Air purifying ACs, convertible refrigerators in demand with

Air purifying ACs, convertible refrigerators in demand with
rising mercury in Chennai: Flipkart Insights

With the temperatures soaring across the country, customers are increasingly seeking cooling appliances to create a comfortable environment at home. This has also led to the rise of various new age cooling appliances to cater to health and hygiene requirements of customers.

According to insights by Flipkart, the current heat wave has significantly increased the demand for cooling appliances which includes ACs, refrigerators, coolers and fans across the country. In Chennai, the overall cooling appliances segment saw a growth of 1.2x with ACs, seasonal appliances (coolers and fans) and refrigerators seeing 1.3x, 1.3x and 1.1x growth respectively.

Increased focus on health and hygiene and cost savings have led to customers opting for appliances with anti-bacterial, air purification and energy-efficient features. While these functionalities existed even before, it is witnessing greater traction among customers with the growing focus on the air quality. A consumer survey conducted on the Flipkart app also confirmed this shift with a large number of surveyed customers preferring built-in air purifiers as one of the top functionalities in their ACs. This has led to more brands launching ACs with similar functionalities including Samsung, Haier, Whirlpool, Daikin, Bluestar, Voltas and Godrej who are expanding their selection of cooling appliances on Flipkart.

As far as refrigerators are concerned, there has been an increase in the demand for energy efficient and convertible variants offering higher storage refrigerators along with multi-functional features such as curd maker. As the usage of freezer is limited in India as compared with other parts of the world, convertible options are witnessing greater adoption which transforms the freezer section into a normal fridge. This apart, customers are seeking appliances with higher storage space as they continue to work and learn from home for a longer period of time. Furthermore, a higher percentage of customers are opting for replacement options while purchasing a refrigerator since the launch of product replacement construct on Flipkart. Also, there has been an almost 20% increase in the adoption of No Cost EMI in the past one year, highlighting the growing importance of affordability for customers. Through these constructs, Flipkart is able to help customers to upgrade their appliances in an affordable manner.

In addition to this, customers are also opting for energy efficient ACs and refrigerators to save on electricity bills and reduce cost of operations. While the former saw a jump of upto 40% in the demand for 5 star high capacity, high energy efficient AC's, refrigerators adoption too reflected a similar trend.

Interestingly, the above mentioned trends are not only concentrated in metros but smaller cities and tier 2 and 3 cities are also contributing to this growth. This clearly indicates a change in sentiment and buying preference in the smaller towns.

Hari G. Kumar, Vice President – Large Appliances, Flipkart, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically transformed the priorities for customers who are now looking for appliances with air purification, expandable storage and energy efficiency functionalities. This is indicative of maturing of the cooling appliances market in India which is expected to witness significant growth this year. As a homegrown e-commerce marketplace with a nuanced understanding of customers evolving needs, we will continue to collaborate with leading brands and sellers partners to bring the best products to the millions of Indians customers at their doorsteps, no matter how far they are.”

STONE BENCH FILMS FROM THE MAKERS OF MEYAADHA MAAN & MERCURY

We are elated to announce that the shooting of our fourth film "Production No.4", starring the multiple Award winning actor Aishwarya Rajesh, written and directed by filmmaker Rathindran R Prasad, has begun today in the Nilgiris. This MYSTERY-HORROR-THRILLER film is presented by ace filmmaker Karthik Subbaraj and produced by Kaarthekeyen Santhanam. The film is co-produced by Kal Raman, S.Somasegar and Kalyan Subramanian. The film boasts of a talented team of technicians, with cinematography by Italian cinematographer Roberto Zazzara, music by Prithvi Chandrasekar, editing by Anand Geraldin, art direction by Mohan, costume design by Jayalaxmi Sundaresan and sound design by Thomas Kurian.

The shooting is set to proceed at a rapid pace and the film will be ready to hit the screens early next year. As always, we seek your complete support and blessings.

ZEE5 premieres Batti Gul Meter Chalu

ZEE5 premieres Batti Gul Meter Chalu

ZEE5, the fastest growing OTT platform in the country, is all set to stream Batti Gul Meter Chalu, first time on digital, since its theatre release. Starring Shraddha Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor in lead roles, the movie will be exclusively available for ZEE5 subscribers from today, 22^nd November.

Written and directed by Shree Narayan Singh, Batti Gul Meter Chalu is a social drama which highlights the plight of people suffering at the hands of power companies and their constant struggle to make themselves heard. The story grips you with its real-life screenplay, powerful dialogues and gripping performances by the cast.

