NEW DELHI: With rising air pollution in India, particularly in the Delhi NCR around Diwali, the air purification industry has grown more than seven times in last three years to around 3.5 lakh units and is expanding to tier-II cities now.
During the month of October and in the first week of November, air purifiers markers such as Eureka Forbes, Honeywell, Blueair, Panasonic, Xiaomi and Samsung witnessed high double-digit growth corresponding to the Diwali period of the last year lead by a rise in pollution level due to stubble burning.
Moreover, the producers have received a high increase in the number of inquiries on their customer care support either for seeking more information or demonstration of air purifier.
The high response has come even as health experts have expressed doubts over air purifiers providing full-time protection from pollution as these are effective when a person remains indoors and not even a single window is remained opened.
"Presently, the air purifiers business in India is at a nascent stage but is also one of the fastest growing businesses. In 2015, the market size was around 50,000 units only. This year, we have witnessed a monumental rise in sales and as per our internal estimate, the current market size is around 300,000-350,000 units," Samsung India Consumer Electronics Business Director Saurav Katyal told PTI.
According to Blueair Country Head Arvind Chabra, air purifiers have witnessed acceptance and increase in sale especially around Diwali and the reason is mainly air pollution which is at its peak during the onset of winters.
"Blueair has witnessed more than two-fold growth in sales this festive season vis-à-vis 2017. While Delhi remains the largest market for us with 60-70 per cent sales, Mumbai and Bangalore are also fast catching up," he said.
Similarly, Honeywell has also got over 50 per cent jump in the sale this year in the category during Diwali season this year.
"With the outdoor air quality deteriorating in northern parts of India coupled with increasing consumer awareness about the category, we have seen a 50 per cent growth in sales across channels in October-November 2018 over same time frame last year," said Honeywell Building Technologies, India Connected Living Solutions GM Sudhir Pillai.
Pansonic India Business Head - Personal Care Appliances & Air Purifiers Rajneesh Sharma said, "Our air purifiers are receiving an overwhelming response registering a growth of 30 per cent in the month of October Y-o-Y. Given the alarming conditions of air, we are expecting a 35 per cent increase in sales this month."
While Chinese firm Xiaomi, also a player in the segment, witnessed over 4.5 times growth in the segment during the period.
"Mi Air Purifier 2S was the #1 product in the air purifier category on Amazon Great Indian shopping festival and Mi Air Purifier 2S sold 4. 5x of last year's sale," the company said.
Eureka Forbes chief transformation officer Shashank Sinha said that demand for air purifiers has been on a significant rise showing month-on-month growth, owing to the degrading air quality in India.
"However, During Diwali, we have evidently seen a rise in the demand majorly," he added.
Although in terms of volume, Delhi NCR region remains the biggest contributor, manufacturers are seeing traction from non-metro cities also.
"We are seeing people buying the product in other parts of the country as well. Cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Lucknow, Ludhiana, etc. are also seeing traction," said Katyal.
According to Chabra, "While Delhi remains the largest market for us with 60-70% sales, Mumbai and Bangalore are also fast catching up."
In this segment, several companies are operating which includes, UK-based Dyson, Kent RO Systems, Philips, HSIL, and Havells.