Used goods: North sells, East stocks, West buys

TV or motorcycle, Indian homes hardly throw away things. They may graduate to higher versions, but nostalgia triggered Indians have a fascination for oldies, no matter if they ever use them or not. A recent study by online marketplace, OLX has reported that Indian urban households hoard Rs 56, 000 crores worth goods every year. This amount can clear entire arrears of the Food Corporation of India, and is one-and-a-half times the annual budget allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Scheme, the study claimed.

Affordability having increased, Indians are more empowered to buy, which automatically results in more wastages. The survey for 2104-15 conducted by CRUST (Consumer Research on Used-Goods and Selling Trends) was conducted through a random sampling methodology of 5,800 samples across 16 cities including metros, tier-1 and tier- 3.

While conducting the survey, a few trends of Indian Consumer Behaviour related to used goods got highlighted, which includes:

The shelf life of used goods in India: Stocking has been a prominent trend this year as well with 87% households stocking used goods in India, while 45% indulge in selling these goods.

Consumer behavior towards used goods (regional perspective): While Northern India tops the selling chart with 48% households doing so, the Eastern region leads stocking with 97%, and the West is the frontrunner in buying of used goods. 83% of Delhi households have unused items lying at home. Kolkata residents seem to be the most eager to sell their used goods, while Bengaluru is the least selling-friendly metro. The heritage city of Lucknow records the highest sale of books with 31% people selling off their used books.

Cultural factors affecting attitudes towards used goods in India:

Why does India Stock: 31% believes, the key reason for stocking remains to be a wish to use these goods at a later date, while 18% owe their stocking habits to the sentimental value attached with the goods.

Why does India Sell: The wish to upgrade to better products triggers about 51% of the respondents to sell goods. Close to 33% people sell used goods because they feel that the goods are simply lying at home unused.


Why does India Buy: While overall, the highest motivational factor for buying used goods is that these products are less expensive than new goods (69% said so), 50% respondents also buy used goods because the product quality meets their requirements.

Categories of goods traded:

What does India Stock?
The top 3 categories of goods stocked across India are Clothing, Kitchen Utensils, and Books. This is followed by mobile phones.

What does India Sell?
Books are the highest sold product with 17% having done so in the last one year. Categories with high value and high perceived usability such as mobile phones experience a higher incidence of selling compared to last year.
What does India Buy?
Mobile phones and Consumer Durables are the highest bought categories across the country.

What is young India thinking/doing?
Young adults* constitute a large part of the Indian population and they play an instrumental role in defining the trends in the country. The Survey has taken an in-depth look into their behavioural pattern to find that 87% of young adults stock goods. 51% young adults sell used goods to upgrade to better products and lifestyle, while 23% of people in the age group of 19- 23 years bought 3-5 used goods last year.
*Young adults refer to those in the age group of 19-23 years

(Image: Reuters)