With inflation digging holes in people’s pockets, a majority of Indian consumers are cutting back on everyday expenses to meet basic needs. Ditching big brands for local ones, skipping leisure activities, and taking up additional gig jobs are some of the measures they are resorting to, a new survey has stated.

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While over 95 percent of Indians say growing inflation is directly impacting their daily and monthly expenditure, the survey by UserTesting, a video-based human insight platform in the US, has found that 65 percent of consumers are buying from generic/local brands instead of name brands to save money.

“Most generic brands are now offering the same quality of a product at a cheaper price, more than half of the Indians have shifted their focus on local brands, especially for purchases such as clothes and grocery items,” the survey shared with CNBCTV18.com said.

All video respondents of the UserTesting survey said petrol cost was one of the major factors hurting their budgets. So, many have minimised personal car travel and are opting for public transport. About 60 percent of Indian consumers indicated that they were avoiding entertainment expenses such as movies, eating out, staycations, etc.

Also Read: Consumers cut spending on clothing, fuel, gadgets as inflation eats into budget: Survey

“With essential grocery items such as bread witnessing a sharp rise in prices, 90 percent of the respondents have reported that it is becoming a burden to keep up with the inflation storm,” the survey added.

Consumers are compelled to keep their expenses in check as a host of cost pressures including rising commodity prices and global supply disruptions are leading to elevated prices for goods and services across the board.

A few respondents also cited challenges of reduced personal savings as they have not received any salary appraisals in the past year.

Gig economy to the rescue

Former motivations for side hustles, such as paying off debt and saving, have been replaced by a more pressing need — making ends meet, the survey said, adding that 75 percent of Indian respondents were resorting to secondary sources of income to keep up with the increased cost of living, Freelancing and trading are among the most popular side gigs.

Also Read: The gig economy is more than Ola drivers and Zomato delivery boys — these are the roles in top demand

Where inflation stands at present

India's retail inflation eased marginally to 7.01 percent in June, over and above the Reserve Bank of India’s threshold of 6 percent, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on July 12.

Inflation in the food basket in June 2022 was 7.75 percent, compared to 7.97 percent in the preceding month, as per the National Statistical Office (NSO) data.

Also, earlier this week, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das asserted that the price situation will gradually improve in the second half of the current fiscal.

Also Read: NITI Aayog bats for gig workers — suggests paid sick leave, insurance, retirement plans for all

Meanwhile, the annual rate of inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) number has been recorded at 15.18 percent for June 2022. This is the third consecutive month that the reading is over 15 percent and it has stayed in double digits for over a year now.