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NewswireTODAY - /newswire/ -
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, 2013/05/07 - A quirky study finds that car sales in India during FY2012-13 had a strong correlation to the average sunlight in a month, with a co-efficient of 0.6. Temperature had lesser impact, but seasonal sunlight trends had an unexpectedly strong influence.
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A study investigating the factors that influence car purchase decisions by Indians found that buyers are strongly influenced by average sunlight per day in a month. Months with more sunlight per day have seen more car sales in the just concluded FY 2012-13. Democratize Me, a research organization based in Mumbai, made these revelations as a part of a study released by it on May 7.
For the study, Democratize Me used data points from 2.61 million car and UV units sold in India by 14 car manufacturers and year-long weather data points such as temperature, sunlight, humidity, wind speed etc.
Commenting on the surprising revelation, the CEO of 'Democratize Me', Mr. Kristopher King said,'It is a well-known fact that average sunlight per day is a prominent influencer for folks in western countries where natural light is in scarcity. What is surprising to see is that even in a tropical country like India, this trend seems to hold good. This is a stunning observation resulting from our study, and can have a significant impact on the sales efforts of consumer durable and FMCG industries in tropical countries.'
The study also found that the amount of sunlight in a day has a very low correlation with temperature, contrary to the popular perception. The study proves conclusively that it is light and not temperature that is influencing purchase decisions.
Summary of the path-breaking study is as follows:
- Average Sunlight per day is a significant factor in car purchases in India, with a strong correlation co-efficient of 0.6.
- Average daily sunlight in India is at its peak between October to May, and the car sales too show an upward trend during these months. India has an annual average sunlight of 7.8 hours per day, with a high of 9.5 hours in November and a low of 5.6 hours in July during monsoons
- Between June and September, Indian weather witnesses persistent rains and low sunlight due to which the car sales take a clear dip.
- Another observation of the study about the average number of wet days in a month supports this observation. July and August are the months with highest number of wet days at 14 days per month, and these are also the months with the lowest car sales in FY 2012-13
- In addition to sunlight, relative humidity % is another significant factor in case of car purchases, albeit with an inversely proportional relationship.
- Maximum, minimum or average temperature per day, wind speed had little correlation with car sales
The relative abundance of sunlight in countries like India could be one of the reasons why economists and marketers have taken it for granted and not studied its impact on purchase decisions. Democratize Me believes that its pioneering study into the topic can lead to further research into the impact of natural light on lifestyle purchases in tropical countries.
Mr. King said,'The exact ways in which sunlight influences purchase decisions isn't immediately clear and needs in-depth analysis by both economists and social scientists. Our study establishes the need for such research.'
Mr. King also said that the team at Democratize Me is influenced by the works of Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner who co-authored Freakonomics, and wishes to emulate their success in finding correlation between seemingly random, but decisively related patterns.
About Democratize Me
Democratize Me (democratise.me) is an independent research and rights advocacy organization founded by Mr. Kristopher King in 2012 and is privately funded. Democratize Me developed a substantial body of research work studying patterns of economic and social behavior across the world, which it intends to provide to marketers looking to understand consumer behavior patterns.
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kris[.]democratise.me 
