{
  "id": 11992940,
  "title": "Consumer brands are betting big on small-town India",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/consumer-brands-are-betting-big-on-small-town-india",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-04T18:52:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Economic Times",
    "slug": "the-economic-times",
    "url": "https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/festive-cheer-shifts-beyond-metros-as-consumer-brands-bet-big-on-small-town-india/articleshow/134679572.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Consumer brands are increasingly focusing on small towns and cities across India during the festive season, as consumption in major metros faces challenges. Companies such as Titan, Nykaa, Biba, Fabindia, and Forest Essentials are enhancing their marketing strategies, distribution networks, and last-mile delivery systems in locations like Jaipur, Coimbatore, Kochi, Lucknow, Indore, and Bhopal. Rahul Shukla, Titan's chief sales and marketing officer, notes that 70% of India's consumption now originates from these burgeoning towns, which are performing exceptionally well this festive season. Government policies, increased investments in upcountry towns, and the rise of smart cities have exposed consumers to new brands and trends, regardless of their urban or rural location.\n\nAccording to a recent Worldpanel report, urban consumption declined by 4% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026. Nearly half of consumers reduced non-essential purchases, with 59% citing inflation and rising fuel costs as concerns. Small-town-focused lifestyle brands like Biba, Fabindia, and Forest Essentials are introducing lower-priced products to attract first-time consumers. IndoBevs, a local company producing spirits and liqueurs like BroCode, Eden, and Wingman, is expanding its footprint in tier-2 and emerging markets by bolstering on-ground teams, distribution, and consumer-trade relationships. Founder Sam Mahandru emphasizes that while the festive season offers an opportunity to capitalize on this momentum, the company's long-term focus remains unchanged.\n\nBeauty and fashion platform Nykaa, announcing a strategic push into tier-2 and tier-3 markets at its annual investor day, is boosting its presence by opening two-five local stores in every such town. By 2030, Nykaa aims to double its total outlets to over 600. The company has also launched a festive campaign and plans to have more than 600 outlets across these regions. Tier-2 households are being actively targeted by retailers in the home and household sector, with Deloitte South Asia reporting that these consumers spent an average of ₹3.9 lakh per home on interiors in 2025, nearly matching the spending levels in tier-1 cities. Amazon India is expanding its Amazon Now instant delivery platform to over 120 cities, including Varanasi, Kochi, Jalandhar, Ranchi, Salem, and Gorakhpur, ahead of the festive shopping season. The company has increased its storage capacity by 50% to 64 million cubic feet and enabled same-day deliveries to reach an additional 30% of cities.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}