AC demand surges +20% as broader retail growth cools to ~5% in May

Extended heat drove AC and cooler sales up 20% in volume and 30% in value, per Vijay Sales, even as overall retail growth slowed to ~5% in May from 9-10% earlier amid margin pressure. Chip shortage lifted laptop prices 30-35% and TVs 7-10%, while quick commerce now accounts for ~13% of e-commerce.

— Filed Wed, 1 Jul, 2026, 11:42 IST · Source CNBC-TV18 · Retail · Updated

AC and cooler demand surged (+20% volume, +30% value) on extended heat, while overall retail growth cooled to ~5% in May amid margin pressure. Chip shortage lifted laptop/TV prices; quick commerce now 13% of e-commerce.

Why this matters

Vijay Sales continues to read demand shifts, from induction cooktops holding at 2x post-LPG crunch to Back-to-School MacBook price cuts, now flagging heat-driven AC surges against a cooling ~5% retail backdrop.

Retail-company signals accelerating, up +465900% QoQ.

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