India now shops by season: ACs for summer, air purifiers for winter

Mumbai: If searing heat is an annual feature of the Indian summer, air pollution is fast settling into a permanent fixture of winter. For companies that sell both air-conditioners (ACs) and air purifiers, sales and marketing now fall into two neatly-distinct seasons—summer for ACs and winter for air purifiers, a much smaller category. Given this sharp seasonality, how do marketing heads manage their business when demand peaks so unevenly through the year? Girish Hingorani, vice-president of marketing at Blue Star, tells Mint it is all about planning the year carefully and efficiently.

Edited excerpts: We find air purifiers to be a 15-20 day market, when there is smog and high AQI (air quality index) concerns, and then things get better. There are a lot of media reports during this period, but once the government takes action and the AQI gets better, then come January, people forget about this.However, people have this perception that outside air is nasty and that indoor air is better. So, people have this perception that they need more air purification outdoors.

But they believe that at home they are safe and secure, and they don’t need an air purifier. This is a myth among a lot of affluent consumers as well, especially in high AQI markets. India’s air purifier market is just ₹200-300 crore as compared to the air conditioners, which is some ₹20,000-30,000 crore.

Compare this to markets like Korea and China, where air purifier penetration is above 40%.I think there is a lot of ignorance on the part of customers on air purification. They believe indoor air quality even during this period is better and that they are safe at home. In Delhi, for example, students can attend school and colleges online during high-pollution