Severe winters in northern India and a drop in temperatures in other parts of the country have led to an increase in demand for heating appliances. The demand for room heaters and water geysers has risen 33% across cities during the three months of October-December 2022 compared to the same period last year.
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“Over the past three months, as we have stepped into the winter season, the demand for heating appliances has grown by a third among customers across the country and particularly in the north. We are witnessing a greater predisposition among consumers to buy smart heating appliances. This is an extension of the larger trend of greater acceptance of appliances among customers to make their lives easier,” said Hari Kumar, vice-president (large appliances), Flipkart.
Apart from low temperatures, this year the market is also flush with products loaded with smart features, technology and different styles, which is adding to the demand momentum.
“In water geysers, we have have seen the requirement shifting from the traditional cylindrical shape to square-shape models and the expectation of durable appliances. Most of our models are equipped with the ‘DuraAce Tank’ which has a marine-grade glass line coating, making the geysers durable for over ten years,” said Ravindra Singh Negi, COO (consumer products), Bajaj Electricals.
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In November, Bajaj launched a new range of geysers that come with a digital pre-set feature for time and temperature with feature touch buttons, digital display and remote-controlled operation, and some models also have a child safety mode. The company said that these new geysers are equipped with multiple safety systems, suitable for high-rise buildings, magnesium anode and more.
Avneet Singh Gambhir, joint vice-president, Havells India, said the firm has seen a robust growth in the water heater category over last few years, which has led the company to augment its manufacturing capacity. “In order to match ever-increasing demand, we have recently augmented our capacity to make 1.4 million water heaters in a year. We have doubled our manufacturing capacity within a span of seven years,” he said. Havells also launched a new range of water heaters under Otto and Orizzonte, targeted towards premium end of the consumer segment.
Salil Kappoor, head of home appliances, Orient Electric, said that the growth in sales is uniform across all distribution channels of small stores and those in tier-2 and 3 cities, as well as from large stores in metro cities and an equally good growth coming in from online channels.
According to Flipkart, the demand for heating appliances has increased across the country, including tier-2 and 3 cities and beyond, such as Arrah, Darbhanga, Gaya, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Motihari, Muzaffarpur and Patna.