Smart TVs boost e-com sales

More and more people in India are buying televisions online according to statements made by e-commerce players. Flipkart on Wednesday said it was witnessing a growth pattern in the smart television segment as it had seen in smartphones a year ago. US online marketplace major, on day two of 'Great Indian Festive Sale', witnessed the 'biggest day' in the history of the television category on Amazon.in.

"We saw over 2.5x sales growth as compared to the previous biggest day (Great Indian Freedom Sale)," said an Amazon spokesperson. The company said that sale of televisions grew across all price bands ranging from Rs 5,000+ to Rs 200,000. Online marketplace Snapdeal claimed it witnessed a 10-fold increase in sales of goods in two days over previous sales, as more consumers across India bought goods such as smartphones and television sets. The company on Tuesday had said the sale had exceeded expectations, with the sales revenue recording an increase of 17-fold by Monday evening, thanks to the electronic sales.

Going strong with its 'Big Billion Days' sale, Flipkart says there had been a 300 per cent year-on-year increase in sales in the smart television segment compared with a 150 per cent rise in sale of smartphones. In the coming year, it plans to continue the smart TV growth rate at more than 200 per cent.

"Smart televisions have gone through a lot of innovation and more companies are coming out with good products at the right price. People are also shopping for more items such as televisions online and this has helped us capture a new market. Though in numbers smartphone sales are higher, the percentage contribution from smart TVs has drastically increased in the past one year," said Amitesh Shah, vice-president (retail).

According to a Flipkart official, the surge for demand of such products has mainly come from Tier-II and Tier-III towns. "The smaller sectors have been our biggest customers. Though we do not have numbers, we hope to sell at least 10,000 to 50,000 televisions each from all brands," added the official.

He added there has been a surge in demand for LED and smart TV models. "The Big Billion Days sales would prove that Indian customer is now buying major items online," added Shah. The online e-commerce site sells televisions from 16 different brands. This year, it is offering discounts starting from four per cent to 40 per cent.

Not only major brands such as Sony and Samsung, but companies such as Micromax, Sansui and VU television, which are relatively new names in this category are also finding takers in metros as well as tier-II and tier-III markets.

"Vu TV was exclusively launched on Flipkart six months back and has grown by 150 per cent since then. We are seeing a rise in our numbers in the ongoing sale. More people are confident of buying big-ticket items such as televisions online and as the use of smartphones and apps such as the Flipkart app increases we will see a rise in online sales of our products," said Devita Sharaf, VU TV chief executive.

The company has sold over 40,000 smart televisions on Flipkart, which it says would cross 100,000 by the end of the Big Billion Days sale.

With inputs from Anita Babu in Bengaluru