Changing Consumer Lifestyles in Pakistan

You don’t choose where you’re born. That’s a fact. The majority then succumb to all that entails. The prevalent socio-economic situation, the political situation and the general wellbeing of that area all conspire to provide opportunity or lack thereof for leading balanced lifestyles or upward social mobility. Globalization and the information age provided ambition and dared people to dream to achieve a life beyond their reach regardless of where they were in the world. It became apparent that large groups of people had similar lifestyles in many parts of the world given a set group of conditions. These only started to converge globally where exposure to news across the world became instantaneous.

Consider a young teenage boy called Ahmed in Karachi, Pakistan in the 90s. Ahmed’s father works abroad which is why he lives with his mother and two sisters at his maternal grandmother’s house where his family is coinhabiting with two of his maternal uncles and one maternal aunt. Now this was a volatile era charged politically. Zia’s military regime had ended in the late 80s and the 90s is popularly known as the ‘lost decade’ or one where the 2 biggest political parties played a game of musical chairs amongst themselves. On the economic front, the country was doing okay-ish with an average GDP growth rate of close to 4% except of course when we tested the bomb. People are generally content, and the income disparity though still there, is not very apparent, and the general standard of living is good. Ahmed lives in an old part of the city in Malir town where most of the Urdu speaking migrants have settled post partition and is generally known as one of the hot beds due to a concentration of the main rival political party workers residing there as well. Hence the tension since a government crackdown is underway against this same political party. Families are in general afraid to send their young male members outside for fear of being ‘picked up’ by authorities. The elder males are not sure if they will be able to return home safely due to the excessive violence on the streets. There are ‘payya jaam’ strikes called for frequently resulting in exams and school being cancelled for the day, preventing students from qualifying on time and prolonging their entry into the workforce. Ahmed spends his days playing indoors or whenever he can sneak out onto the ‘mohalla’ streets with his neighborhood buddies. ‘Mohallas’ are more closely knit back then. Elders from each house know each other and their kids and keep an eye out to ensure nobody strays out too far. It's still a joint family system so at any given time you’ve got an army of adults inside and outside the house ready to discipline you for the smallest of infractions. The closest grocery store is a 15-minute walk to the main road so you can’t up and leave whenever you wish. Most of the condiments are made at home by the women of the house, TV has only one or two channels airing for a designated time during the day and not everyone has access to a phone, internet, or a device to play music on. If you’re lucky some relative living abroad has got you a Walkman and you’re exchanging mix tapes with friends. In the evenings, a few street vendors make their way on the street and kids gather around them to enjoy the goodies. One such vendor comes twice a day, once in the morning carrying, eggs, bread, rusk and other basic breakfast items, and once in the evening carrying, chips, candies, toffees and snack items. What’s pertinent to note is that most of these items are unbranded made at the local bakery or milk store. The few items that are branded are all locally manufactured including jubilee chocolate by Mitchell’s or candies by B.P. or Mayfair and so on. The milk man in the morning brings fresh milk to the door so packaged milk is not a common item to be found at homes during those times. The entertainment is watching the 8pm drama with the family on TV followed by the ‘khabarnama’ at 9. A game of ludo or cards outside one of the ‘chabootras’ on the streets is a common sighting accompanied by cups of hot tea being supplied from inside the house until you retire to sleep in the veranda or on the roof of the houses to enjoy the cool air during the summer months and be awakened by mosquitos in the morning. During this decade, Ahmed is exposed to Pakistan doing well in sports and winning four world titles in Cricket, Squash, Hockey and Snooker in a short span. He has been brought up on stories of Pakistanis being smart, hardworking and achieving great things like PIA helping UAE start the famous Emirates airlines, Pakistani soldiers helping the UN security council in Bosnia and parts of Africa. According to the history he’s been taught, Pakistan has won all 3 wars against India so far and basically can do no wrong. Our music is making waves internationally, Vital Signs, Junoon, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the likes are collaborating with international artists and are playing to packed venues across the world. Intelligent content like Fifty Fifty, Kasauti, mixed with entertaining content like the Tariq Aziz show, MCC, VJ and branded content like Gullz & Guys, Rhythm of Unity and Supreme Ishq is setting the TV ablaze. We, as a nation and a country are on the cusp of greatness.

Come the 2000s and the Musharraf era, the intoxication continues initially. Largely due to the war on terror and us siding with the US which secures the inflow of dollars into the country and welcomes a period of unprecedented consumption. Musharraf’s ‘enlightened moderation’ heralds a new era for the country with artists finding no limits on creative expression and unleashing themselves. Suddenly, we get 50 new entertainment and an equal number of news channels available on TV with dedicated channels for music, food, youth, sports, religion and so on. Foreign banks and companies flood in. A whole new generation enters the workforce along with Ahmed, having just completed his university at the turn of the century and finding himself at an MNC and 7 credit cards in his wallet. We are now exposed to more brands and more variety as international brands, previously smuggled or imported with difficulty are now easily available at all grocery stores. You can now get Pepsi and Coke in cans and PET bottles at normal prices instead of glass bottles which must be returned or consumed on the spot. Jubilee is finding it tough to compete with Cadbury, Bounty, KitKat, Snickers, and the likes as it loses its quality and distribution. Lays seems to be taking over the chips category making it very hard for any other brand to exist. Some unpackaged goods are finally becoming big in their branded avatars like packaged milk, recipe mixes, nimco etc. signaling a shift in consumer mindset. Eating out is a bonafide thing since it’s no longer single outlets of just Arizona Grill, Copper Kettle Mr. Burger, Karachi Broast and Bundoo Khan but multiple outlets of Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonalds, and the likes. Ahmed now lives with just his family in a separate apartment in a far-flung area of Karachi near the Highway. He goes out with his friends to the highway to eat his favorite karahi sometimes or just hang out at tea stalls late into the night. His father has now returned, and he lives in this nuclear unit where everyone is contributing to this middle-class life. The mother teaches in a school, all 3 kids give tuitions to earn some extra money on the side and though its not a life of abundance, its not one of deprivation either. The political atmosphere has calmed down quite a bit and there’s a bounce in the nation’s step until it all starts to go downhill again. This time the security situation worsens as the frequency of terrorist attacks rise in the city. This is one of the major fallouts of the war on terror as groups from across the border in Afghanistan start taking refuge in Pakistan. Attacks on the airports, hotels, mosques, bazaars, and processions become commonplace till it all culminates in the horrific APS attack in 2014.

