World Cup fails to boost TV sales amid post-Diwali lull

Television sales that typically go up during cricket and football world cups have not seen any spike amid the ongoing Qatar 2022, despite retailers and brands launching soccer-oriented promotions, industry executives said. Inflation, pressure on disposable income after Diwali and the fact that the matches can be watched live on smartphones have impacted demand for TVs this time, they said.

"The hardening of interest rates and inflationary trends have impacted discretionary consumption post Diwali. The recent sporting events are unable to generate a spur in sales given these negative undercurrents," said Great Eastern Retail director Pulkit Baid.

There has still been a small increase of 5-10% in demand for the premium models of some brands, priced above ₹1 lakh, the executives said. "There has been no overall increase in TV demand due to Fifa (World Cup) and it could be due to the usual lull as expected after Diwali shopping," said Gireesan Gopi, business head, home entertainment, at LG India.

He, however, said demand for super-premium models of 70 inches and above was continuing to grow at three times as it was during Diwali. For TVs priced above ₹1 lakh, the additional growth is 10%, he added.

However, the entry-to-mid segments, account for about 85% of the market, are not growing.

Avneet Singh Marwah, the chief executive of SPPL that sells Kodak, Thomson and Blaupunkt brands, said there had been no uptake in business for the world cup even across big soccer markets like Delhi, Mumbai, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Goa and the Northeast, unlike earlier years.

According to a just-released Axis My India consumer sentiment study, more than half of FIFA world cup viewers (58%) would view it on television whereas 27% and 12% would view it on mobile and OTT platforms, respectively.