India’s consumer market is entering a decisive growth phase where scale alone will no longer guarantee success. According to KPMG in India’s latest report, “Winning India’s Consumer Decade: The Precision-led GTM Blueprint for CXOs,” brands must redesign their go-to-market (GTM) strategies around micro-market precision, omnichannel orchestration and data-driven execution to capture the next wave of consumption growth. –
The report highlights that today’s consumer journey is increasingly digital-first, omnichannel and speed-driven. Nearly 80 per cent of consumers discover new products via social media, significantly reshaping brand discovery and 70 per cent of urban Indian consumers use more than one channel before making a purchase decision.
Below are the key insights from the report:
96 per cent of Indian shoppers research products online before purchase, making digital discovery central to buying journeys.
~80 per cent of consumers discover new products via social media, significantly reshaping brand discovery.
70 per cent of urban Indian consumers use more than one channel before making a purchase decision.
46 per cent of shoppers check product availability online before visiting stores, highlighting the importance of real-time inventory visibility.
Customer acquisition costs have risen 20–25 per cent, with CAC now accounting for 40–50 per cent of average order value for many digital-first brands.
Quick commerce accounts for ~30 per cent of India’s online FMCG sales and continues to grow rapidly.
India’s retail ecosystem includes over 14 million kirana stores, which remain the backbone of consumption but are rapidly digitising.
Premium FMCG contributes ~15 per cent of total volumes, with strong growth across emerging markets beyond metros.
An Indian online marketplace has earmarked over INR 1,020 crore from its IPO proceeds for marketing, brand campaigns and customer acquisition, signalling the scale of investment required to expand beyond metros.
India’s private consumption doubled from ~USD 1 trillion in 2013 to ~USD 2.1 trillion in 2024.
Nikhil Sethi, National Leader – Consumer Goods and Co-Lead, Customer & Operations, KPMG in India, said, “India’s consumer market is entering a decade defined by speed, precision and experience. Traditional go-to-market models built around broad distribution and national averages are no longer sufficient in a market where demand fragments across micro-markets and channels converge rapidly. Organisations that win will be those that sense demand early, orchestrate channels intelligently and execute with precision at a local level, turning data, technology and supply chain agility into a unified growth engine.”
The report concludes that as consumer behaviour becomes more fragmented and channel ecosystems converge, organisations must transition from traditional distribution-led strategies to precision-led GTM architectures powered by data, AI-driven insights and micro-market execution to win India’s next consumption decade.
