High-end appliances click big with online shoppers this festive season

KOLKATA: Indian consumers are increasingly adding big-ticket items such as premium televisions and appliances to their online shopping carts, changing the perception that high-end products are too risky to be bought without physical examination.

Brands such as Onida, BPL, Vu and Sanyo said there was more demand for smart and 4K televisions in last week's festive sales by ecommerce marketplaces Flipkart and Amazon, while three senior industry executives said premium models of large capacity refrigerators and front-loading washing machines outsold the entry-level models for the first-time ever.

Before this, ecommerce sales of consumer electronics were mostly about entry-level models priced at less than Rs 15,000, and online marketplaces were struggling to sell premium televisions and appliances.

This festive season it was dramatically different.

The largest selling TV model for Onida, for example, was the 43-inch smart television, which it sold for Rs 28,000. Its pricier convection microwave oven accounted for 60% of category sales, said Sunil Shankar, business head at Mirc Electronics that owns Onida brand.

So what has caused the sudden boost to online shoppers' confidence?
For one, the marketplaces have certified products sold on their platforms and provide assurance on their quality and condition. Also, positive consumer reviews help build consumer confidence “whereby they now know that their money on costly purchases won't go waste“, said Shankar.

Manmohan Ganesh, head of corporate strategy at BPL, said affordability schemes run by ecommerce marketplaces, such as no-cost EMI and cash back offers, were major factors for the demand for premium products.

Some industry executives said premium television and appliance categories are getting a rub-off effect from premium smartphones, which consumers have been buying online for the last two years, led by deep discounting on models like Apple iPhones.

It was easier to buy premium smartphones online because they have much shorter lifespan than bigger electronic pro ducts with consumers upgrading their models every 12-15 months. Also, it was easier for consumers to touch-and-feel premium models offline because most retailers sold all top models.

Consumers' experience and satisfaction with online smartphone purchases are now encouraging them to buy other premium items, too, online, executives said. Most companies said the surge in sales of high-end products came as a surprise.

BPL, for example, was expecting around 60% of its sales this festive season from entry-level products such as sub-32 inch televisions and semi-automatic washing machines, with mid-to-premium range products accounting for the balance 40%. But the tables turned completely with the premium range alone accounting for 60% of its sales.

Devita Saraf, CEO at yet another Indian brand Vu Technologies, said the demographics of online consumer is driving demand for smart and 4K televisions since people now watch a lot of YouTube, video-on-demand services, gaming and casting from smartphones, which these television models support. “The cost of Internet too has come down significantly and hence, consumers upgraded to these models,“ she said.

Around 80% of the televisions sold by Vu in the last sale were premium models. It is the largest selling television brand on Flipkart, accounting for around 40% of the total category sales.