The global uncertainty triggered by the West Asia crisis and unrest across the world appears to be weighing on Indian consumers, with demand for discretionary categories such as home and personal care taking a hit in January and February, data from Bizom shared with FE shows. Spending on food, on the other hand, has grown during the same period, pointing to a tendency among consumers to restrict spending to essentials. Bizom, a business intelligence platform that tracks retail sales across FMCG categories, reports only value growth and not volume growth.