Premium products add to the vibe in Indian homes

Time of India

03-07-2025

There is no stopping the premiumisation wave in India, right from televisions to smartphones to cars, even as overall sales remain sluggish with the long-awaited recovery in the mass-market segment yet to kick in.
The contribution of premium refrigerators, washing machines and televisions in the overall sales of these consumer durables has surged by up to five percentage points year-on-year in the January to April period, according to data from researcher
NielsenIQ
.
For instance, 4K televisions of 55-inch screen size and above accounted for 41% of all TV sales in the first four months of 2025, up from 38% a year earlier. Likewise, the share of front-loading washing machines of 8 kg and above capacity rose to 16% from 11% and that of side-by-side refrigerators from 9% to 10% during the same period,
NielsenIQ data
showed.
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In smartphones, according to Counterpoint Research data, the total market fell by 2% year-on-year during January to May this year while the ultra-premium '45,000-plus segment grew 20% and the premium '30,000-plus segment grew 2%.
The trend is pushing up the average selling price (ASP) across product categories. For smartphones, "the ASP will cross $300 for the first time this year to about $308 ('26,000-plus) compared to $296 ('25,000) last year," said Prachir Singh, senior research analyst at Counterpoint.
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To be sure, the overall electronics and car markets have been under stress this year as low- and middle-income consumers continue to hold back buying entry-to-mid segment products due to low wage growth and inflation in daily lives.
As a result, the share of sub-'10 lakh cars in overall passenger vehicle sales has fallen to its lowest ever of 51.4% in the January-May period, according to researcher Jato Dynamics. Sub-'10 lakh cars had accounted for 53.4% of sales in the first 5 months of 2024.
Consumers are willing to pay more for features, safety, and technology," said Ravi Bhatia, president of Jato Dynamics. He said increased adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) will accelerate this trend.
In electronics, too, NielsenIQ India head of customer success (tech and durables) Anant Jain said the industry has seen a rise in price growth this year, driven by premiumisation across key categories.
The car market has seen a marginal fall this calendar year, while electronic sales have declined over 10% due to a decade-low sales of cooling products like refrigerators and air-conditioners this summer.
Consumer finance, meanwhile, continues to push higher sales of
premium products
, industry executives said.
Tarun Garg, whole-time director and COO at
Hyundai Motor India
, said the share of high-end features like ADAS-enabled vehicles in its sales has increased over 5 times to 15% in 2024 from 2.8% in 2023, while "one out of every two cars that we sell now is equipped with a sunroof." Cars priced '10 lakh-plus accounted for 49% of the carmaker's sales in India so far this year, up from 47% in 2024 and 25% in 2020.
Marketers are hopeful of a rebound in mass segments in the coming months as inflation has come under control, allowing the central bank to cut interest rates by one percentage point so far this year, and the government has reduced income tax rates for a wide section of taxpayers from this fiscal. Above-normal monsoon rains and lower lending rates augur well for a recovery, experts said.