FMCGs as Change Agents in Rural Transformation - An Empirical Study

Culture and customs, more so in the Indian society, play a predominant role in affecting the behaviour of the consumers. Every society has its own cultural norms and identifies itself with those norms more often. Assam, as a state, is cultural and has strong footage and bondage with old traditions, rituals and beliefs. FMCGs as products mark its identification with the usage of modern lifestyle goods. These goods are believed to be the latest additions towards sophisticating the living standard of the rural society which is subject to bring change in the culture and habit of rural people to a great extent, thereby transforming their attitude towards adopting a modern lifestyle. This paper tried to find out whether the rural people have transformed their attitude towards adopting a modern life style with the use of FMCGs and consider the same as an inevitable necessity of their life or not. In order to find whether there is any shift in habit among the rural households form their traditional lifestyle, a detailed survey was undertaken among the rural households of Kamrup district (rural) of Assam.

The study focused on ten select products in FMCG sector which reflected visible transformation in usage pattern among the people with the gradual change in their mindset towards modernity and usage of modern lifestyle goods and products. However, the presence of traditional usage habits among the people on similar product classes supports the contention that FMCGs in select product classes are yet to be reckoned as indispensable necessity in the rural pockets of rural Assam.