This Festive Season, 55% of Indians Considered Purchasing Smart Home Appliances

MUMBAI:
Voltas Limited, the undisputed market leader for Room Air Conditioners in India, rolled out a nationwide poll to understand the shift in consumer behavior this festive season triggered by the pandemic. The study revealed the changing preferences of the Indian consumers in the home appliance segment with comfort, convenience, cooling, health, and technology becoming the key priorities. Keeping customer-centricity at its heart, the survey was conducted from 4th October 2021 to 27th October 2021 using the brand’s – social media platforms.

Understanding and appreciating the importance of adopting/upgrading to health-centric and technologically advanced consumer durables, 82% of Indians said they believe that smart home appliances can save their time while preparing for festivities at home. In line with that belief, 55% of Indians said they considered purchasing smart home appliances this festive season to manage household chores with ease. Optimizing the advanced tech features which these smart home appliances offer, 52% of the respondents said they use the auto cook technology in the microwave oven for quick meal preparations whereas 69% of Indians said they would prefer using a refrigerator that keeps the food fresh for up to 30 days. Since the lockdown began, dishwashers have also emerged as a popular new entrant in the consumer durables space and 67% of Indians said that dishwashers will help them ease their job and help save time in the kitxchen.

The study also revealed that 31% of Indians – spent between 3-4 hours on an average to cook delicacies and do the dishes during the festive season, whereas 29% of respondents said they took more than 5 hours for the same tasks. When it came to festive priorities, 22% of Indians said they prioritized disinfecting the household this Diwali over cooking (19%), whereas 34% said they prioritized dusting the house and 26% said their priority was hosting friends & family. When it came to sharing responsibilities at home, it was found that 48% of Indians depended on their spouses to take care of household chores during the festive season, whereas 46% of Indians shared the responsibility of home chores equally among family members.

With festive celebrations taking center stage and winter setting in, air purification has emerged as an important requirement for people living in cities. Our poll showed that 77% of Indians said they would like to upgrade their ACs with UVC technology, that will quickly clean the indoor air by killing pollutants, germs and pathogens, whereas 60% Indians said they would consider using an Air Purifier to tackle indoor air pollution during Diwali.

Commenting on the survey findings, Pradeep Bakshi, MD & CEO, Voltas Limited said, “We noticed that Indians are burdened with myriad household responsibilities during festivities and we wanted to provide a technologically advanced solution that helps them spend more time making memories. The ‘Festive Spirit Survey’ was conducted with an objective to understand the shift in the priorities of our customers due to the pandemic.

Voltas and Voltas Beko range of appliances are proudly made in India, and are best suited to meet the current requirements of our customers in the country. We encourage people to upgrade to health tech and advanced consumer appliances, that save time and energy that can be spent in a more fruitful manner. Taking inspiration from this Festive Spirit Survey, we aim to continue developing high-quality, value-for-money products that add value and ease the lives of our consumers.”

As a part of its ‘Smart Thinking’ philosophy, Voltas has the highest Distribution Reach in the country which has grown multiple times over the last ten years, to more than 24,000 consumer touch points. Additionally, Voltas has newly launched an exclusive online web store— www.voltaslounge.com — a one-stop solution for buyers looking to purchase Voltas or Voltas Beko products. Currently, Voltas also has over 170 Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs), and has an accelerated expansion plan for the future. The Company has recently launched several Brand Shops in Tier 1, 2 and 3 cities across the country to meet the expectations of consumers in these markets and enable them to experience the best-in-class and technologically advanced range of products.