The reduction in GST rates on consumer durables is beginning to reflect in festive sales, with retailers reporting an uptick in demand for big-ticket appliances such as large-screen televisions and dishwashers. While it may be too early to call this a broad-based upgrade cycle, companies say the early momentum is encouraging and sentiment is visibly stronger than last year.
Sony India said it will pass on an effective 7.8 percent benefit to buyers starting September 22. The company has rolled out festive discounts of up to Rs 70,000 on its BRAVIA television range. Price drops cover popular screen sizes, with up to Rs 70,000 off on 85-inch models, up to Rs 51,000 on the 75-inch, up to Rs 40,000 on the 65-inch, and up to Rs 32,000 on the 55-inch sets.
Panasonic has reduced prices across its air-conditioner range following the GST cut. The reductions average around Rs 5,000 per unit, translating to 7–8 percent lower prices on average. The smallest cuts are close to Rs 3,000, while the bigger models see reductions of up to Rs 7,000–8,000 depending on tonnage and specifications.
Samsung has also entered the festive fray and introduced a 20 percent cashback on select bank cards, along with bundled freebies.
The company is also offering a 3-year warranty on all TVs, easy finance options with EMIs starting at Rs 990 per month for up to 30 months, and zero down payment schemes.
“We’re seeing a marked preference for premium products like side-by-side refrigerators, advanced washing machines, energy-efficient split Acs, fans and air fryers, among others. This growth is fuelled by customers beyond the top tier cities, with several smaller towns seeing a multi-fold increase in demand,” said Saurabh Srivastava, Vice President - Amazon India, adding that the momentum will accelerate further till Diwali.
Walmart-backed Flipkart flagged a ~26% YoY growth in the purchase of premium products across categories such as mobiles, TVs and refrigerators.
Croma owner Infiniti Retail Ltd pointed out that it has been the ‘strongest festive starts’ in recent years, with consumer demand seeing a clear shift towards larger screen sizes and premium technologies such as QLED. “Dishwashers are also seeing rapid adoption, especially in metro and Tier 1 cities. Even in the non-seasonal air conditioner category, the response has been encouraging, driven by GST-led price corrections and festive demand. Washing machines, which were not impacted by the GST changes, have seen demand rise purely due to festive momentum,” said Shibashish Roy, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Infiniti Retail Ltd.
“Buyers are witnessing significant price cuts of as much as 8–10 percent. This has, in turn, improved affordability substantially, particularly for middle-class consumers who had been waiting for the opportune moment to upgrade,” said Abhishek Gupta, Director of Finance and Operations at Summercool Home Appliances.
The 75-inch TV models are now more affordable, with price reductions of up to Rs 15,000, offering great value in the premium segment, according to Avneet Singh Marwah, CEO, Super Plastronics Private Limited — the exclusive brand licensee for Kodak and Blaupunkt. “We witnessed a 20 percent increase in sales on the very first day of GST 2.0.
Within our portfolio, televisions have seen the sharpest rise where 55-inch models grew by 35 percent. Notably, premium 55-65-inch TVs now contribute 70 percent of sales, versus 50 percent a year ago, reflecting accelerated demand in the segment,” Marwah added.
“Early trends are definitely encouraging and point to positive consumer sentiment, the momentum of which we expect will continue going forward as well,” said an LG spokesperson.
The GST reforms announced earlier this month lowered most appliances to the 18 percent slab from 28 percent, making products 7–10 percent cheaper on average.
“GST savings, festive sales discounting, and convenient finance schemes have generated a conducive situation for revival in demand. Overall, we believe that this festival will be one of the most promising in recent years for the consumer electronics and home appliances market, as families are definitely spending more and upgrading quicker,” Gupta added.
Another retailer Lotus Electronics flagged a 35 per cent YOY growth in the last days.
"The demand is mostly coming from the middle class consumers is what we understand. People are buying better products. That's all I can say. They were initially buying it but now they have also gotten affordability," said Gaurav Pahwa - Director, Lotus Electronics.
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