Insights
Rising input costs have emerged as a key challenge for consumer durables and building material companies, particularly March ’26 onwards, amid tightening global supply linked to the West Asia conflict. After a period of relative stability, inflationary pressure is now concentrated in two key baskets: metals such as copper and aluminium, and crude-linked chemicals such as solvents, resins, binders and TiO₂. The impact is visible across paints, house-wires, lighting and allied categories, though consumer-level pass-through varies significantly by category.
The central issue is no longer whether companies need price hikes. Most have already initiated them. The real question is how much of the cost increase can be passed on to consumers without hurting demand.
|
Category |
Pricing action by companies: Mar–May’26 |
Pass-through to consumers till Apr’26# |
Demand impact: Mar–Apr’26 vs rest of FY’25–26# |
|
Paints |
Broad-based price hikes of roughly 6–12% across major players* |
Average paint prices moved from increased by 7% in Apr’26 MoM and 10% compared to Jan’26 |
Volumes declined by 9% in Mar–Apr’26 compared to the monthly average for FY’25–26 |
|
Housewires |
A direct commodity pass-through category, with price realization expected to be around 18% in CY26 YTD; copper/aluminium are up 20–27% and PVC around 12%* |
Average housewire prices increased by 7% over the same period |
Sequential volume growth declined by 2% in Mar–Apr’26 compared to the nearby period of Oct’25–Feb’26 |
|
Lighting |
Selective price hikes, with limited company-wise disclosure, as lighting prices have been on a downward trend for the past couple of years* |
After two years of double-digit price erosion, consumer pricing is shifting from broad price erosion to selective price stabilization |
Continued to grow in Mar-Apr’26 in volume terms, particularly in categories with limited price erosion, such as DL/PL and Spotlights |
As raw material costs and geopolitical pressures rise, companies’ ability to pass on price hikes without hurting demand will be critical. End-consumer pricing data, available from our monthly retail market research, indicates that cost pass-through is already visible, with demand impact sharper in Paints and Housewires, where crude and copper prices directly influence pricing. In Lighting, the two-year price erosion appears to be bottoming out, with polycarbonate, aluminium and copper inflation driving selective price stabilization.
Source: *Asian Paints, Berger, JSW Dulux, Polycab, Havells, Bajaj Electricals, CGCEL, Orient Electric 4QFY’25-26 Earnings Call, CRISIL:Housewire Pricing, Fortune: Paints Price Increase; #Metrix RA Retail Measurement Service
Electric cooktops in India have entered an unusually sharp growth phase, triggered by recent gas shortage concerns, emanating from restricted movement
Read More
Not a Uniform Heatwave Story, An Early Season Activation Story: Mar–Apr’26 Fans retail offtake indicates a weather-assisted demand uptick
Read More
