Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai most affluent cities

NEW DELHI: Delhi, Bengaluru and greater Mumbai have been named as the top three most affluent cities in the country based on lifestyle and consumption habits of the people residing there, according to a survey by The Nielsen.

The Nielsen Upper Middle and Rich (UMAR) survey has ranked Delhi at the top of the chart of 10 most affluent cities based followed by Bengaluru at the second place, Greater Mumbai (3rd), Chennai (4th) and Hyderabad (5th).

The survey has initiated a new method of defining 'affluence', based on lifestyle and consumer durables' ownership of a household rather than monthly income and education.

Three distinct segments of affluence emerged by such lifestyle and consumer durables mapping - upper middle, upper-upper middle and rich and are quite distinct in their consumption habits, the survey said.

The grouping was done based on the ownership of a car, a computer, an LCD, and a holiday abroad, the survey said.

"The primary reason for conducting Nielsen UMAR was to obtain first of all a realistic estimate of this segment, and secondly, to profile their media and consumption habits," The Nielsen Company Managing Director (South Asia) Partha Rakshit said.