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.”

Voltas introduces various health features within its

 Voltas introduces various health features within its ACs and Air Purifiers

Voltas Limited, the undisputed market leader for Air-Conditioners in India, has been taking proactive measures and initiatives to integrate health and well- being related features within its products. As a Tata Group Company, Voltas has always kept the consumer at the center of all its product innovations and business strategies. This led Voltas to introduce a host of products with air filtration functionality in an effort to combat and fight against bacteria and viruses.

Voltas was one of the first companies to introduce ACs range with built-in air purification features and aims to grow its health appliance range.

These products include:

• Air Purifiers- Voltas offers a range of air purifiers with an excellent 6-stage filtration process, a precision of 0.01 micron, and a filtration rate of 99.9%. Some of the feature- negative ion generator, removes PM 2.5, digital air quality indicator, UVC led, ultra-quiet operation, high efficiency filters, intelligent sensors.
  
  
• AC with Air filters- Most of Voltas ACs come with air filters up to 4 stages that kill germs and other allergens in the air. The Company recently launched the PureAir Maha Adjustable Inverter AC which is effective in killing 99.9% viruses, bacteria, Fungal, Yeast & Mould.
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• Air Purifiers with Air filters- Voltas introduced air filtration functionality within Air Coolers as well. In fact, Voltas Alpha Fresh Air Cooler can act as an air purifier or an air cooler.

Voltas is considered a pioneer in this space through the launch of the U-Crown in 2018. The variant was a 5 star inverter AC with Active Carbon Electrostatic filter that could absorb many kinds of Odours such as Ammonia, and deactivate harmful chemical gases such as formaldehyde. It could also absorb small dust particle Smoke and prevent from allergic diseases. The Company’s range of Voltas Adjustable Inverter ACs range include air purification features that provide eco-friendly refrigerants, CO2 Reduction, PM2.5 filtration etc. to removes allergens and other harmful particles to provide cleaner air. This latest launch within this range was the Voltas PureAir AC, a UV based split inverter AC.

Voltas also has a wide range of Air Purifiers and enlists its HVAC expertise in project business. Their range of air purifiers contains three types of filters- Nano silver filter, anti-dust filter and the active carbon filter. The Air Purifiers includes the Catechin filter which is extracted from Green tea and effectively eliminates 95% of carcinogen agents. The other features include Vitamin C filter which softens the skin and reduces stress and eco-friendly refrigerants, CO₂ Reduction, PM2.5 filtration etc. to remove allergens and other harmful particles to provide cleaner air.

Air pollution has been a serious concern in and around the globe for many years now. Health experts worry that high air pollution levels over a prolonged period will affect the immunity levels of the humans, making them more susceptible to the coronavirus. Study found that even a small increase of 1 μg/m3 in PM2.5 levels was associated with an 8% increase in COVID-19-related fatality. The situation is dire and needs our immediate attention and we must all do our part in addressing the need by keeping our loved ones and ourselves safe and healthy.