Op-Ed by Dr. Sheetal Jain, Founder & CEO of Luxe Analytics

For years, the playbook for luxury brands entering or expanding in India has been remarkably consistent: focus on the Big Six cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, and Hyderabad. These metropolitan markets have long been seen as the country’s primary engines of wealth, international exposure, and premium consumption. But as India’s affluent population expands and consumption patterns evolve, an important question is emerging: should luxury brands continue to concentrate almost exclusively on these six cities?

The short answer is no. The Big Six remain indispensable, but they are no longer sufficient on their own.

The traditional logic is easy to understand. Together, these six cities account for roughly 46% of India’s total consumption and nearly two-thirds of all urban consumption. Delhi NCR alone represents a staggering $126 billion consumption market almost as large as the combined consumption of Mumbai and Bengaluru, which together total about $134 billion. Bengaluru, Chandigarh, and Delhi also rank among the cities with the highest average household incomes in the country.

For global luxury houses, these numbers justify flagship stores, experiential retail, and high-touch investments. The concentration of HNIs, UHNWIs, international travellers, and luxury infrastructure makes these markets the natural starting point for brand building.

However, the data reveals a more nuanced picture.

One of the most striking findings is that the highest average household spending in India does not come from the Big Six. Cities such as Chandigarh, Thiruvananthapuram, and Vadodara lead the country in average household expenditure. This suggests that affluent consumption is becoming increasingly dispersed across a wider set of urban centres.

Even more revealing is the difference in spending behaviour. According to the PRICE & Tata Sons report, households in the Big Six spend only about 58% of their income, while households across the next 94 cities spend more than three-fourths of what they earn. In other words, consumers in emerging urban markets exhibit significantly higher consumption intensity.

This matters because luxury is not driven solely by income; it is driven by the willingness to allocate income toward discretionary and aspirational purchases. A household earning less but spending a larger share of its income on premium experiences, fashion, beauty, jewellery, or automobiles can become a highly valuable customer segment.

The implications are profound. Cities that were once considered secondary markets are now producing consumers who are digitally connected, globally aware, and increasingly confident in expressing their aspirations through luxury consumption. Social media, e-commerce, international travel, and exposure to global culture have dramatically reduced the information gap between metropolitan and non-metropolitan consumers.

Another structural shift is accelerating this trend. The share of high-income households earning more than ₹36 lakh annually has risen from 3% to 12% over the past decade and is projected to approach 20% by 2030. This expansion of India’s affluent class is not confined to the largest metros. New wealth is being created in industrial hubs, technology corridors, pharmaceutical clusters, and entrepreneurial ecosystems across the country.

For luxury brands, this creates a strategic dilemma. Continue investing disproportionately in saturated metro markets, or begin building early relevance in emerging affluent cities where competition is still relatively limited.

The answer lies in adopting a hub-and-spoke approach. The Big Six should remain the anchors of brand visibility, experiential retail, and client acquisition. But growth strategies must increasingly include cities such as Chandigarh, Vadodara, Pune, Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Indore, Kochi, and Thiruvananthapuram. These markets may not yet support a full flagship network, but they can be served through curated trunk shows, luxury pop-ups, private client events, digital commerce, and partnerships with premium hospitality and lifestyle venues.

The brands that win the next decade of Indian luxury will be those that identify emerging wealth clusters before they become obvious. They will invest not just where income is highest, but where aspirations are rising fastest and where consumers are beginning to trade up across categories.

India’s luxury opportunity is no longer simply about where people earn the most. Increasingly, it is about where they choose to spend and where brands have the foresight to meet them early.

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Editorial Note: This op-ed reflects the independent views and analysis of the author, based on publicly available industry research. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Luxury Chamber of Commerce (WLCC).

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