Rising air pollution coupled with growing consumer awareness to propel the market of air purifiers in India, says 6Wresearch.

Deteriorating air quality due to increasing air pollution, rising respiratory diseases coupled with growing consumer awareness are driving the demand for air purifiers in the country. In 2017, Tier-I cities recorded highest demand for air purifiers, especially Delhi/NCR region; rising pollution level in Delhi/NCR is one of the key driving factors for higher consumer acceptance across the region. For instance, in January 2018, severe alarming level of poor air quality in Delhi/NCR region was recorded; this was mainly due to increasing number of automobiles and stable burning near states including Punjab, and Haryana.

According to 6Wresearch, India air purifier market is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 35% during 2018-24. In regard to applications, the residential segment held largest share of the market on account of surging consumer awareness towards air pollution, especially indoor impurities. In addition, aggressive marketing strategies by companies further propelled the customer adoption for air purifiers across the country, which is projected to post positive growth over the coming years. Some of the key players in India air purifier market include Sharp, Phillips, Honeywell, Kent, Atlanta, Blueair, Xiaomi, Eureka Forbes, Panasonic, and Hitachi.

Sudhir Pillai, General Manager, Homes, Honeywell Home and Building Technologies, India, said, “India is registering greater deterioration in air quality which in result has increased the consumer awareness for air purifier solution. Additionally, with surging rise in aggressive marketing campaigns by several companies, end consumer adoption has shown considerable growth in understanding the phenomenon of harmful indoor air quality. This momentum is likely to grow in coming years which would give the desire push for the growth of air purifier market in India."

According to Prijo Samuel, Assistant Research Manager, Research and Consulting, 6Wresearch, in terms of technology, HEPA+Carbon air purifier acquired largest market share in 2017 owing to its capability to remove maximum impurities as compared to other air purifiers.

"Moreover, in 2017, HEPA+Carbon air purifiers recorded highest consumer acceptance owing to its capability of purifying major quantity of air. However, on account of declining cost, and surging consumer awareness for other filters, PA + Carbon + Ionizer air purifiers are expected to register higher growth over the next 6 years,” Samuel added.

Arvind Chabra, Country Head, Blueair India, said, “With the rising indoor air pollution and severity of this problem, penetration rate of this category is not enough. Many of the individuals are still ignorant about the indoor air pollution and of the fact that the quality of indoor air is more dangerous than outdoor air. Since this industry is still in its nascent stage, standardization is imperative to check the quality of air purifiers in the market. India needs these standards and regulations on priority to secure the interest of the consumers and also for the overall positive awareness about this category. Presently there are two standards - AHAM (American) and China certification- which are taken seriously in the global industry."

Presently, in terms of sales channel, retail segment popularly known as offline mode led the air purifier market majorly due to rising consumer queries regarding air purifier technology, and coverage area.

"Additionally, over the coming years, offline mode is likely to post major demand for air purifiers attributed to several technical queries related to air purifier solutions. End consumers primarily opt personal visit to the store to gain all the desired offerings pertaining to custom requirement such as area coverage, air purification technologies, and others,” informed Anuj Mehrotra, Senior Research Analyst, Research and Consulting, 6Wresearch.