Shared bicycles are so popular that power banks are also joining in the fun. Why are Tencent and Xiaomi investing hundreds of millions but being ridiculed by Wang Sicong?

With the emergence of shared bicycles, the "sharing economy" is being mentioned more and more. The emergence of "shared power banks" has received mixed reviews.

It is reported that on May 4, Jumei, a beauty e-commerce company, officially announced that it would acquire approximately 60% of the shares of Shenzhen Jie Co., Ltd. for RMB 300 million in cash. Jumei CEO Chen Ou will serve as the chairman of Jie and operate the mobile power rental service.

However, Wang Sicong seems to have something to say about this service. In Wang Sicong's latest Moments, he was angry about shared power banks, saying "If shared power banks can succeed, I will eat shit and post this as proof."

However, the demand for charging itself is rigid and high-frequency. Except for fixed places, power banks are required for other mobile situations and emergency situations. In addition, the power of today's smartphones is basically difficult to fully support a day's power. There is indeed a very large demand for power banks. The market exists, users are mature, and the demand is large. Why is it still criticized by the "national husband"?

Insufficient demand for shared charging and difficulty in motivating users

As a product of the sharing economy, shared power banks have taken a different development path from shared bicycles from the very beginning. Shared bicycles, led by "OFO" and "Mobike", solve high-frequency and stable needs, do not have fixed storage and access locations, and can form a stable membership model.

However, for shared power banks, if they want to imitate shared bicycles, the first problem they have to face is that there is insufficient user demand for shared power banks.

In modern life, if your smartphone runs out of power while you are out and about, you will feel helpless. However, for people who go out frequently, it is a safer way to buy a power bank worth about 100 yuan and put it in your backpack for emergency use. However, it is also because power banks are relatively cheap products that make it difficult for shared power banks to mobilize user demand.

Buying a bicycle is far less convenient than sharing a bicycle. However, buying a power bank can perfectly avoid the tedious process of shared charging. It is obvious which is better.

Unsustainable business model: shared charging is doomed to fail

The dilemma of shared power banks is not only reflected in user demand. The business model of this service still has significant problems. On the one hand, the site fees for setting up rental boxes in popular urban areas and subway stations will bring a huge financial burden, which not only limits the development of the service, but also makes it difficult for it to make a profit.

At the same time, even if the paid shared power bank is priced at 1 yuan, it is already very expensive, and in reality it takes some time to fully charge a mobile phone. Only a few people will actually use the power bank to fully charge the phone, and no one will be willing to pay more money for a few dozen minutes of emergency.

However, if the power bank is changed to free use, it will only fall into a vicious circle of burning money. On the one hand, the cost of subsequent daily maintenance of the equipment and the site fees mentioned above will mostly be borne by the manufacturer. At the same time, even shared bicycles cannot avoid the problem of loss, and it is not unheard of for a power bank to lose a cabinet in a week with its compact appearance.

Judging from the historical development path, this is a thankless business, and it is definitely not the "traffic that the public does not see" that shared power bank companies mentioned in their financing publicity.

Whose interests does shared charging serve behind the massive financing?

If the mobile power rental service really does not have the broad market prospects as advertised, why do well-known companies continue to invest in this industry?

According to incomplete statistics from the media, in just over 10 days from the end of March to the beginning of April, the shared power bank field completed a total of 5 financings with a total amount of nearly 300 million yuan, attracting more than 20 investment institutions, including major companies such as Tencent and Alibaba.

This is actually not difficult to understand. First of all, from the overall environment, after the competition between Tencent and Alibaba, China's online payment has gradually formed a good online payment pattern, laying a good foundation for the payment method of the sharing economy.

Secondly, we should refer to other sharing models. For example, shared bicycles like Mobike already have a relatively perfect model. Finally, the sharing model needs to find something with low cost so that it can be deployed on a large scale, and the model must be good enough to roll out faster.

These three points are not only the prerequisites for the development of shared power banks, but also one of the reasons why many investment institutions have entered the market.

However, perhaps Lai Dian and Jie Dian have a clearer idea about shared power banks. Unlike other companies, the parent companies of Lai Dian and Jie Dian are well-known companies engaged in the production of power banks. The layout of shared power banks itself has an impact on the sales of their own products, so why do Fei Mao Shu and Anker still choose to finance shared power banks?

For them, China's power bank brands have long been dominated by Xiaomi, PISEN, and ROMOSS. Especially now that power banks for home use are already saturated, it is extremely difficult for other brands to overtake them. Therefore, the emergence of shared power banks, although it will affect sales to a certain extent, is expected to become an excellent platform for product promotion, and the cost is only relatively small product sales.

It is difficult to make a difference even with the sharing economy, and short-term gains are not enough for long-term planning.

Today's mobile power rental services are indeed facing a variety of problems, including difficulty in mobilizing user demand, difficult to maintain business models, and intensified competition caused by rapid entry. These problems make it difficult for shared power banks to ensure sustainable development even in the sharing economy.

However, although market analysts have doubts about the prospects of shared power banks, the window for mobile Internet entrepreneurship is very short today, and accurate and rapid layout has become the key to success. Will shared power banks be safe in the future, and will they be gradually replaced by graphene batteries and wireless charging? Most investors themselves do not have long-term plans. I believe that among the capitals that have entered the market now, there are many who strike while the iron is hot and enter and exit quickly.

However, the sudden rise of shared power banks is also a very interesting trend for the sharing economy. This means that projects like renting power banks will become a watershed of an era, and we may have the opportunity to see more ways of product sharing in the future. After the industry leaders have entered the market, the next step may be to continue to burn money. As for whether it will succeed, we will see first.

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.