Mumbai: Visa has released its latest Visa Consulting and Analytics (VCA) Whitepaper, India’s Affluent Economy 2025–2026, highlighting a significant shift in how affluent consumers across the country are spending, prioritising experiences, access, and lifestyle integration over traditional ownership.
Based on a YouGov-commissioned study and supported by VisaNet data across travel, dining, retail, and lifestyle categories, the report analyses affluence through behavioural patterns rather than income alone. The findings indicate that India’s affluent segment is expanding rapidly, with individuals earning over ₹10 lakh increasing from 69 lakh to 130 lakh, creating a larger base of consumers actively participating in discretionary spending.
The report notes a clear evolution in consumption patterns, where purchases are more intentional, identity-driven, and experience-focused. Credit cards are emerging as a key enabler of this shift, facilitating access to premium products, curated experiences, and exclusive memberships.
One of the standout insights is the dominance of travel in discretionary spending. Among ultra-elite consumers, travel accounts for 58% of discretionary expenditure, significantly outpacing retail and luxury categories combined. Cross-border spending is also on the rise, with penetration reaching 63% among elite segments, reflecting increasing global exposure and consumption.
Dining has also emerged as a major lifestyle marker, with nearly 80% of affluent consumers dining at premium establishments multiple times a year. The study highlights an annual dining spend benchmark of around ₹2 lakh, with ₹20,000 becoming a baseline per experience and ₹50,000 considered a premium threshold.
The whitepaper further underscores that affluence is no longer restricted to metro cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru, but is expanding into emerging urban centres like Ahmedabad, Surat, Jaipur, and Lucknow, where consumption behaviours increasingly mirror metropolitan trends.
Luxury consumption is also evolving from ownership to access, with more than half of affluent consumers using cards for memberships and curated experiences. Technology, wellness, and high-end retail continue to see strong traction, with affluent consumers demonstrating higher engagement across these categories.
Commenting on the findings, Sushmit Nath, Head of Visa Consulting & Analytics, India and South Asia, said, “Our analysis in this VCA Whitepaper – India’s Affluent Economy, shines a light on how affluence is no longer episodic. The propensity towards discretionary spends is far higher and not just reserved for milestones. This marks a definite shift in how premium consumption contributes to the broader economy, especially as affluence expands beyond large metros. Increasingly, this premium spend is experience-led, driven by demand for exclusivity, bespoke journeys and seamless access across travel, dining, wellness and curated lifestyle moments.”
The report concludes that India’s affluent economy is being reshaped by a growing preference for integrated lifestyle ecosystems—where travel, dining, wellness, and digital experiences converge seamlessly. As affluence spreads geographically and behaviourally, brands are expected to adapt by offering culturally relevant, locally embedded, and consistently visible premium experiences to capture this evolving opportunity.
