"Under the repeated impact of the epidemic, many home appliance enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, have been in a state of unstable expectations and lack of confidence for a long time, and this pressure is still difficult to remove in the short term. However, the epidemic situation in the third quarter was relatively stable, and the production and operation of enterprises improved. The fourth quarter played the most important role in the economy of the year. From the sales data disclosed by various platforms during the promotion period, the domestic consumption momentum is still strong, and the domestic demand that was suppressed in the earlier period The potential is being released at an accelerated pace, and consumers' value demands bring about structural growth in the market. The process of economic recovery is a long-term process. Home appliance manufacturers and distribution channels should enhance their confidence, seize the time window and time node of structural adjustment, and accumulate energy for improving the supply of high-quality products in the home appliance market. " On November 10, Wu Haitao, Executive Deputy Director of the National Home Appliance Industry Information Center, said at the press conference of the 2022 Third Quarter Report of China's Home Appliance Industry (hereinafter referred to as the Report).
The Report shows that the third quarter played a connecting role in the economic operation of the whole year. In the first half of the year, when the consumer market was frustrated, household appliance enterprises actively adjusted, and the domestic household appliance market achieved a month on month repair in the third quarter.
Yang Zheng, a researcher of the National Home Appliance Industry Information Center, interpreted the Report. In the third quarter of 2022, the weak performance of the real estate market will drag down the upstream and downstream industries, and the residents' consumption will recover slowly in the fluctuation of the epidemic situation. The domestic home appliance market is still under great pressure. The sales in the third quarter totaled 161.55 billion yuan, down 4.2% from the same period last year. By category, the overall scale of large household appliances was 98.38 billion yuan, down 2.2% year on year; Kitchen and bathroom appliances were significantly affected by the real estate market, with a year-on-year decline of 9.6% and a retail scale of 37.03 billion yuan; The scale of household appliances reached 26.14 billion yuan, down 3.4% year on year. In terms of exports, the pressure on household appliances exports has risen sharply due to the high inflation, slowing demand and other factors, and the impact of a high base. According to the data of the General Administration of Customs, from January to September 2022, the cumulative export volume of household appliances was 2586.52 million, down 10.1% year on year; The accumulative export volume was 432.67 billion yuan, down 9.2% year on year.
Refrigerator dryer keeps growing
The sales of color TV sets, refrigerators, washing machines and other traditional household TV sets in the third quarter were not ideal. The air conditioning market was supported by urban replacement demand and rural new demand. The sales in the first half of the year were frustrated. Some demand was released in the third quarter, and the sales in July and August increased; Refrigerator and clothes dryer products are still on the rise, especially the household ownership of clothes dryer products is extremely low, which maintained a growth trend in the third quarter. In terms of product specifications, affected by the decline in international panel prices and market adjustments, the share of 75 inch TV retail volume soared to 15.7%, and the 85 inch share also doubled; The mainstream volume section of the refrigerator is concentrated at 500-600 liters, and the internal pattern of this volume section is reasonably divided, which can realize the spatial storage of various food materials and differential moisture, heat preservation and freshness preservation; Air conditioner hanging products are concentrated to 1.5P, and the hanging units with large refrigeration capacity of 2P and above also have a slight expansion; The washing capacity of the drum washing machine is highly concentrated at 10KG, and the share of offline retail sales is more than 80%. In terms of product form, embedded products have been widely concerned by the industry, leading to the emergence of ultra-thin refrigerators, embedded refrigerators, ultra-thin washing machines and other product segments, and the "assembly" and "suite" product combinations have also been vigorously promoted by businesses.
In the fierce market competition, the iteration and upgrading of product technology are the main chips for enterprises to gain comparative advantage. In the color TV market, MiniLed technology has been differentiated from traditional LCD TVs, and its products and market have become increasingly mature. The high product premium and good development prospects are the reasons why MiniLed has been promoted by merchants. The comfort of air conditioning products determines the user experience. Many air conditioning brands improve the comfort of air conditioning products by controlling the air supply angle, intensity and health functions of the products. The preservation technology in the refrigerator industry has always been the basis of product development. Each brand intervenes in the internal environment of the refrigerator from multiple dimensions such as humidity, temperature, oxygen, light, and physical differentiation, reducing or slowing the speed of food dehydration, oxidation, and deterioration, and giving food longer storage time. On the basis of washing, washing machine products have the functions of washing health, clothing maintenance, etc., and have formed a relatively mature washing mode for special materials such as wool and silk.
