China's white goods market has entered a period of transformation. TCL refrigerators and washing machines dig deep into user pain points and set a benchmark for the industry

After a continuous decline, the Chinese home appliance market has entered a restart moment. The "China Home Appliance Market Report for the Third Quarter of 2020" shows that in the first three quarters of 2020, the overall retail sales of the Chinese home appliance market was 579.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 8.6%.

"China Home Appliance Market Report for the Third Quarter of 2020"

For individual companies, market shrinkage does not bring any benefits, but for the entire industry, the downward pressure of the market will become a "big test" - effectively separating "bad money" from "good money". Especially with the large-scale decentralization of technologies such as 5G, AI x IoT, the home appliance industry has also ushered in a wave of technological updates. The sudden drop in market pressure has created an environment to dispel the fog of low-price competition in the market, and it has also allowed manufacturers and users to see the forward-looking technology route more clearly.

In this process of survival of the fittest, TCL refrigerators and washing machines, together with other outstanding competitors, take technological innovation as the guide, serve users as their mission, and stand at the forefront of the times.

The trend of the times

It is undeniable that most home appliance manufacturers have actually seen the general trend of the Internet of Everything. Valuates data shows that by 2026, the global IoT market is expected to reach US$31.9 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of 64.2% from 2019 to 2026.

However, under the pressure of the market downturn, most home appliance companies have to resort to the old trick of "low price" in order to seize the market. According to data released by Zhiyan Consulting, at the end of 2019, the average online retail price of washing machines in China was only about 1,400 yuan, which was 200 yuan lower than two years ago.

Zhiyan Consulting

On the one hand, it is necessary to take into account the trend of the times and include the latest technology, and on the other hand, it is necessary to maintain a low product price to seize the market. In this dilemma, the Chinese home appliance industry has a very alarming product orientation - products are too cheap, few resources are invested in technical construction, and even the most basic product quality cannot be guaranteed.

Data from the "Complaints Received by National Consumer Associations in the First Half of 2020" released by the China Consumers Association showed that complaints about household electronic appliances accounted for 19.5% of the total complaints, ranking first among all industries.

Complaints Received by National Consumer Associations in the First Half of 2020

If the low-price product route can seize the market while promoting the simultaneous decentralization of related technologies such as AI x IoT, then there is nothing wrong with it. But the key to the problem is that the low-price product strategy is hindering the popularization of new technologies.

According to the "2020 Refrigerator Market Semi-annual Report" released by iiMedia Research, the current leading refrigerator brands have not aroused much IoT consumption awareness among consumers at the market level.

It can be said that driven by the blind pursuit of high market share, consumers in the 5G era have not actually gained products that truly keep up with the times.

TCL refrigerators and washing machines set the benchmark for the industry

Although the overall market trend has not changed much, when we focus our attention on individual companies, we will find that under the wave of technological popularization, keen consumers have begun to actively "pursue a quality life."

During the 2020 Double 11 period, official data from TCL refrigerators and washing machines showed that their total sales reached 198 million, a year-on-year increase of 70%. Among them, TCL refrigerators made it into the top ten of JD.com's global home appliance rankings, and the TCL P10 duplex classification washing machine ranked first in the classification market sales list, and the customer unit price exceeded the 5,000 yuan mark.

Industry insiders analyzed that the reason why TCL refrigerators and washing machines achieved such impressive sales figures during the Double Eleven period was mainly because it found a product path that closely connects industry trends with consumer demand.

First, as the concept of consumption upgrade gradually evolves, consumers are actually more willing to pay for high-quality products than low-priced entry-level products. The "China Household Smart Consumption Report" released by Tencent News stated: "With the growth of income and the continuous penetration of e-commerce, most consumers have begun to pursue quality in consumption and are upgrading their consumption."

The objective existence of high-end market demand has made it possible for quality-conscious refrigerator and washing machine companies like TCL to explore higher technology levels, and has directly pushed its duplex-classification washing machines into the high-end market.

Secondly, consumers buy refrigerators and washing machines to solve specific pain points in life. According to the "2020 China Healthy Home Appliances White Paper", 92% of consumers pay special attention to the "health" function when purchasing home appliances.

