Double 11 air conditioner inventory: prices begin to cool down, and value rises

Against the backdrop of a decline in both volume and value in the industry as a whole, Double 11 in 2020 has become the most important battlefield for air conditioner manufacturers to reverse their performance this year. An obvious phenomenon is that the tried-and-true prices have begun to cool down, and healthy high-end consumption that focuses on consumption upgrades has shown a warming trend.

According to the battle report released by JD Home Appliances, on November 11, the transaction volume of air conditioners exceeded 100 million yuan in 15 seconds. In the first 30 minutes, the transaction volume of mid-to-high-end air conditioners increased five times year-on-year.

During this year's Double 11, Gree, Midea and Haier, which have always taken 80% of the market share, still maintain a solid position in the air-conditioning industry. Although the industry structure has not changed significantly, the sales strategies of the three major brands during Double 11 this year can give us a glimpse of the future development trend of the industry.

Air conditioners on Double 11: low prices and high quality

The air-conditioning industry, which had been on a downward trend, made a desperate effort during the Double 11 period, with the three giants Gree, Midea and Haier making full efforts.

In this campaign, Gree launched the slogan of "giving away 700 million yuan in profits". The price of the Yunjin inverter air conditioner, which originally cost 11,299 yuan, was reduced by 3,900 yuan. The flagship product Tianli series participated in the promotion for the first time, becoming a brand hit and entering the industry's TOP 5 sequence.

Gree used price to increase sales, and the effect was immediate. Gree's official battle report showed that during the entire Double 11 period, Gree ranked first in sales in the air conditioning field across the entire network.

In the air-conditioning market this year, Midea has repeatedly counterattacked Gree and actively followed Gree's promotional policies during the Double 11 shopping festival. Specifically, in terms of the full range of air-conditioning product lines, the price difference between Midea and Gree in the same category has always remained hundreds of yuan.

Midea’s official Double 11 battle report shows that Midea’s air conditioner sales across the entire network reached 833,000 units.

Haier focuses on health and high-end brands, and during the Double 11 period, it entered the high-end market by upgrading product quality.

Haier Air Conditioner's battle report shows that it has the fastest growth rate in the entire network, and also takes the first place in the self-cleaning and 10,000+ price segments.

Prices cool down, but high-end technology starts to heat up

As people's living standards improve, consumers' demand for high-end home appliances is becoming increasingly prominent. The approach of trading price for volume has won the favor of price-sensitive consumers, but overall, the price war is gradually "cooling down". This year's Double 11 has already clearly seen a trend of consumption upgrading.

The new national standard for air conditioners was officially implemented at the beginning of this year. After the destocking of old energy-efficient air conditioners in the first half of the year, this year's Double 11 was also the first time that new energy-efficient air conditioners were sold at a reduced price. From the industry's perspective, the price war on new energy-efficient air conditioners has become a major feature of this year's Double 11.

Another trend in the air-conditioning industry during Double 11 is the healthier products.

When caring for family and pursuing a healthy life become a consensus among the whole people, ensuring a healthy life has become the primary criterion for consumers when purchasing goods. According to the "2020 China Healthy Home Appliances White Paper", 92% of consumers currently pay special attention to the "health" function when purchasing home appliances.

Specifically speaking of product categories, the health home appliance category with the highest consumer awareness is healthy air conditioners, with an awareness rate of 74.9%. According to data from Aowei Cloud Network, in the first three quarters, the retail sales share of healthy air conditioners in the air conditioner market increased by 10.8 percentage points year-on-year to 80.1%.

Midea mentioned in its battle report that 45% of its members are those born after 1990. They prefer windless air conditioners to avoid the discomfort and air-conditioning disease caused by direct cold air from air conditioners.

Haier has always adhered to the healthy route and won the recognition of many middle and high-end users with its "only healthy air" strategy, and achieved two high-end firsts, including self-cleaning air conditioners and price segments above 10,000+.

In the context of the deepening of consumption upgrades, the core driving force for the air-conditioning industry to move towards high-end is undoubtedly the continuous demand of users for healthy living. This is also the main reason why the air-conditioning market in the 2020 cold season showed a decline in both volume and value, but high-end products showed an upward trend.

Judging from sales performance and sales trends, this year's Double 11 has become a watershed for the future development of the air-conditioning industry: price war and value war. The price-driven volume has achieved impressive sales results, clearing the slump since the beginning of this year.

But overall, compared with price games, in today's world where user needs are more diversified, winning by quality and fighting for user value seems to be more in line with the current development trend of the air-conditioning industry.

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.