Pondering India’s Cashless Future
Chhotu here accepts digital currency payments via the mobile platform on a daily basis. His QR code is prominently displayed upfront next to the bottles of sauce, and a sticker displays the icons of all the payment apps acceptable to his Bhim app. The Bhim system, launched by the Government of India, is a godsend […]
Household energy consumption behaviour in East Africa: Lighting & Conclusion (3 of 3 Parts)
The following is extracted from a six month study during 2012 on household energy consumption behaviour in rural Kenya and Rwanda among the lower income demographic, that led to an understanding of some of barriers hampering the sales of client’s solar products in this market. This 3rd and final part will focus on fuel […]
Household energy consumption behavioural study in East Africa: Cooking (Part 2 of 3)
The following is extracted from a six month study during 2012 on household energy consumption behaviour in rural Kenya and Rwanda among the lower income demographic, that led to an understanding of some of barriers hampering the sales of client’s solar products in this market. This 2nd part will focus on fuel usage and consumption […]
Dignity drives purchasing decisions for South African low income consumers
There is so much I was going to say when I came across this snippet in the news about South African consumer habits among the lower income folk for yesterday’s post. I am not convinced by the framing of the interpretation of the qualitative data but that’s an embedded SA problem with qualitative research in […]
Seasonality as an element of contextual planning for emerging consumer markets
Growing up as a Hindu expat in multicultural ‘West Malaysia’ of the 1970s and 80s, it was a matter of course that every festival would be a big occasion. We had Christmas in December, and Chinese New Year soon after, to be followed by Hari Raya (Eid) and Deepawali – each of them deserving of […]
Nigerian retail transformation changing consumer expectations
Drawing on insights from Adewale Yusuf’s expert observations in the heart of the Nigerian transformation, I wrote up a short piece for his tech magazine Techpoint.ng which looks at changing consumer behaviour and its implications for startups. Do take a look: Shopping as entertainment – A trend that might bite Sprouting mega-malls are offering a […]
Purchasing Patterns in Cash Based Markets and Informal Economy
When cash flow is irregular and not always unpredictable, both in amount and frequency, such as it is for the majority earning a living in the informal economy, buyer behavior is not quite the same as for mainstream consumers with access to credit cards and regular paychecks. I’ve quite often made reference to how operating primarily […]
Beer as a symbol of aspirational consumption and upward mobility
I came across SABMiller’s recent presentation on their consumer market strategy and some of their infographics caught my attention. This one, for instance, not only shows the relative proportion of formal to informal alcoholic beverages prevalent in the market but also informs us that it costs 4 hours to buy a beer in Africa, compared […]
