The FMCG business recorded a quantity progress of three.8% in the course of the quarter, the bottom in over a 12 months, knowledge launched by NielsenIQ on Thursday confirmed. This compares with a quantity progress of seven.5% the sector had seen within the year-ago quarter and 6.5% within the previous (March) quarter.
NielsenIQ India’s head of buyer success Roosevelt Dsouza attributed the deceleration in volumes largely to macroeconomic headwinds.“Our speculation is that unemployment is rising, highest in (month) June 2024,” mentioned analysts at NielsenIQ.
Whereas rural quantity progress continues to outpace the expansion in city areas, each areas skilled softer consumption within the quarter. City quantity progress declined to 2.8% within the June quarter from 5.7% within the March quarter.
Rural consumption progress at 5.2% within the April-June interval is decrease than the 7.6% progress it recorded within the earlier quarter. Consumption of staples like packaged salt, packaged atta, palm oil in addition to private care and residential care classes took a success throughout each markets as shoppers tightened purse strings. In rural areas, excessive contributing classes like laundry and utensil cleaners inside homecare witnessed gradual consumption, NielsenIQ mentioned. Worth progress for the business stood at 4% within the June quarter, decrease than 12.2% within the year-ago interval and 6.6% within the earlier quarter.
Rural consumption nonetheless fared higher than its city counterparts due to the value cuts that a number of corporations took within the earlier quarters to gas demand in rural areas. Additionally, corporations like Dabur and Nestle have been closely increasing their rural protection, bringing extra folks inside the fold of branded consumption, mentioned impartial guide Akshay D’souza, including that respectable monsoons and begin of festivities later this month ought to additional assist rural consumption.
FMCG corporations, which have been grappling with tepid progress largely on the again of rural slowdown. have been betting on good monsoons to spur demand.
Quantity progress within the meals class stood at 2.4% within the June quarter in comparison with 4.8% within the Jan-March interval. Within the non-food phase, quantity progress was at 7.6% within the quarter, a drop from 11.1% within the March quarter with the decline steeper in city. India’s largest shopper items firm HUL had final month mentioned that whereas on a two-year CAGR (compound annual progress price) foundation, city remains to be rising forward of rural, progress in rural has began to select up with the areas outpacing city within the final couple of months.
