TV sales in India are falling. Reason? US-Iran war
What's the story
The Indian television industry is facing a potential decline in sales due to rising production costs. These are being driven by geopolitical tensions in West Asia, including the ongoing US-Israel-Iran conflict. Manufacturers are seeing consumers opt for smaller screen sizes as a response to these price hikes. However, attractive financing options have been helping sustain demand for larger screen sizes.
Market shift
Manufacturers flag potential downtrading trend
The TV industry is already grappling with rising memory chip prices, which are now being compounded by higher costs of plastics and ocean freight. This has resulted in a spike in overall production costs, pushing up retail prices for televisions. As a result, some manufacturers have flagged concerns over a potential downtrading trend as buyers shift toward smaller screen sizes amid rising prices.
Financial impact
Brands absorb cost pressure to retain market share
The depreciation of the Indian rupee has further inflated production costs, resulting in higher retail prices for televisions. However, bigger brands have managed to absorb some of this cost pressure. Some companies have even refrained from passing on the entire cost increase to consumers in a bid to retain their market share in India's highly competitive TV market.
Market trends
Recovery expected during festive season
Consumers are delaying their purchases due to rising costs. However, a recovery is expected during the festive season in the second half of the year. Super Plastronics Pvt Ltd (SPPL) Director and CEO Avneet Singh Marwah said it's "difficult" to predict growth as input costs continue to rise. He also noted that there's already evidence of downtrading with consumers opting for smaller screen sizes due to price hikes.
Market forecast
Demand dip predicted in India's TV market
Counterpoint Research has predicted a demand dip in India's TV market, with shipments likely to fall 5-6% in Q1 and 3-5% in Q2 2026. This is due to rising RAM costs, freight challenges from geopolitical issues, and rupee depreciation pushing prices up. Anshika Jain, Principal Analyst at Counterpoint Research, said vertically integrated brands like Samsung are better positioned to absorb these cost pressures.