Manish Aggarwal, Business Head, ZEE5 India said, “We are consistently strengthening our World Digital Premiere property with blockbuster titles for our viewers. So far, movies like Veere Di Wedding, Parmanu, Padman, Mulk and many more across Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, have garnered a positive response across markets. Batti Gul Meter Chalu talks about an important issue and will definitely resonate with our audience. With a strong line-up of latest movie releases, we plan to make ZEE5 the undisputed digital entertainment destination.”

Vinod Bhanushali, President – Marketing, Licensing and Publishing, T-Series said, “Releasing the movie on ZEE5 will help us multiply the reach and highlight the issue among relevant audiences. This movie is an honest attempt to address a deep-rooted concern and it is made in such a way that it entertains yet gives out a strong message. The World Digital Premiere on ZEE5 is be a good development for all those who have missed watching the movie in theatres.”

From Padman, Veere Di Wedding, Mulk, Parmanu and many more in Hindi to Faster Fene, Gulabjaam, Mercury and so on across languages Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, ZEE5 continues to digitally premiere blockbuster movies across languages.

With over 3500 films, 500+ TV shows, 4000+ music videos, 35+ theatre plays and 90+ LIVE TV Channels across 12 languages, ZEE5 truly presents a blend of unrivalled content offering for its viewers across the nation and worldwide. With ZEE5, the global content of Zindagi as a brand, which was widely appreciated across the country, has also been brought back for its loyal viewers.

Availability: The ZEE5 App can be downloaded from Google Play Store http://bit.ly/zee5 and iOS App Store http://bit.ly/zee5ios. Also available at www.zee5.com, as a Progressive Web App (PWA), and on Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV Stick. ZEE5 also supports Chromecast.

Pricing: Freemium pricing model with both free and paid premium content (including Originals) to cater to a mix of audiences. Viewers who subscribe to the ZEE5 subscription pack will get access to the entire library of content with – 99/- for 1 month and 999/- for a year.

ZEE5 premieres Tamil silent thriller Mercury

ZEE5 premieres Tamil silent thriller ‘Mercury’

ZEE5, one of India’s leading digital video on demand platforms, has been consistently setting the audience expectations higher with new digital premieres every week, fresh off the theatre. This week, to fortify its content library even further, ZEE5 premieres Tamil film Mercury, a silent thriller written and directed by renowned film maker Karthik Subbaraj. Mercury has a power packed star cast including Prabhu Deva, Remya Nambeesan, Sananth Reddy, Narendran, Deepak Paramesh, Shashank Purushotham and Anish Padmanabhan. 

Mercury revolves around five friends who try to cover up a death of the friend who accidently died of mercury poisoning. Problem arises when the dead friend comes out of his grave! Will he take revenge? What is the truth behind his death?

Click here to watch the film: https://www.zee5.com/movies/details/mercury/0-0-6916  

Manish Aggarwal, Business Head, ZEE5 India said, “ZEE5 has witnessed unchartered growth in regional markets. We have strengthened our Tamil portfolio with interesting originals like Kallachirippu and America Mappillai along with latest movies. 

With a gripping narrative, differentiated of a ‘silent thriller’ and a stellar cast, Karthik Subbaraj’s Mercury clearly stands out.  We hope that with this launch on the platform, audiences will enjoy the film again with new vigor.”

Karthik Subbaraj, Director, Mercury, commented, “The positive response that my maiden digital venture Kallachirippu received on ZEE5 gave me the confidence that bringing my movie Mercury to ZEE5 straight after the theatre would be an interesting format. With the digital premiere of Mercury on the platform on 11^th October, the audience will be delighted to use ZEE5 as their first preference for Tamil entertainment. I am confident that with the massive reach of ZEE5, Mercury will be seen and loved by many more viewers.”

With over 3500 films, 500+ TV shows, 4000+ music videos, 35+ theatre plays and 90+ LIVE TV Channels across 12 languages, ZEE5 truly presents a blend of unrivaled content offering for its viewers across the nation. With ZEE5, the global content of Zindagi as a brand, which was widely appreciated across the country, has also been brought back for its loyal viewers.

Availability: The ZEE5 App can be downloaded from Googl Play Store http://bit.ly/zee5 and iOS App Store http://bit.ly/zee5ios. Also available at www.zee5.com, as a Progressive Web App (PWA), and on Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV Stick. ZEE5 also supports Chromecast.

Pricing: Freemium pricing model with both free and paid premium content (including Originals) to cater to a mix of audiences. Viewers who subscribe to the ZEE5 subscription pack will get access to the entire library of content using the limited period special subscription offer – 99/- for 2 months and 499/- for a year. Offer valid till 31st October.