Market leadership

Can a leader weaken before it loses leadership?

JioMobile service providersAug ’25 → Aug ’26

Jio remained #1 in its category, but its share of category Buying Intent fell from 69.1% to 61.3% between Aug ’25 and Aug ’26 (−11% YoY). Its Brand Trust was down 13% and its Brand Desire down 27% over the same year.

What caught our attention

Jio has led its category by a wide margin. A lead of that size is often treated as settled.

We looked at whether the consumer pull behind the lead was holding steady.

What BII shows

Category Buying Intent share

Category Buying Intent share: 69.1% to 61.3%, Aug ’25 to Aug ’26 · minus 11% YoY.

Brand Trust

Brand Trust: minus 13%, Year on year.

Brand Desire

Brand Desire: minus 27%, Year on year.

Category position

Category position: #1, Still the leader in Aug ’26.

What sits underneath

All three measures moved down together. Brand Desire fell the most (−27% YoY), then Brand Trust (−13%), while the share of category Buying Intent fell 11%.

When wanting falls faster than reliance, it may suggest a brand that is still trusted but less actively preferred.

Why this matters

Leadership measured by position can stay intact long after the consumer pull behind it begins to soften. At 61.3%, Jio still holds most of its category’s Buying Intent.

The direction is what deserves attention. A steady decline in Desire and Trust can come well before any change in rank — and is easier to address while the lead is still large.

What we would watch next

BII reads every brand every month, so each of these can be followed as it develops.

  • Whether Jio’s share of category Buying Intent steadies or keeps falling.
  • Whether Brand Desire, the steepest of the three declines, begins to recover.
  • Which brands in the category account for the share Jio no longer holds.

How BII can be used this way

Leadership-health and early-warning tracking

For a category leader, BII works as an early warning — showing whether the Buying Intent, Brand Trust and Brand Desire behind the lead are holding, well before a change in rank would show it.

See the six ways brands use BII

Method and caveats

Period
Aug ’25 compared with Aug ’26.
Category
Mobile service providers.
Scope
BII’s monthly national reading across the 16 cities it covers.
Reading
Share is Jio’s portion of the category’s Buying Intent in the month. Year-on-year changes compare Aug ’26 with Aug ’25. Figures describe what moved, not why.

Independent BII analyses. Brands featured are selected because we find the market development noteworthy; inclusion does not imply a client relationship.

What would BII show underneath your brand?

The same monthly readings — Buying Intent, Brand Trust and Brand Desire — for your brand, its category and its competitors.

More brand reads

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    Brand Desire, May–Jul ’26
    1.2 to 4.4 to 5.8

    An acquisition can immediately transfer sales, scale and distribution. Consumer keenness to buy the brand is a separate asset that may still have to be built.