Therefore, TCL did not let its refrigerator and washing machine products follow the industry's "low price", but started from satisfying the fundamental demands of consumers. Take TCL's classified washing machine as an example. Its pioneering "classified washing" concept eliminates the life pain points that have troubled consumers for years, such as bacterial cross-infection, secondary contamination, and staining, from the physical source.

After achieving breakthroughs in core functions, TCL further strengthened the AI ​​x IoT functions of its refrigerators and washing machines at the differentiation level.

Take the TCL C5 Smart Screen Refrigerator as an example. Since it is equipped with a large screen with IoT function, it has become the control center of the family kitchen. It can be interconnected with other IoT products in the user's home scene to achieve true "one-stop operation". It is precisely because of the exquisite integration of consumer needs and the trend of the times that in 2020, the TCL C5 Smart Screen Refrigerator won the "Healthy Smart Product Innovation Award" awarded by the China Refrigerator Industry Summit Forum.

When we look at TCL's refrigerator and washing machine products, we can see that they have already predicted the current predicament of the home appliance industry and closely integrated their products with the technological trends of the times. Based on this understanding, TCL's refrigerator and washing machine products are centered on consumer needs, strengthen the essence of refrigerator and washing machine products, and then combine higher-dimensional AI x IoT technology, which not only achieves a breakthrough in the market, but also provides a benchmark product example for the future of the industry.

Technological innovation is the core driving force of TCL refrigerators and washing machines

Amidst the market clamor for low prices, the reason why TCL refrigerators and washing machines were able to quickly break through at the product level is that they are strongly supported by an overall strategy based on innovation.

As the current low-price trend permeates the Chinese home appliance market, the user experience is not perfect. TCL refrigerators and washing machines are also very aware that once users form an inertial perception of low prices, the entire industry will eventually be harmed. In order to defeat this distorted market perception, the first bullet fired by TCL refrigerators and washing machines is the word "quality", which is a cliché but always new.

In order to control product quality more accurately, TCL's refrigerator and washing machine business has set up a DQA project team, which includes three major parts: laboratory, product certification and technical platform, to conduct granular product inspection in the form of a chain.

It is precisely because of this extremely fine inspection granularity that TCL refrigerator and washing machine products have been able to raise the inspection standards time and time again. In mid-December 2020, SGS, an internationally authoritative third-party testing and certification organization, issued the IECEE CTF laboratory qualification certification to TCL.

As a globally recognized authoritative inspection, identification, testing and certification organization, TCL's ability to obtain SGS certification not only highlights that the standards of TCL refrigerators and washing machines are ahead of the industry, but also indicates that TCL refrigerators and washing machines have international endorsement, and the products now have effective guarantees for large-scale overseas expansion.

In addition, in response to consumer demand, TCL's Hefei refrigerator and washing machine base also plans to continue to invest an additional 5 million yuan on the basis of the existing laboratory to comprehensively enhance the comprehensive capabilities of the laboratory in terms of freshness preservation, user experience, WIFI performance, etc., to ensure the user experience of the products.

Judging from the feedback from the market, TCL's many investments at the laboratory level are by no means meaningless. On the contrary, these tests have largely solved practical pain points for consumers. For example, the test of TCL's fresh-keeping laboratory has been transformed into the "ultra-fast refrigeration" of the quench refrigerator, which can achieve "ice beer in five minutes and frozen fresh meat in ten minutes". This also made TCL refrigerators win the "2020 China Refrigerator Industry Ultra-Fast Refrigeration Healthy Fresh Brand" and TCL C5-U Smart Screen Refrigerator won the "2020 China Refrigerator Industry Smart Health Product Innovation Award".

TCL's refrigerator and washing machine products have gained user recognition at the market level, on the one hand because it has made effective predictive actions for industry difficulties, but what is more outstanding is that TCL not only has a deep insight into industry trends and consumer needs, but also on this basis simultaneously consolidates the two forward-looking forces of technology and manufacturing standards. In this sense, the great success of TCL's refrigerator and washing machine products is also pointing out the direction for the industry to move forward.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.