Big ticket items driving growth in consumer durables this festive season

Televisions, microwave ovens, vacuum cleaners, washing machines are expected to drive the growth of the consumer durable industry during this festival season

The fading effect of the pandemic this festival season has caused an improvement in buying momentum for home appliances and electronics for premium products, according to data shared by GfK Market Intelligence Offline Retail Tracking. 

The top five consumer durable goods that contributed the most volume to growth during the festive season of 2021 compared to their annual sales were televisions with 28 per cent, microwave ovens with 28 per cent, vacuum cleaners with 25 per cent and washing machine with 25 per cent, according to the report.

Based on past trends, these four products are expected to drive the growth of the consumer durable industry during this festival season as well.

“As a result of the epidemic outbreak, consumer goods sales have been facing challenges for the past two years, but now things appear to be returning to “normal”. The fact that certain significant sectors experienced strong double-digit growth in Q1 of 2022 is proof that the offline market has received a stimulus with shoppers moving back to the market to shop,” said Anant Jain, head of market intelligence- India, GfK. 

He added, “For select categories, like washing machines, microwaves, televisions, and vacuum cleaners, the festive season accounts for more than 25 per cent of their annual sales. Additionally, electric water heaters also sell more than 30 per cent of their annual volumes during the festive months.”

With a 17 per cent volume gain over the prior year in July 2022 and a 21 per cent increase in value for major domestic appliances, consumer durables especially AC, refrigerators, washing machine and microwave enjoyed a good start to the second quarter of 2022, he said.

The second half of the year also looks promising for consumer durables due to the upcoming festivities in October. Every major manufacturer, retailer, and e-commerce platform is promoting its festive deals. 

As per GFK’s report, volume growth in October 2021 was 16 per cent yearly (YoY). Sales of all major domestic appliance products are influenced by the festive season, especially during the Diwali months of October and November, and contribute roughly 17–19 per cent of all sales annually. This percentage is more for small domestic appliance categories, at about 21-23 per cent.

During the forthcoming festive season, healthy growth and recovery of the early months lost owing to the third wave in January and February of this year, is anticipated, the report said. 

The trend of premiumisation is expected to continue this festive season as Indian consumers continue to seek products that provide superior performance and user experience.

According to GfK’s assessment of industry expectations, some features and innovations are beginning to gain traction as ways to draw customers to new product launches. 

According to the report findings, the industry anticipates products where design and personalisation come together to create the best possible customer experiences. 

Consumers have responded favourably to smart appliances, which require minimal maintenance and have a wide range of capabilities.

Due to high evolution of technology, the report also highlighted that it is expected that laser TVs may eventually replace PTVs because they use 30 per cent less energy than PTVs of comparable size of more than 75 inches, have a better recyclability concept with 87 per cent recyclability and require less material across the supply chain.