Planning to buy TV? It may get costlier from January due to this reason

Planning to buy a new television? You may want to act fast, as TV prices are expected to rise from January next year due to a sharp increase in memory chip costs and the continued depreciation of the rupee, industry executives said.

Prices of LED televisions are likely to go up by 3–4% initially, with some manufacturers warning of steeper hikes if the current supply constraints persist.

The rupee recently crossed the 90-to-a-dollar mark for the first time, pushing up import costs for the electronics industry, which remains heavily dependent on overseas components.

The impact of the weak currency is particularly severe for TV makers as domestic value addition in an LED TV is only around 30%.

Major components such as open cells, semiconductor chips and motherboards are largely imported, leaving manufacturers exposed to currency volatility.

The situation has been further aggravated by a global memory chip crisis.

A surge in demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI servers has led chipmakers to prioritise high-margin AI products, tightening supply for consumer electronics such as televisions. As a result, prices of various memory types, including DRAM and flash memory, have risen sharply.

Haier Appliances India President NS Satish said that LED TV prices are set to increase by around 3% from January due to the combined impact of the memory chip shortage and the weak rupee.

Some TV manufacturers have already informed dealers about the impending price hike.

Super Plastronics Pvt Ltd (SPPL), which manufactures televisions for global brands such as Thomson, Kodak and Blaupunkt, said memory chip prices have risen dramatically in recent months.

“Memory chip prices have gone up by 500% in the last three months,” SPPL CEO Avneet Singh Marwah said.

According to Marwah, television prices could rise by 7–10% from January, largely due to the chip crisis and currency depreciation. He cautioned that if memory prices remain elevated over the next two quarters, further hikes cannot be ruled out.

Videotex, a homegrown original design manufacturer (ODM) that also sells TVs under its own brand Daiwa, said it is also facing sustained pressure due to sharp increase in memory chip prices.

“Flash memory and DDR4 prices at the sourcing level have risen by up to 1,000%, driven largely by supply being diverted to AI data centres,” said Arjun Bajaj, Director of Videotex.

This pressure is anticipated to continue until at least Q2 of the coming year, after which some stability may return depending on global memory chip supply dynamics.

Industry experts said the price hike could partly offset the recent boost to smart TV demand following the government’s decision to cut GST on TV screens of 32 inches and above to 18% from 28%, which reduced prices by around ₹4,500.

According to Counterpoint Research, India’s smart TV shipments declined 4% year-on-year in the April–June quarter of 2025, amid saturation in the smaller-screen segment and weaker consumer spending. India’s TV market, valued at USD 10–12 billion in 2024, is still expected to grow over the long term, driven by rising demand for smart TVs, larger screens and OTT content.