AC brands bullish on shoring up summer sales

After two consecutive summers of being affected by the pandemic, this is the first summer that is expected to mark a full return to the pre-pandemic levels especially for the AC and refrigerator brands. With the rising temperatures, demand for fans, room coolers, ACs and refrigerators will only increase in the coming weeks – both at homes and in offices as people return to work from their offices.

Multiple choice of brands

The demand is not limited to metro and urban areas, as Tier 2 and 3 markets are also seeing a surge in demand for ACs. The AC market currently has over 12 brands vying for customers. The diverse range of features and prices cater to different market groups.

Apart from the branded ACs and coolers, there are also those being sold as assembled ACs and coolers in some parts of the country, especially the Northern states.

Brand benefits & features are important

There is also a shift in the type of AC unit people are opting. While preference isthere both for the window AC and Split AC but it is the cost and the kind of facility that is available to install the AC determines on the type of model one goes for. The AC brands are in for a sizzling sales time. The brand benefits from each of the brand is mostly talking about powerful cooling, less power consumption, fast cooling and cooling that reaches every part of your room. Last year some of the brands harped in on the bacteria and virus protection keeping in mind pandemic situation that prevailed last summer. While functionality is what works in the category but the advanced features with sleek and stylish design offered by brands are catching the attention of many potential buyers.

Easy loans & online buying

Even word of mouth branding influences in this category as there is a good amount of investment on the purchase of an AC and so the customer would rather take guidance from his close family and friends. Liberal durable loans offered by many dealers, banks and brands who have tie ups with banks play a key role in purchasing a certain brand after weighing all the pros and cons of the brand. E-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart also offer a wide range of brands to the consumer. The consumer generally does a good search and narrows his decision before making the final decision. A busy working couple who has no time will quickly browse the site and decide to buy the brand of their choice.

Celeb endorsers

On the communication front there are quite a few celebrities who have been roped into endorse the brands. Bollywood celebrity couple Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone are the new brand ambassador for Lloyd brand of ACs. Since the average age of the consumer durable purchase has come down from middle age and the brand is addressing a younger audience the brand fit of the celebrity couple works especially when we have large number of young population with double income households.

Blue star is another brand which has roped in Virat Kohli, which focusses on the fast-cooling benefits in its new range. Bringing in Virat has helped the brand to talk to a mass audience and also address the smaller towns which has good growth potential. Godrej & Boyce, the flagship company of the Godrej Group, announced that its business has onboarded the popular and versatile actor Ayushmann Khurrana as brand ambassador for their range of ACs. He shares a lot of synergy in values with the brand and has a high level of credibility which is most required in the consumer durables.

With IPL coinciding with the peak summer season, AC brands are judiciously leveraging their best to be present on the IPL platform either on the mass media channel or digitally to catch their audiences. Brands need to reach a large audience so most of the brands will be visible on mass media both on television and print to generate quick awareness as there just 2 to 3 months where they have to cash in during the peak summer. There is some dip in the viewership of IPL in the intital weeks so perhaps brands may look at other high reach media option to take the maximum mileage.

“According to our consumer insights, the users now are looking for appliances that can take care of their comfort needs and help them multitask,” said Shirish Agarwal, Head of Marketing Communication and Brand, Panasonic India. He added that the key deciding factor now is whether a particular appliance can take care of their health and hygiene concerns. “Therefore, our appliances offer a connected living experience to our consumers via our in-house Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) platform – Miraie. Further, taking cognizance of the health and hygiene concerns of consumers, our Air Conditioners (ACs) are equipped with our proprietary nanoe-X and nanoe-G technologies that inhibit bacteria and viruses, enhancing indoor air quality and promoting healthier lifestyles,” he further said.

Agarwal added, “Digital is something that Panasonic is currently focusing on, as the consumers tend to spend most of their time online. But it also depends on the market, for example, for our recent campaign – ‘AC for Healthier Homes’, the campaign’s media mix was designed keeping in mind the major AC markets. While television (45-50 per cent spends) took care of the pan-India reach, digital (30-35 per cent spends) was used to target audiences in the top 8 to 12 markets. Today, even if a purchase happens offline, e-commerce still plays an extremely important role because of validation. The lines have completely blurred and omnichannel is the way to go. Brands need to ensure that they provide a seamless experience across all consumer touchpoints.”

Deba Ghoshal, Vice President and Head of Marketing, Voltas Ltd, said, “We are extremely optimistic about the market this summer, given the prediction of a hot summer by IMD coupled with the pent-up demand of two summers. Keeping the needs of the consumers in mind and an increased focus on health and hygiene, this summer we have launched our PureAir AC with India’s first HEPA Filter technology. This will help consumers maintain optimum indoor air quality and also take care of energy efficiency. We have already witnessed some increase in demand of our cooling products and foresee the same trend through the summer. To leverage this opportunity, you will witness the next phase of our new mass media campaign, rolling out in the coming days.” 

Commenting on the marketing initiatives, Ghoshal said that Voltas will continue to focus on an omni-channel approach giving equal weightage to digital, print, online, TV and radio. “Our customers are spread across tiers of the country and a customised omni-channel approach helps us reach out to different demography of buyers. Apart from having multiple brand outlets in urban and rural India, we have opened up exclusive brand shops and experience centres for the brand’s physical interface with the customer which will elevate the buying experience and the consumers can enjoy the look and feel of the product,” he added.

For customers who still enjoy the comfort of online purchases, they can simply log onto www.voltaslounge.com, a one-stop-shop for all Voltas and Voltas Beko products. Apart from this, to make the buying process easier, Voltas is also providing a variety of consumer finance and cash-back programmes, extended warranties.

“We are already experiencing good traction for compressor products such as AC units and Refrigerators in Q1, and we expect to continue growing in Q2 as well,” affirmed Deepak Bansal, VP - Home Appliances & Air Conditioners, LG Electronics India.

In addition, purchasing the right AC is a long-term commitment. “Hence, we noticed our customers looking for AC units that are well-designed for their homes along with faster cooling, and energy-saving. At LG, we keep our consumer insights at the forefront to design stylish and smart features that focus on their comfort, healthy lifestyle, and excellent performance. Available with all technical advancements by giving the best smart technology and energy savings in attractive floral design and wave patterns, LG’s new 2022 line-up consists of 57 Split ACs and 4 window inverter ACs,” Bansal added.

He further said, “At LG we strive to closely listen to our consumers’ needs and through extensive R&D introduce solutions to offer the best user experience. In terms of product differentiation, LG has taken consumers’ convenience to the next level with LG ThinQ technology, which allows users to control & monitor AC at any time and from anywhere with an app on the phone.  LG ThinQ offers compatibility with Smart App, Amazon Alexa & Google Assistant AI Speakers & Apps, which are available in Split and Window Inverter ACs. Apart from control, consumers can also get filter cleaning notifications and control multiple home appliances through LG’s ThinQ.Our technological advancements and integration of the latest features have helped create a niche for our products through superior performance and has given our customers a new product experience.”