FIVE-SOCIAL CATEGORIES /CLASSES IN INDIAN CONTEXT I. Upper Social Class: It is a varied group of individuals.

This group mainly consists of business empire heads, royal family descendants, politicians in high power roles, new-social elite (i.e., newly rich) and Upper Middle Class II. The Upper - Middle Class: The social mobility of upper-middle class is very high and therefore they can be categorized into upper-social class for the convenience of understanding these type of consumers. They tend to choose many products based on symbolic characteristics and not just price. Self-expression of status is attained as a result of purchasing many high quality and prestigious brands.

The Indian upper-class is growing rapidly at an average of 11% every year. The Indian Luxury Trends Survey, 2006 have classified consumers of luxury goods in 4 categories: 1. Aristocrats: These peoples source of wealth is business income or ownership of inherited wealth. 2. New- Social Elite: The people who have amassed a huge amount of money and lead a lavish style of acquiring different luxury goods. 3. Professionals: Spend mainly on high end white goods, education of children, better housing and premium cars or utility vehicles. 4. Traditionally Affluent: The people having inherited wealth and have an orientation to luxury but will not indulge beyond a point. III. The Middle Class: It consists primarily of those who have white collar jobs, with many of having pursed higher education. The majority of the private sector and government sector employees come under this category of social class. Although the values and consumption patterns of middle class consumers vary, many try to imitate the upper class on consumption of dress and clothing and other household possessions. Generally, it is noticed that the middle class values determine the type of products and services that middle class consumers acquire and consume. For instance, the middle class people spend most of their disposable income on childrens education, clothing, food and household gadets,

personal grooming and vacation. In fact, of late many middle class families in India have acquired cars and two- wheelers. IV. The Working Class: It mainly consists of blue collar workers. The working class consumers heavily depend on their family members for economic and social support in many areas particularly for key purchases and during difficult times. They have a local orientation-socially, psychologically and geographically-than other classes. Consumers in the working class are more likely to spend than save. At times when their income is spent before the end of every month, they resort to borrowing for their daily needs from kirana or petty shops. They are more likely to judge product quality on the basis of price (higher price means better quality), to shop in kirana or discount stores and have less product information when purchasing. For example, they buy cheaper bar and toilet bars, cheaper detergents etc...(Nirma, Wheel caters to this segment). This segment of the market constitutes a significant size in India. Basically they hail from rural areas. A large population about 70% live in such rural heartlands. These people are primarily engaged in agriculture. Hence, the population involved in the secondary sector or the industrial sector has reduced over the years, yet the core sector growth id visible, particularly in the tertiary sector (e.g., transport, service related activities etc) V. Below Poverty Line Class: At the low end of the status hierarchy are Below Poverty Line (BPL) consumers, the shelterless who sleep on footpaths or live in makeshift shanties. An overriding characteristic of the homeless is their struggle for survival. With little regular income, such homeless consumers have difficulty in buying daily necessities like food and medicines. Nevertheless, from the point of view of marketers, this segment at times can prove valuable for marketing small-scale unbranded products and services.