With summer hitting hard across India, it is safe to say that air conditioners are no longer a luxury but a must-have. No matter where you live, an AC is arguably the most used appliance in the household throughout the entirety of summer. As demand continues to grow, we wanted to understand how Indian consumers think when looking to purchase a new AC.
And that’s going to be our focus in this edition of Digit Research. Through our website, 8,000+ respondents from across India answered questions related to ACs. From brand loyalty to smart features, we found that the market is energy-conscious but is looking for smart features along with it. Check out a breakdown of everything the data tells us.
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When it comes to brand loyalty in the AC market, LG comes out on top, with over 22.4% of the respondents having their ACs. Even though they’re not known to be the most budget-centric maker, it is clear that brand name is definitely an important factor for those looking to purchase a new unit.
Samsung comes in third place with 15.3% of the votes, while Voltas, considered the most popular player in the market, comes in fourth with 12.2% of the votes. Haier is close behind at 11.8%, and Blue Star gets around 6.7% of votes. Japanese brands like Daikin hold a decent 6.5% share. We also have Hisense, which is a slightly newer brand in India, and it holds 4.9% votes. The ‘Others’ category was filled with almost 20% of voters, and it is definitely surprising given that most of the well-known brands have already been named in our list.
For those interested in the smart features, we asked a simple question: Would you want AI-powered features in your next AC? And well, the response was clear as 67% of the people said yes, suggesting that two out of three people want AI in their ACs. The combination of energy savings and rising AI interest points toward a clear product opportunity, where people want an AC that uses AI to optimise its energy efficiency.
While people are interested in getting smart features, we also wanted to understand how many people actually use such features. This is because it has been noticed that smart features in appliances go unused, and our results align with this theory. While over 32% of people suggest that they use smart features, a massive base of about 39% of people suggest that they likely never use such features; even if they do, it’s not regular.
This is a common pattern in connected appliances. While features exist on paper, active usage lags. This is definitely an opportunity for AC brands here, as they need to understand that adding more features is not important, but making existing features more useful for daily life is the more important thing.
When asked about the most important factor in their next AC purchase, over 55% of respondents chose Energy Star ratings. This is definitely a sign that energy ratings are not just for show, but rather they are a purchase driver in the market. Smart features came in second, and right after that, the capacity of the AC comes in. Notably, the actual price of the AC comes in at last, suggesting the idea that consumers are increasingly taking a look at the total cost of ownership rather than just the upfront cost.
Of the 4,405 people who answered this question, around 32.8% voters suggested that they have purchased ACs recently, which are between six months and a year old. However, the second-largest group, nearly 30%, have units that are more than five years old. This aligns with the next part of our survey, which is how many people are actually interested in upgrading to newer ACs.
Now this shouldn’t come as a surprise, but given the age of ACs as seen in the previous question, a majority of people are willing to upgrade. Over 54% of AC-owning voters are either actively looking to upgrade or are open to the idea of doing so in the near future. When we asked about upgrade intent, 38.5% voters said they want a new unit right now, and another 15.6% said they would be upgrading sometime in the near future. The remaining 45.9% are happy with their current AC.
Last but not least, how much are Indian consumers actually willing to spend when purchasing a new AC? From our results, the Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 price bracket came out as the most popular segment, as close to 40% of respondents fall in this range. Surprisingly, a lot of buyers are willing to enter the premium lineup as well, as the demand for ACs above Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000 is becoming actively popular as well.
Based on all responses from this survey, it is safe to say that energy efficiency is the most important factor in the market right now. Smart features are becoming important, and while real-world usage remains uncertain, buyers are actively interested in wanting AI in their next purchase. It is safe to say that for Indian AC brands looking to target more consumers, their action plan should be to make ACs more energy efficient and add smart features that are actually useful and not just for show.
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