why brands must increasingly look beyond the metros to unlock future growth.”
Key Findings
• Nearly one in three urban Indians now lives in Urban Bharat, making it one of India’s largest and fastest-growing consumption markets.
• Urban Bharat has recorded a 76% growth in its affluent population over the last six years, emerging as the country’s new engine of consumption growth.
• Nearly 60% of Urban Bharat’s population is below the age of 35, creating a young, aspiration-driven consumer base in its peak earning and spending years.
• Premiumisation is accelerating beyond the metros, with affluent (NCCS A) households rising from 26% to 41% in just six years.
• Urban Bharat has embraced a digital-first lifestyle, with digital payments, banking, investments and e-commerce becoming mainstream. One in three consumers now shops online.
• Consumers are investing more in their future, with over 27% of households spending more than 10% of their income on education, reflecting rising aspirations and willingness to invest in quality.
• The report introduces the Urban Bharat City Opportunity Index, ranking India’s Top 50 consumption markets to help brands, marketers and media planners identify where the next wave of growth will emerge.
• The findings reinforce a clear conclusion: Urban Bharat is no longer a peripheral market following the metros—it has emerged as a parallel, and in many sectors faster-growing, engine of India’s consumption economy. For marketers, media planners, advertisers, investors and policymakers, the report offers a data-backed blueprint to identify where future demand will emerge and how brands can win in India’s next decade of growth.
The Urban Bharat Report is available for download at urbanbharatreport.com