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New Delhi: Despite a 5-8 per cent increase in prices of air-conditioners and other consumer appliances ahead of the festive season, manufacturers are hopeful of recording double-digit growth in sales, led by premiumisation, replacement demand, easy financing and improved consumer sentiment.
The latest price increase, the third round of revisions this year, has come ahead of the peak festive season, with higher costs of copper, aluminium, steel and crude derivatives, besides rising freight expenses and currency fluctuations prompting companies to raise prices.
The industry, which started the festive season on a positive note with strong sales during Onam in the South, expects the momentum to continue through Navratri and Diwali, aided by premiumisation, replacement demand and easy availability of consumer financing.
Consumers are increasingly opting for larger-capacity and feature-rich appliances, including energy-efficient and smart connected products, which is expected to support value growth even as higher prices put some pressure on volumes, industry executives said.
Some companies believe that it will have a minimal impact as dealers and distributors have already stocked inventory purchased at older prices through pre-buying schemes in August and September.
When asked if the industry would record double-digit growth despite the price hikes, Haier Appliances India CEO N S Satish told PTI, “Definitely. It will.”
Haier India expects 30-35 per cent growth in festive sales by value, while unit sales are likely to grow around 20 per cent, he said.
“For us, it will be 30-35 per cent growth. Industry should be about 10-15 per cent,” Satish said, adding that premiumisation and easy availability of finance would support demand despite price increases.
According to Satish, consumers who have already decided to purchase an appliance are likely to either opt for a slightly lower-capacity product within their budget or use EMI financing to upgrade to a premium model.
“The premiumisation story is happening and with the availability of easy finance… we will enable the affordability and premiumisation upgradation story,” he said.
Haier has raised prices by around 5 per cent on room air-conditioners from October 1 and 2-3 per cent in other product categories such as LED TV and washing machine.
LG Electronics India Co-Chief Sales & Marketing Officer Sanjay Chitkara said the company is “very optimistic” about the upcoming festive season, which begins with Navratri in the second weekend of October.
Pre-festive inquiries during the Shradh period have been encouraging, he said, adding that festivals are increasingly becoming an occasion for new home purchases and home upgrades.
Consumers are upgrading not only refrigerators, washing machines, televisions and air-conditioners, but are also exploring categories such as dishwashers, microwave ovens, audio products and water purifiers, Chitkara said.
Improved affordability following GST rationalisation, along with special festive EMI schemes, is expected to support demand, while LG’s Essential Series is seeing traction among first-time consumers in Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets, he said.
The optimism among manufacturers comes despite recent price hikes, with companies expecting premiumisation and replacement demand to support sales and offset some impact of higher prices on volumes. The industry has also been witnessing healthy demand across key consumer durable categories ahead of the festive season.
Sony India Managing Director Sunil Nayyar expects overall value growth of around 15-20 per cent during the festive season.
“We are expecting a strong festive season this year, with overall value growth of around 15 to 20 per cent,” Nayyar said, adding that premium products, new launches and consumer offers are supporting demand.
Sony expects more than 30 per cent growth in its imaging business, while television demand is expected to be led by premium BRAVIA models and larger screen sizes.
The company also expects strong growth in audio, particularly headphones, soundbars and party speakers, supported by new product launches and festive offers.
Godrej Enterprises Group Appliances Division head Kamal Nandi said the festive period remains an important purchase window for refrigerators, washing machines and air-conditioners.
“Despite the inflationary environment, we witnessed sales momentum during Onam, and we are optimistic about the festive demand to pick up across other regions as well,” Nandi said.
He expects the combination of improving consumer sentiment, premiumisation and consumers’ desire to upgrade to support festive demand.
Godrej Appliances has raised prices of room air-conditioners from October 1 and believes that consumers would still have an opportunity to buy products at existing prices during the festive season as inventory procured before the hikes remains available in the distribution channel.
“There are pipelines which will last for about a month to one-and-a-half months. Diwali should largely get covered with old-price inventory. Post-Diwali, the new prices will certainly take effect,” Nandi had said earlier.
Generally, the festive period covering Onam through Dussehra and Diwali typically contributes 30–40 per cent of annual sales of appliance manufacturers, according to sector reports.
The Indian consumer durables market is expected to grow 8-10 per cent annually to reach Rs 3-3.25 lakh crore by 2030, according to a joint report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
This post was last modified on October 4, 2026 1:32 pm