MaRS Rural Consumer Purchase Audit

MaRS has launched a monthly Rural Consumer Purchase Audit (RCPA) which will track purchase of high value products in rural areas of UP.

The uniqueness and key differentiator of MaRS initiative is that the data collector will be local educated youth who will ensure both fidelity and timeliness of information collection. Information will be collected as the purchaser brings the product home, thus no recall will be involved, and the data will be live as well as reliable. Unlike retail audit, the consumer will be the respondent and this will enable asking additional questions on purchase decision making process. We shall again mine reliable information in this regard as the purchase process will be fresh in the mind of the purchaser.

Data collection will be carried out in association with ITC e-Choupal, the well-known rural initiative by ITC Agri Business Division (ITC ABD). The e-Choupal team at the select villages, respective hubs and districts will facilitate in collecting the data and ensuring timeliness of the data collected. The project is currently being piloted and reports will be available to prospective clients from March 2019.

Categories currently covered include household electronics, tractors, inverters, submersibles, smart phones, roofing materials, fences, two and four wheelers, all types of tyres among others. For each category the monthly track will include brand bought, factors considered for purchase, influencers in decision making, other brands in consideration set, brand ad liked, previous brand, and satisfaction rating with previous brand. #MaRS Rural