When the air-conditioning industry encounters turmoil, should it engage in a price war or a quality war?

Here, several competing domestic mobile phone manufacturers are still engaged in a war of words, while over there, several influential air-conditioning companies in the industry have begun to use price as a weapon to seize the market.

Faced with the high inventory and other development crises currently faced by air-conditioning companies, this National Day holiday, taking advantage of the consumption boom, the domestic air-conditioning industry will erupt in the largest price war in history. Relevant reports show that among the top ten air-conditioning manufacturers in China in terms of sales volume, more than half will join the battle.

At present, the two giants in the air-conditioning market, Gree and Midea, have put up promotional posters in various places. Gree claimed that this was "the first air-conditioning price war in 20 years", while Midea claimed that this was "a tornado that occurs once in 30 years."

In the Beijing market, Gree and Midea are now offering promotional prices that are about 500 yuan lower than usual, while domestic brands such as AUX and Chigo are following closely behind. Their rapid follow-up trend shows their determination to "return the price to ten years ago."

There is no doubt that price has always been the most important factor that affects consumers, whether it is a flagship smartphone that can be purchased for more than 1,000 yuan or a big-brand inverter air conditioner that can be purchased for just over 2,000 yuan. But are all low-priced products what consumers want? As an important part of modern home life, should air conditioners play a greater role in the value of the product itself?

While the price war among air-conditioning manufacturers is in full swing, there is also a number of manufacturers in the market who are making their products more refined and taking a different approach in product strategy.

At present, many models of air-conditioning products no longer only emphasize hard technical parameters such as frequency conversion, intelligence, and body-sensing temperature control, but also put a lot of effort into the product design itself, making the air-conditioning a technological highlight of home life, rather than just a home appliance.

When consumers go to buy a "cost-effective" air conditioner in the price war, what they get is nothing more than a traditional home appliance with ordinary materials and mediocre appearance. From an aesthetic point of view, there are already many precedents for integrating innovative design languages ​​​​such as brushed metal materials and Bruns pattern art technology into the materials used in air conditioner panels. Although these products cannot provide consumers with attractive prices, the psychological feeling they give people is completely different from ordinary products. This is why there are always consumers who choose to pay for quality of life.

Of course, some people will inevitably ask whether there is any difference in use. They are all machines for adjusting temperature, so why don’t consumers buy cheaper air conditioners?

In fact, if we think about the current smartphone market that we are most familiar with, we can easily get the answer. Domestic mobile phones with a price of just over 1,000 yuan or even less than 1,000 yuan can produce "high-quality domestic products", so why are there so many people rushing to buy Apple iPhones that cost several times more than the former? I think the reason is not difficult to understand.

Should we fight a price war or a quality war? Should we buy a usable product or an excellent product? Different consumers naturally have different standards in their hearts, but in the current fluctuation of air conditioner prices, if big and small brands all rush to reduce prices as their primary strategy, it will not only kill small brands with low market share, but also lower the process standards of the entire air conditioner industry.

In short, different consumers have different product demands, and air-conditioning companies also need to segment their product positioning. There needs to be a brand facing the high-end market and providing high-quality services.

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.