Can Internet companies subvert the air purifier market?

For quite a long time, consumers' choices for air purifier products were limited to traditional home appliance brands such as Philips and Sharp. Although haze has stimulated a group of potential consumers, price has become an important reason hindering their purchase.

However, with the launch of cost-effective products by companies such as Xiaomi, Baomi, Xiaodan, and Three Dads, which have an Internet background, the market structure has changed to a certain extent.

The biggest difference from traditional home appliance manufacturers is that these Internet companies are more active and proactive in marketing.

However, what surprised the market even more was Xiaomi's entry. In addition to various parameter comparisons and the best hardware configuration, which is Xiaomi's usual "tough" product logic, the price setting of 899 yuan also made the market sensitive to prices again.

Although traditional home appliance manufacturers such as Philips and Sharp have also launched low-priced products, it is clear that the high-profile efforts of Internet companies and entrepreneurs have made this industry more popular among ordinary users, and low prices are just a means to attract attention.

Although it is not realistic for Internet companies to enter the digital living room by relying on air purifiers due to the limited market size, it is actually happening that more and more high-profit consumer electronics products are likely to be disrupted by Internet gameplay, which may help entrepreneurs find new directions.

Injecting Internet genes

In the eyes of professionals, consumer-grade air purifiers (hereinafter referred to as "air purifiers") are a sub-category market of traditional home appliances. After several rounds of market competition, air purifier products have been greatly improved in terms of appearance design, structural principles, and functional settings.

The functions provided by air purifiers are increasing. The introduction of functions such as Wi-Fi networking, App remote control, and automatic start system are seen as signs of intelligence. What's more, Philips has linked to the website of the China Meteorological Administration to provide users with indoor and outdoor air quality forecasts, while its competitor Panasonic focuses on technology, integrating 5 major sensors and 6-layer purification structure to provide air purification and humidification experience.

However, these changes are far less than those made by Internet companies and some smart hardware entrepreneurs, because in their view, Wi-Fi networking is only the basis of intelligence, not the core. Zhang Tianyi, product manager of Cheetah Mobile's Baomi Air Purifier Master, told Tencent Technology, "Some so-called smart air purifiers on the market just add a Wi-Fi module, which abandons the essence of the product, and the user's intelligence lies more in the function."

Zhang Tianyi said that after connecting to the Internet, Baomi Air Purifier Master can set the product operation mode according to the user's usage environment. More importantly, because it is equipped with a better detection device, it can truly reflect the real-time air quality to consumers, allowing consumers to truly perceive the quality of the surrounding air.

Dai Saiying, who considers himself a "grassroots" entrepreneur, said that his "Three Dads" children-only air purifier focuses on protecting children.

Not only that, Internet companies and entrepreneurs often tell the stories of the birth of each brand with emotion, hoping to impress consumers.

When promoting the Baomi Air Purifier Master, Cheetah Mobile CEO Fu Sheng expressed his own pain from dust allergic rhinitis; Quwan.com CEO Zhou Pin, who has long been concerned about creative products, found Ji Xiaohua, who has a Ph.D. in neurobiology, and decided to make a difference in smart hardware. They established the smart hardware company Xiaodan; Dai Saiying told the story of three fathers who were worried about their children's health and decided to make an air purifier themselves.

These entrepreneurial backgrounds also give their products their own unique attributes, and they hope to break some of the rules set by traditional manufacturers.

Cheetah Mobile highlighted its accuracy in detecting PM2.5 values ​​in its promotion. Zhang Tianyi told Tencent Technology that some air purifier products use infrared detection devices that can only detect large particles and then use algorithms to calculate PM2.5 values, but this is not accurate. Baomi Air Purifier Master uses a laser monitoring device, which will improve the accuracy of this test.

In Zhou Pin's opinion, a humidifier should not be a built-in function of the purifier, because the humidification function will make the air moist and "the filter will become moldy." However, this is often a function provided by other home appliance manufacturers to increase selling points. Dai Saiying said that the appearance design of its products takes into account the safety of use in a home environment.

Challenging the old forces

Just as the impact of Internet companies on the mobile phone industry has caused the overall average price to decline, new entrants are exposing the interest connection between traditional home appliance manufacturers and channels.