Integrated kitchen appliances open a new blue ocean
The kitchen and bathroom appliances market was constrained by the downturn in the early real estate performance and the decline in consumer willingness, and the overall sales showed stagflation and slowness. The traditional kitchen appliances (smoke, stove, and consumer) fell by more than 10% year on year; The water heater market is weak, with a decline of more than 10%; Emerging kitchen appliances represented integrated stoves and dishwashers also experienced periodic shocks in the third quarter, with a negative year-on-year growth in retail sales. Although the growth of the kitchen appliance market has stalled, the trend of upgrading the product structure has continued. Taking the range hood as an example, the near suction type is still the main force in the market sales, with offline retail sales accounting for more than 60%. The ultra-thin range hood featuring beauty, the top side double range hood featuring smoking effect, and the products featuring small size have gradually gained strength. The proportion of products with "hard parameters", large air volume and large air pressure has increased significantly. The "big" trend of kitchen electrical products continued, and more than 13 large sets of dishwashers, 700G and above high flux water purifiers all achieved significant growth. Among the electric water storage heaters, the rapid bathing experience brought by the power above 3000W has attracted more consumers' attention.
From the incremental market to the stock market, new kitchen appliances remain innovative, and the market competition has also changed from channel competition and product competition to competition for "users' favorite". For example, the dishwasher head brand has paid more attention to the whole process of washing, disinfection, drying and storage, and is committed to developing multifunctional integrated products such as "cleaning, disinfection, drying, slag removal and storage". As a major trend of the industry development, integrated kitchen appliances reduce the waste caused by the overlapping of kitchen appliances, realize the spatial integration and sharing of multi-purpose products, and become the optimal solution under the condition of insufficient kitchen area. Integrated cooker enterprises have continuously upgraded the existing functions of their products, and the independent steaming and baking products have grown rapidly. In addition, the ventilation effect, cooking power and cooking methods of the products have improved. Integrated dishwasher integrates multiple functions such as dishwasher, sink, fruit and vegetable washing, water purifier, garbage processor, etc. Under the boom of supply and demand, online retail sales in the first three quarters increased by 62.8% year on year, and attracted more and more brands to join. With the accelerated pace of home appliance integration, the kitchen industry is breaking the boundaries of products and space, and integration will become an important direction of product iteration and innovation.
Strong performance of floor washing machine and hair dryer
Under the general climate of the consumer market, the sales of household appliances in the first half of the year also failed to reverse, with an offline year-on-year drop of 20%. The household appliances have entered the period of industrial adjustment as a whole, and the trend of consumption structure towards quality and high-end is very significant. IH micro piezoelectric rice cooker, wall breaking cooking machine with silent isolation cover, circulating fan, pure humidifier, semi-automatic espresso machine, high formaldehyde removal purifier and other products with new technology and quality have achieved sales share growth in their respective categories.
Among the cleaning appliances, the floor washer is a star product that has been popular in the past two years. Its performance in the third quarter is still commendable, and its sales proportion in the cleaning appliance market rose to 34.3%. This year, more brands have launched market layout, and the overall price gradient and competition trend of the market are becoming mature. With the basic finalization of the functional modules of the products, in order to obtain a differentiated competitive advantage, most new products focus on trying to break through the pain points of product use, such as the reduction of body weight, the treatment of stubborn stains, the loading of innovative functions, and the convenience of use scene conversion. In the market of personal care small household appliances, some domestic hair dryer brands have successfully emerged in the past two years. With the high-speed models with a rotating speed of more than 100000 rpm, the loading of hair care function modules, and the promotion of social media such as Tiktok and Xiaohongshu, they have been recognized by young consumers. The technical innovation of domestic brands has driven a significant increase in the retail sales of hair dryers above 400 yuan, pushing the market scale to a new high. The retail sales of hair dryers in the third quarter increased by 7.9% year on year.
In the future, we need to actively tap new potential for growth
The fourth quarter is the traditional peak season for home appliance sales. With the joint promotion of retailers and manufacturers, the home appliance market ushers in a new round of consumer recovery opportunities. Local governments frequently introduced measures to promote consumption, seized the time window of the fourth quarter, and accelerated the recovery of the consumer market. It is expected that the retail market of household appliances may recover in the short term, but the uncertainty caused by repeated outbreaks in China is particularly serious. The National Household Appliance Industry Information Center predicted that the sales of domestic household appliances in the fourth quarter would be "upswing", with a positive year-on-year growth in the quarter.
In the long run, China's home appliance market has changed from a large-scale incremental market to a stock market dominated by updated demand. People's demand for a better life is growing, which requires enterprises to pay attention to the changes in the demand of consumers in a timely manner, and continue to meet people's intelligent, green, healthy, fashionable, personalized and diversified consumption needs through upgrading technology, products, scenes and services After sales and other links innovate service forms and improve service content to comprehensively enhance the user experience and better meet the consumer demand for household appliances.
