Change in content consumption methods and delay in discretionary purchases, has resulted in the smart television market seeing a de-growth of 6 per cent in 2024 in India, according to French consumer electronic brand Thomson, which anticipates television sales to pick up after March.
The company has partnered with Reliance Jio and launched a 43-inch QLED TV powered by JioTele OS and expects to grow its market share in smart television to 8 per cent.
“Consumer sentiments have gone down in terms of purchase. There has been a de-growth of smart televisions overall, a 6 per cent fall in television sales year-on-year. The market is challenging and apart from air-conditioners, the growth has been flattish across categories,” Avneet Singh Marwah, CEO, of SPPL, an exclusive brand licensee of Thomson India told businessline. He added that there has also been a decrease in television units in size and certain segments seeing growth.
Consumer viewing pattern
A change in consumer viewing patterns with people shifting to personalised screens on mobile devices has also impacted the smart television market. “In televisions, the content that people are watching on social media and the controversies around is because we don’t have any policies over language and adultery. A lot of consumers between the ages of 18 to 45, which is a growing segment have started viewing on smaller personalised screens, with contents that they cannot watch with their families, and the viewership on televisions has gone down,” he said.
However, the company expects an uptick in sales of mid-segment television in FY26.
“The Budget announcement on the tax is a bold move and we are expecting a graphic improvement in purchase power after March. Mid-segment television sales will grow with the latest available technology. Those brands will benefit which have investing in research & development. The next two or three years are important for the smart television industry and we are targeting a market share of 8 per cent,” he said.
Export unit
With the increase in demand, the company will begin exports of its products.
“The domestic demand in India is high and earlier our base was small. We have export opportunities and plan on starting a division for export by the end of this year,” added Marwah,