People in villages are splurging at a faster pace than city folks

There has also been a sharp rise in spending in toiletries and household consumables among rural households—up 28 per cent to 5.12 of every 100 in 2022-23 from 4.01 in 2011-12

It is official. People in India’s villages are splurging at a faster pace than city folks. It is not just on food alone. This rapidity in expenses is evident across the spending spectrum: from entertainment to consumer durables, to toiletries and household consumables, to consumer services.

The latest Household Consumption and Expenditure Survey 2022-23 (HCES) shows that monthly household consumer spending among rural households has galloped in many of the so-called `lifestyle’ items, indicating that many of yesterday’s luxuries may have become today’s essentials.

For every Rs 100 that a rural household spends in a month, Rs 6.89 goes towards 'durables’, which include home appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines and gas stoves, among others. This is up 42 per cent from ten years ago (2011-12) when such households were spending Rs 4.85 of every Rs 100 spent in a month on similar items.

In comparison, the spending in urban households on durables have gone up 28 per cent, from Rs 5.6 in 2011-12 to Rs 7.17 in 2022-23 of every Rs 100 spent in a month.

Expenses among rural households on entertainment, a key proxy to measure discretionary spending, has also outdone their urban equivalents. In 2022-23, the monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) among rural households stood at 1.09 of every 100, up 10 per cent from 0.99 in 2011-12. In the case of urban households, this has fallen (-) 2 per cent—from 1.61 in 2011-12 to 1.58 in 2022-23.

The evidence on spending on consumer services (excluding conveyance) also reflects similar patterns. In 2022-23, the MPCE among rural households on consumer services (excluding conveyance) stood at 5.08 of every 100, up 27 percent from 3.99 in 2011-12. This growth rate is sharply higher than those recorded among urban households who spent Rs 5.92 on such items in 2022-23, up 6 percent from Rs 5.6 for every Rs 100 spent in a month in 2011-12.

There has also been a sharp rise in spending on toiletries and household consumables among rural households — up 28 per cent to 5.12 of every 100 in 2022-23 from 4.01 in 2011-12. This is identical to the rise in urban households’ spending on such items, which has grown to 4.98 in 2022-23 from 3.88 in 2011-12.