Dainik Bhaskar, in partnership with Kantar, has released a report highlighting the growth of tier two and three cities across the country.

Titled 'Urban Bharat - India's Consumption Story', the report was unveiled by Harsh Goenka, chairperson, RPG Enterprises.

The report aims to give brands, marketers and businesses a definitive lens on India's fastest-growing consumption markets. It examines demand, aspiration and premiumisation across 50 cities beyond the metros.

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 and tourism. Through these categories, they reveal a shift from need-based purchasing to aspiration-led, branded and premium consumption among the 50 cities.

At the launch, Goenka observed that reliable data and insights on India's tier two and three urban markets have long been limited. 

"A comprehensive report developed by two highly credible organisations like Kantar and Dainik Bhaskar provides marketers and businesses with valuable intelligence and serves as a ready reckoner for understanding the country's evolving consumption landscape," he said.

"It is an outstanding piece of work that will help businesses make informed decisions and unlock growth opportunities across Urban Bharat," added Goenka.

Girish Agarwal, promoter director, Dainik Bhaskar Group, "India's consumption-led growth story is increasingly being driven by tier two and tier three cities. However, there has been no comprehensive and credible resource that brings this opportunity to the forefront. This led us to partner with Kantar, combining Dainik Bhaskar's deep understanding of Bharat with Kantar's robust consumer insights to create Urban Bharat – India's Consumption Story. The report is designed to equip businesses and marketers with actionable intelligence to identify and capitalise on emerging growth markets."

Highlighting a key differentiator, Agarwal added, "A standout feature of the report is the Urban Bharat City Opportunity Index — an exclusive framework that identifies and ranks Urban Bharat markets based on their growth potential. It provides businesses and marketers with a powerful decision-making tool to prioritise investments, sharpen market strategies and unlock new growth opportunities across India's emerging consumption centres."

Biswapriya Bhattacharjee, director – B2B and technology, Kantar, said, "It was a great privilege to work with Dainik Bhaskar to put together the Urban Bharat report. It gives readers a detailed understanding of how the next tier of cities are developing and growing in India. We all know that there is a lot of premiumisation and aspiration across 'Urban Bharat' today, and this report helps marketers understand where the opportunities lie. We also have an opportunity index that identifies the level of cities marketers can target."

The report combines consumer insights with market intelligence to map changing consumption patterns across 11 key sectors, while introducing the Urban Bharat City Opportunity Index, an exclusive framework that identifies and ranks the 50 cities best positioned to drive India's next wave of consumption. 

Here are some of the 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 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 is available for download at urbanbharatreport.com.

More on this report in the August issue of Manifest.