Uncovering the Indian Rural Consumers – A Demographic Analysis

India has been transforming into an attractive market for consumer durables. About 35% of the sales accrue from rural and semi urban markets and will grow by 45% in the years to come. The present study aims at analyzing the influence of demographic factors on brand preferences for consumer durables in rural markets. A self-designed questionnaire with 14 statements related to the brand/product features, to be ranked on one to seven scale, was administered face to face to 300 prospective buyers randomly selected while approaching retail outlets in Warangal district. The variances of the responses were analyzed through ANOVA and multiple comparisons were done through Post Hoc test with the help of SPSS-19. The findings indicate that out of the five demographic factors tested, occupation and income emerged as the strongest determinants followed by age and education where as gender didn't yield a strong significance