Home convenience products, premiumisation trend fuel consumer goods' growth

Low penetration of major appliances presents expansion opportunity for industry

The Indian technical consumer goods market saw a year-on-year value growth of 11 per cent in the first half of the year driven largely by consumer interest in home convenience products and a premiumisation trend, a new report stated.
 

The overall sector recorded a one per cent volume growth in the offline channel, said a report by consumer intelligence firm GfK. The small domestic appliance (SDA) segment led with a 29 per cent increase in value, reflecting heightened consumer interest in home convenience products.

Meanwhile, the major domestic appliances (MDA) segment followed with a robust 18 per cent value growth, indicating strong demand for essential household items.

“This growth is 3 times the growth in 2023 over the previous year. Key categories leading this growth in MDA are air conditioners and refrigerators, with a growth of 30 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively,” stated a release.

This reflects the spike in sales of air conditioners and refrigerators in the first half, owing to extreme heatwave conditions in the country.

“Despite these gains, the relatively low penetration of these products presents significant opportunities for industry expansion,” it added.

Meanwhile, consumers are now increasingly driven to feature-rich products, aided by lower inflation rates and easy EMI options.

According to the firm, smartphones with 256GB+ storage have registered a 140 per cent growth, reflecting the increasing demand for advanced technological capabilities and high-end features. Gaming laptops and washing machines with capacities of 9kg or more have also experienced impressive growth rates of 30 per cent each.

This premiumisation trend is fuelling value growth in the market.

“India has emerged as the fastest-growing large market in the technical consumer goods industry. Valued at around Rs 2 trillion, the market saw over 125 million units sold in the first half of 2024. The consumption growth underscores the diverse and dynamic nature of the Indian TCG industry, driven by evolving consumer needs and preferences. This growth in 2024 surpasses the growth achieved in 2023 by 3 percentage points,” said Anant Jain, head of customer success – India, GfK.