‘Decision Democracy’ Reaches the Heart of Indian Households

Mumbai, January 24th 2019: When choosing furniture for the home, more than one-in-three (36.3%) of Indian homeowners would take their children’s opinion into consideration, according to the latest findings from Godrej’s Interio Index. In purely ‘democratic’ terms India’s dining and living rooms are becoming more representative, with 38.8% being the result of collective decision-making, followed by the bedrooms (34.8%), and lastly the kitchen (28.3%).

Anil Mathur, Chief Operating Officer, Godrej Interio, described the ‘Republic Day’ edition of the Interio Index, as a light-hearted nod towards the decision-making within India’s homes.

“The concept of democracy – having a say in the final decision – is equally relevant at home as at the voting booth. In fact, home is often the place where we learn and test principles we will apply later in life. This latest edition of the Interio Index clearly indicates that Indian households are become a truly democratic arena, where every family member – from adult to child – is considered in the decision-making process.

He also suggests that the democratic attitude to decision-making is really being pioneered in India by millennials. According to the data, 54.3% millennials believe that decisions have become a truly collective process with each member of the family having a say, compared to 47.6% of respondents aged between 35 and 45, 39.1% between 45 and 55, and just 35.4% of over 55s.

India’s older generations, according to the findings, prefer to restrict their children’s inputs to the kids’ room only; this is the case for 34% of those over 35 and only 27.3% for those under 35.

“As per our data, the younger generation of Indians believes that every family member in the house, including children, should have a voice in the purchase and arrangement of furniture. Nearly one in five millennial parents (19.3%) always consider the opinion of the kids in case of all furniture compared to only 17.4% of those over 35. In fact, 5.4% millennials claim their kids have the last word on which furniture to buy and where to place when planning the décor of the bedroom and the living room,” Mr. Mathur added.

He described the increasing influence of children in the decision-making process as a fundamental – and ‘democratic’ – shift in the purchase process, referring it as the rise of kid-opinionated home décor decision-making.

“The growing influence of children in important purchase decisions regarding home furnishings is a reflection of relationship dynamics within Indian households, which has taken a democratic turn. Our response as a brand has been to ensure that our brand has something new to offer every member of the family given the millennial inclination to come to collective decisions.”

For majority of Indians, Republic Day represents empowerment of every citizen. Today Indian households – particularly those headed by millennials – are, in turn, empowering each family member to participate in the decision-making process.

“When it comes to décor and furnishings, at least, democracy has well and truly reached the Indian home!” concluded Mr. Mathur.