Ahmed is spared most of this violence as he leaves the country for a job in Dubai in 2006 and comes back 10 years later to take care of his ailing father. He may have a nuclear family with two children of his own now, but the sense of obligation to his parents remains strong just as is the case with many of his peers in similar situations. During this time, he has seen a different life abroad. He has been able to save up considerably earning in dirhams and has been able to free his father and himself of debt, get his sisters and himself married, perform Hajj with his parents and wife, buy a small house back in Pakistan and help other family members. He has learnt that most of what he was taught and fed about Pakistan and its achievements early on in life is not entirely true and, in some cases, downright false. He becomes more grounded and humbler. The bravado has died down. The country is riddled with circular debt and has made some terrible economic decisions during the ‘musical chairs’ decade which are now coming back to bite hard. He has seen the exchange rate go down from a 50-rupee USD to 280 rupees. He has witnessed the exit of many multi nationals from Pakistan and seen that local companies have become stronger. Tapal, EBM, National Foods, Shan Foods, CBL, Ismail Industries, CP, ZIL, not only have become big local players but have really expanded globally as well. Sooper, Tapal Danedar and Shan biryani masala are huge billion-rupee brands. Textile houses are now manufacturing for big global clients like IKEA and there are more than a few local success stories in the tech and digital space. Upon his return, he enrolls his kids into school and immediately sees the race for who owns the cooler gadgets. Play dates and lavish birthday parties are now the norm. Elaborate goody bags and return gifts are expected. Kids need to be in at least four different extra-curricular activities otherwise they won’t be competitive and will lose out. The start-up scene has exploded and imploded, leaving remnants of a Careem and other ride hailing apps. Covid has come and gone and has given ecommerce a much-needed punch in the arm where many are now comfortable with ordering online. Digital payment wallets have become more acceptable. Unprecedented inflation rates, however, have crippled the middle class and one can no longer just get by. Charitable ‘dastarkhwans’ are increasing by the day as are the numbers they cater to. The recent Middle East conflict has brought the conversation home where Ahmed’s kids are saying we can’t eat KFC and McDonalds anymore or drink Coke and Pepsi or Lays since all of them are on the wrong side. They fear ridicule and exclusion if they don’t comply without even contemplating the argument in its entirety. They won’t just listen and accept either. Each command must be accompanied by a compelling and logical reason. You cannot get away with ‘because I said so’ and they won’t do anything just because you’re the parent. They shop at Springs, Spar and Imtiaz and reach out for the imported stuff almost always. They play Minecraft and watch YouTube stars promoting products which they want to try at any cost. The recent import restrictions have driven prices up to such an extent that even Ahmed has had to shift to local alternatives across many categories, like butter, cheese, and jams and give up others completely like chocolate spreads. A lot of local brands have benefitted like Cola Next, Pakola, Super crisps, CandyLand, and the phenomenon called Kababjees, who have simply decimated KFC singlehandedly. The class divide is much more apparent now.

These days Ahmed feels like he’s in limbo. He still works at an MNC at a much senior post, earns well but at a declining rate of purchasing power. His savings are eroding in real terms, and he can’t afford to take a risk for fearing of putting his family’s future at stake. He has adopted many ways of this era. He has graduated from facebook to Instagram, though that’s also getting obsolete quickly. He has downloaded TikTok and Spotify on his phone which he resorts to for cheap mindless entertainment. The advent of OTT platforms means binge watching is a thing and he takes this very seriously with Netflix and Amazon. Some local players have tried entering this space but have not really been able to make much headway yet. Pakistan hasn’t won a world title in anything since 2009’s T20 world cup. The GCC, once a lucrative avenue for Pakistanis, now huffs and puffs a lot before issuing visas for even tourism. It seems like many of the local brands are stuck in the same rut. Many of the private owners of these local brands are in the succession stage where many of the younger members are questioning whether to pledge their futures to this country or not and that indecision may impact the current and future performance of those brands in Pakistan.

In conclusion, the changing consumer lifestyles in Pakistan are shaped by a complex interplay of social, political, economic, and technological factors. The transition from a community-focused, locally sustained society to a more individualistic, brand-conscious consumer market reflects broader global trends. However, the challenges of economic instability, security concerns, and political fluctuations continue to influence consumer behaviour and business dynamics. To thrive in this evolving landscape, local businesses need to adapt by investing in local production, embracing corporate governance, and leveraging technological advancements. The future of consumer lifestyles in Pakistan will depend on how effectively these businesses can navigate the challenges and seize opportunities in a rapidly changing world.