Mumbai: A leading consumer data intelligence company Axis My India, released its latest findings of the India Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI), a monthly analysis of consumer perception on a wide range of issues. 

The research for December focuses on consumers' preferred media consumption methods for various needs, including reading and listening to music. 

Axis My India's CSI Survey discovered that 17 per cent would be watching some key matches, while 9 per cent would be watching all matches, capturing the excitement surrounding the FIFA World Cup. 

In terms of viewing medium, the survey found that more than half of those polled (58 per cent) would watch it on TV, while 27 per cent and 12 per cent would watch it on mobile and OTT platforms, respectively.

YouTube continues to be the most popular option for music, as indicated by 39 per cent of respondents. TV is the second most popular option, as indicated by 18 per cent of respondents, followed by radio at 4 per cent. 

Commenting on the CSI report, Axis My India, managing director & chairman Pradeep Gupta said, “Media consumption trends in the country is growing and evolving with the changing times. From newspapers to news apps, nowadays consumers have access to information at a jiffy. While age-old newspapers remains to be a reliable source of information for a section of the population, FM radio falls below new age platforms such as YouTube in consumers consideration set when it comes to music. TV however continues to dominate the viewership score for big ticket events such as FIFA Football World Cup aiding to the big screen experience of consumers.”

He added, “Consumers’ favouritism towards celebrities across profession and states from Amitabh Bachchan, Virat Kohli, PV Sindhu to Allu Arjun reflect on how media consumption has broken barriers in terms of entertainment consumption. This again ties back to the growing digitalisation and availability of varied modes of media consumption.”

The December net CSI score, calculated by percentage increase minus percentage decrease in sentiment, is at +07, from +09 last month reflecting a decrease by 02 points.

The sentiment analysis delves into five relevant sub-indices: overall household spending, spending on essential and non-essential items, healthcare spending, media consumption habits, and trends in entertainment and tourism.

The survey was conducted using computer-aided telephonic interviews on 10454 people from 33 states and UTs. 69 per cent were from rural India, while 31 per cent were from urban India. In terms of regional distribution, 24 per cent are from Northern India, while 27 per cent are from Eastern India. Furthermore, 29 per cent and 20 per cent were from the Western and Southern parts of India, respectively.

61 per cent of those polled were men, while 39 per cent were women. In terms of the two majority sample groups, 32 per cent are between the ages of 36 and 50, and 29 per cent are between the ages of 26 and 35.

Key findings:

·    Media consumption (TV, Internet, Radio, etc.) has increased for 21 per cent of families, which is the same as last month. The overall net score, which was -4 last month, has dropped to -2 this month. It's interesting to note that 35 per cent of people still read newspapers daily.

·   Overall household spending has increased for 56 per cent of families, a 3 per cent point decrease from the previous month. The net score has dropped from +51 last month to +47 this month.

·    Spending on necessities such as personal care and household items has increased for 46 per cent of families, remaining unchanged from the previous month. This month's net score, which was +27 last month, increased by one.

·    Spending on non-essential and discretionary items such as air conditioning, automobiles, and refrigerators has increased for 8 per cent of families, a 3 per cent increase from the previous month. The net score, which was +4 last month, has dropped to -1 this month, indicating a drop in sentiment following the end of the holiday season.

·   Expenses for health-related items such as vitamins, tests, and healthy food have increased for 42 per cent of families, the highest in the last three months. This reflects a 3 per cent increase in consumption from the previous month, owing primarily to the start of the winter season. The health score, which has a negative connotation, i.e., the less money spent on health items, the better the sentiments, has a net score value of -27, a -4 decrease from the previous month.

On national interest topic:

• The survey also shed light on consumers' newspaper reading habits and preferred music medium, reflecting on consumers' personal media engagement habits. According to the survey, 35 per cent of people read the newspaper every day, and 39 per cent prefer to listen to music on YouTube. TV channels are the second most popular medium for music listeners.

·  The survey reveals that 34 per cent notice promotional offers running in stores and 50 per cent of those who notice these promotional offers indicated that it would influence their final purchase decisions, demystifying the nature of consumers' engagement with in-store promotional offers.

·   The survey revealed that Amitabh Bachchan (with 15 per cent ) is the most preferred actor, whose movies consumers like to watch the most, followed by Akshay Kumar at 7 per cent , Salman Khan at 6 per cent , Allu Arjun at 5 per cent , and Shah Rukh Khan at 4 per cent .

·    The survey revealed that Virat Kohli is India's favourite male celebrity (in sports/movies/art except politics), with 25 per cent, followed by Bachchan with 21 per cent and Sachin Tendulkar with 17 per cent. Furthermore, the survey discovered that PV Sindhu is the biggest celebrity in the female category, with 11 per cent, followed by Mithali Raj with 10 per cent.

·    In an effort to better understand consumer year-end travel plans around holidays, the survey found that 21 per cent would take a domestic vacation this season. In terms of considerations, the survey found that 23 per cent would base their decision on cost, while 17 per cent would base it on season and destination. When planning for holidays, the third set of considerations is family decisions.