When explaining why the Baomi Air Purifier Master is priced below 1,000 yuan, Fu Sheng said that it was because it eliminated too many of the profiteering links of traditional air purifier brands. Zhou Pin also told Tencent Technology that the factory price of air purifiers currently priced at 6,000 yuan on the market is only 2,500 yuan.

Industry analysts pointed out that although the supply chain system of traditional home appliance manufacturers is very mature, their final sales prices are generally high in order to leave enough profits for sales channel dealers.

Therefore, from the Xiaodan priced at 1,984 yuan, to the Baomi priced at 998 yuan, and then to the Xiaomi priced at 899 yuan, Internet manufacturers are constantly lowering the prices of air purifiers, which obviously makes them more attractive to price-sensitive Chinese consumers.

What is certain is that the contribution of Internet companies and entrepreneurs to the market is not only to break the monopoly of the pricing mechanism, but also to tell consumers how shady the industry actually is.

During the preliminary factory research before entering the air purifier market, Zhou Pin discovered that "when you see so many professionals making air purifiers and the shipment volume is so large, and then look at the entire manufacturing process and technology, you will feel that this thing is too unreasonable."

In this market with many brands, OEM production has become an industry unwritten rule that cannot be ignored due to the low entry threshold and high profits. Su Liang, brand director of Aowei Consulting, said that among the air purifier products below 1,000 yuan, many have similar appearances. Many companies have the mentality of making a quick buck and leaving, and their operating model is: purchase core components, assemble them, and sell them under OEM. The industry calls the prototype of this type of product a "public version machine."

Some high-end brands also produce products under their own brand. According to market research results of many new entrants in this market, Philips is the manufacturer with the largest market share. An industry insider told Tencent Technology, "All Philips (air purifier) ​​products are OEM."

The extreme prices and experience-oriented Internet model are making Internet companies challenge traditional home appliance manufacturers.

The Storm Is Not Coming

There is no doubt that the entry of Internet companies represented by Xiaomi into this market will greatly affect the industry's interest distribution mechanism, especially those white goods manufacturers who have traditionally dominated market pricing. Although it is not enough to have an impact on smart homes, smart furniture has already started.

However, traditional home appliance manufacturers have so far been concerned but have remained calm.

GfK China analysts told Tencent Technology that one reason is that, in the eyes of the "old forces", the products of Internet companies such as Xiaomi have shortcomings in power and noise, and it is not clear to them whether simply exchanging price for these shortcomings can have an impact on consumer purchases.

Another reason is that the threshold of the air purifier industry itself is not high, but the profit margin is not low, and the impact of haze means that manufacturers have business to do.

Tencent Technology found that in the sales promotion of most traditional home appliance manufacturers, "resisting smog" has become a highlight of the manufacturers' promotion to attract business. According to data from the China Meteorological Administration, Beijing experienced two severe smog pollution during the National Day holiday in 2013. Compared with the monitoring data of Aowei Consulting e-commerce, the online sales of air purifiers during this period increased by 34.1% month-on-month, showing a high correlation.

Some manufacturers even raised their product prices because of the smog. An industry insider revealed that the online shopping prices of foreign brands of air purifiers increased by 69% year-on-year in 2013. Among them, the online price of Samsung air purifiers increased by 113%, Morel's price increased by 83%, and Sharp's price increased by 52%.

Another group of consumers who buy air purifiers are those who need to remove formaldehyde from their newly renovated homes. Although some experts and industry insiders say that opening windows for ventilation is still the most effective way to remove formaldehyde, consumers still hope that there are machines that can accelerate this natural process. Therefore, air purifiers that support this function also occupy a certain share in the market.

In addition, although the products of Internet companies are popular among consumers, their production capacity still needs to be increased, and it is difficult to meet market demand in the short term.

From the moment Internet companies started making mobile phones, there have been discussions about how big of an impact they will have on the industrial chain and whether they can be replicated.

However, air purifiers are just a simple household product, and they are the first to be intelligent because of their low threshold. It is not difficult to see from this trend that Internet companies will gradually penetrate into various traditional industries through various modes such as learning, investment, and acquisition. As for sooner or later, it is only a matter of time.

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.