Behavioral Economics of Wellness Investments: How Consumers Weigh Cost and Benefit in Health-Related Services in the Indian Context

This paper examines how Indian consumers evaluate costs and benefits when investing in wellness services, applying behavioral economics principles like loss aversion, present bias, and framing effects. As India’s wellness industry is set to reach $70 billion by 2025, understanding consumer decision-making is crucial. Using primary survey data from 300 respondents (150 urban, 150 rural) across Delhi, Mumbai, and rural Uttar Pradesh, along with secondary data from industry reports, we analyze the factors influencing wellness investments through logistic regression and structural equation modeling (SEM).