Meta B2C services for urban India: an exploratory study; the case of Bangalore

Abstract

The changing demographic trends in urban India have given rise to a new kind of service offerings - Meta B2C. This report starts by defining what a Meta B2C service is and then focuses on the various Meta B2C services being offered in Bangalore currently. An attempt was made to understand the current and emerging needs of consumers in urban India by conducting an online survey, focus group interviews amongst selected consumers and interviews with service providers of existing MetaB2C services. The findings from the report clearly show that there is a need for a basket of such services owing to a variety of reasons. Some of the most common reasons are:1. Society moving towards nuclear families with both husband and wife working .2. No time to carry out the recurring errands/chores .3. Increase in disposable incomes .4. Urban landscape increasing the hassle to carry out these chores .5. Increase in Internet penetration. The report concludes that since trust is emerging as a single most prominent hygiene factor, Meta B2C service providers need to do undertake many tasks, primary amongst them being focussing on brand building and having a pan India presence to alleviate the fear caused due to lack of trust. Also, some of the current offerings can be tweaked to capture the future potential due to the changing needs landscape of consumers in urban India.