Are Indian consumers brand conscious? Insights for global retailers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess Indian consumers' brand consciousness by examining their brand knowledge, purchase behaviour and perceptions of foreign brands. It provides key inputs for global retailers to harness the potential in growing consumerism in India. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 300 Indian consumers was conducted and the data were analysed using descriptive and simple regression techniques. Findings – The study found that brand purchase in India varies across product categories. At present, consumer knowledge and use of foreign brands is low, and Indian consumers are price‐sensitive. Indian consumers are experimenting with brands and would like more foreign brands to enter the Indian market. Research limitations/implications – Due to the small sample size, advanced econometrics techniques could not be used to analyse the dataset. Originality/value – The paper is the first to assess the impact of retail liberalisation on Indian consumers' shopping behaviour, particularly their brand consciousness.