India smart TV market registered robust growth in 2017 attributed to a sharp drop in the prices of smart TVs as well as rising penetration of smart TV vendors.
Substantial investment flows by video streaming media companies like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar led to an increase in the number of Pay-TV subscribers. Furthermore, rise in disposable income levels and growing internet penetration in the country also contributed to an increase in sales of smart TVs.
According to 6Wresearch, India Smart TV market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9.4% by 2024. Surge in number of households with easy accessibility to internet and rise in purchasing power of people would drive the adoption of smart TVs in the country. In addition to government initiatives such as Digital India and Make in India, rapid urbanization and growing awareness of smart TVs in tier-II and tier-III cities in the country, would additionally encourage the growth of smart TVs in near-future.
According to Rishi Malhotra, Senior Research Analyst – IT & Electronics, Research and Consulting, 6Wresearch, “Offline distribution channels held majority of the revenue share in 2017 as large number of users, primarily in tier-II and tier-III cities, still prefer to purchase offline attributed to reasons such as time taken for delivery of product, fear of damaged product and experience of buying it in person including the touch and feel factor. Also, it helps buyers to avail reasonable and convenient returns.”
“However, with players tapping in open commerce marketing system, online distribution channels are expected to grow at a faster rate than the offline distribution channels during the forecast period. Availability of lower priced television set in online channels including discounted rates and cashback offers is urging more and more consumers to step up and purchase smart TV online.” Rishi further added.
According to Akshay Thakur, Research Associate – IT & Electronics, Research and Consulting, 6Wresearch, “The Full HD TV segment held the highest revenue share in 2017 because of its ownership at low cost and high demand among the middle-income segment of Indian population. The growth of this segment is driven by transition among the households from conventional TV sets to smart TV sets.
“Moreover, amongst the regions, the Southern part of the country exhibited healthy contribution towards the growth of smart TV market and is expected to maintain its leadership during the forecast period as well. High degree of adoption rate among the tech-friendly consumers in South India and increasing internet penetration led to higher acceptance of smart TV in the Southern part of the nation,” Akshay further added.
Some of the key players in India smart TV market includes- Panasonic India Pvt. Ltd., Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd., LG Electronics India Ltd., Sony India Pvt. Ltd., Xiaomi Technology India Pvt. Ltd., Philips India Ltd., Vu Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Intex Technologies India Ltd., Toshiba India Pvt. Ltd., and TCL India.