Festival fervour driving home appliance sales

Following two years of lacklustre demand, sales of electronic home appliances are witnessing impressive growth ahead of the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr as retailers are offering substantial discounts centring the religious festival for Muslims.

Besides, salaried individuals currently have more disposable income despite ongoing inflationary pressures as they have received festival bonuses ahead of Eid and Pahela Baishakh, propelling the demand for such products.

Although there is no accurate data on the market for electronic home appliances, industry insiders believe that sales during Eid-ul-Fitr account for around 60 percent of their annual receipts.

According to Statista, an online portal for data gathering and visualisation on industrial sectors and consumer markets, electronic home appliance sales in Bangladesh amounted to $8.28 billion in 2023.

Additionally, sales in the sector are projected to reach $8.73 billion this year.

Market players say televisions and refrigerators make up most home appliance sales ahead of the Eid festival as manufacturers offer various discounts and facilities to attract customers.

Major domestic suppliers of the local home appliance market include Walton Group, Transcom Electronics, Rangs eMart, Best Electronics, MyOne Electronics Industries, Jamuna Electronics, PRAN-RFL, Esquire Electronics, Electra International, and Super Star Group.

Products of foreign companies like Samsung, LG, General, Sharp, and Whirlpool are also popular.

"After witnessing a dull market ahead of Eid for the past two years, electronic home appliance sales are registering impressive growth due to the bonuses for salaried individuals and discounts offered by retailers," said Md Nurul Afser, deputy managing director of Electro Mart Limited.

He informed that refrigerator and television sales increased over the past week as private sector employees received their Eid bonuses while government employees got an additional festival bonus on the occasion of Pahela Baishakh.

Citing how the demand for 32 and 43-inch television sets is higher than that of larger sizes, Afser said it is clear that middle-class consumers are driving sales in the electronic home appliance market.

"We are offering a 10-14 percent discount for service holders on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr in addition to equal monthly instalment payment facilities," he said.

Besides, a refrigerator is an essential item for families in both urban and rural areas as peoples' lifestyles have upgraded, which is also a driver for growth in the home appliance market, he added.

Afser pointed out that while they would sell around 100 refrigerators and televisions each day during normal times, sales have increased to about 115 units at present.

Against this backdrop, he said manufacturers and retailers are happy with the sales growth.

Salim Ullah Salim, director (marketing) at Jamuna Electronics and Automobiles Ltd, said customers wait for Eid offers to purchase expensive home appliances such as televisions and refrigerators.

"So, around 60 percent of the annual sales of electronic home appliances come during this period," he added.

Salim explained that sales growth during this period is mostly driven by new customers for refrigerators and televisions, with the demand for mid-range products seeing particularly steep growth at this time.

However, the demand for high-end products remains relatively unchanged.

"We are definitely in a favourable position in terms of sales compared to the previous two years as the economy is recovering," he said.

Salim also said it is mostly middle-income groups that plan to purchase their necessary home appliances when discounts and other offers are available ahead of Eid.

He informed that his company is currently offering up to 30 percent discount on online purchases, with digital warranties to be provided for products instead of a hard copy.

Farhan Azhar, head of product at Singer Bangladesh, said sales have increased slightly compared to the last two years but are yet to reach the expected level.

According to him, mid-level salaried individuals only purchase large home appliance like refrigerators, televisions, and washing machines when they get extra money in the form of bonuses.

On the other hand, Azhar said small-scale importers could not import enough products this year amid the ongoing US dollar shortage, which has impacted the formal market as customers turned to bigger companies and thereby increased their sales ahead of Eid.

Didarul Alam Khan, chief marketing officer of Walton Hi-Tech Industries, said they usually witnesses a significant rise in consumer spending across multiple categories ahead of Eid each year.

This year is no different as demand is being driven by the festive spirit and the need to purchase home and kitchen appliances as well as televisions, refrigerators and air conditioners, he added.

Khan said Walton has launched a nationwide "Digital Campaign Season-20" centring its exciting "Nonstop Millionaire" offer.

Additionally, the company is offering crores of taka in guaranteed cashbacks, he added.

Khan said to sweeten the Eid offerings from Walton, customers purchasing Walton brand televisions could win a free Dhaka-Cox's Bazar-Dhaka air ticket, creating a truly memorable Eid experience.

"Furthermore, our online platform waltonplaza.com.bd is offering special Eid discounts of up to 15 percent on various products," he added.