Not long ago, with the introduction of the Action Plan to Promote Large scale Equipment Renewal and Consumer Goods Trade in, various forms of home appliance trade in actions have begun in various regions, including giving away consumption vouchers, distributing subsidies, and improving channels for trade in. What is the current situation with the replacement of household appliances? How to further unleash the consumption potential of the home appliance market in the future? The reporter conducted an interview on this matter.

Home appliances usher in a new wave of enthusiasm

"Up to a maximum subsidy of 5000 yuan" and "10% reduction in payment". On the morning of May 27th, as I walked into the Suning.com store located near the South Third Ring Road in Beijing, a prominent "trade in" poster caught my eye.

"Cooking Congee, steaming, hot rice, porridge... This electric cooker is fashionable, compact and exquisite in appearance, and has the function of low sugar rice, which is particularly friendly to our elderly." Not long ago, Wang Haili, who lives in Fengtai District, Beijing, "planted grass" in her neighbor's home, but she was unwilling to start with this intelligent electric cooker because of the high price. I heard that there has been a promotion in the store recently. After 10 o'clock in the morning, Wang Haili and her husband came straight to the "target" and said, "1499 yuan, this price is several hundred cheaper than usual, very cost-effective.".

That morning, Xu Meng also had a harvest. "The air conditioning in the bedroom has been in use for almost 10 years, and not only is the cooling and heating effect not as good as before, but it also consumes electricity." Taking advantage of the home's renovation, Xu Meng, who lives nearby, came to purchase a new air conditioning with the company of her best friend.

"This air conditioner is particularly energy-efficient, only using one kilowatt hour of electricity for over two hours. According to user needs, it can also be set to a no wind cooling mode." Soon, under the demonstration and introduction of the store guide, Xu Meng fell in love with a no wind sensing cabinet machine and decisively made the move. In addition to various discounts, you can also participate in a trade in activity for your old air conditioner, which costs over 600 yuan. You only need to pay 6029 yuan to get the original price of 9599 yuan for the air conditioner, which Xu Meng is very satisfied with.

Welfare continues to increase, and the home appliance market is ushering in a consumption boom with the theme of exchanging old for new. The "May Day" consumption report released by JD.com shows that the consumption of 3C household appliances during the "May Day" holiday is dominated by the consumption of new lifestyles and the exchange of old for new. JD's self operated stores saw a year-on-year increase of 59% in omnichannel transaction volume from May 1st to 5th. Among them, the sales contribution of household appliances through trade in has doubled.

According to He Haifeng, the General Manager of Retail at Haier Smart Home China, we will comprehensively promote the trade in of high-end home appliances from four aspects: user experience, service capabilities, resource guarantee, and recycling capabilities. We will focus on 14 major categories, including refrigerators, televisions, air conditioners, and washing machines, and provide users with discounts such as exchange coupons, residual value coupons, and triple subsidies for old user points. During this year's May Day holiday, Haier's overall retail sales increased by 8.8% year-on-year.

Enterprises are taking action, while local governments are providing plans, funding, and policies to continuously promote the deepening of the exchange of old for new household appliances.

Chongqing has issued the "Love Chongqing" Consumer Goods Exchange for New Implementation Plan, which is expected to form a subsidy scale of over 2 billion yuan for the exchange policy; The first round of financial arrangements in Guangdong Province includes 370 million yuan to support the implementation of consumer goods trade in activities; Hubei strives to achieve 1 million units of household appliances exchanged for new this year
"After decades of development, the inventory of major categories of household appliances in China has reached a basic saturation state. With the improvement of living standards, people have begun to pursue a more convenient, comfortable, personalized, and intelligent quality of life, and have also put forward higher requirements for household appliances. In this situation, it is timely to promote a new round of exchanging old for new household appliances," said Xu Dongsheng, Vice Chairman of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association.

Green intelligence is becoming a trend

In the new round of home appliance trade in action, which products are the "darling" of consumers? The answer is green and intelligent home appliances.

Recently, taking advantage of the "6.18" promotion, Wang Hui, who lives in Xuanwu District, Nanjing, bought a smart dishwasher that she has long admired online. "By stacking various discounts and trade in policies on the platform, the actual cost was over 5000 yuan. Although the price exceeded her psychological expectations, Wang Hui gritted her teeth and placed an order." The thought of just putting pots and pans into the dishwasher after dinner every day, and then going to play, read books, or watch TV shows with the children feels like the money is not in vain. ".

"With the advancement of technology, consumers' demand for home appliances has gradually shifted from practicality to greenness, intelligence, and health," He Haifeng said.

On April 28th, in response to the national policy call, Gree Electric Appliances invested 3 billion yuan to launch a trade in activity for household appliances. The person in charge of Gree Electric told reporters that based on the recent situation of exchanging old for new, consumers have shown a stronger interest in smart and healthy home appliances. For example, in response to the problem of direct blowing of cold air in air conditioning, the sales volume of air conditioners equipped with distributed air supply technology has significantly increased recently. For example, in terms of washing machines, Gree has launched new second-generation heat pump washing machines, intelligent platinum washing and drying machines and other products with a focus on high-end fabric professional washing and care. These machines can meet the needs of consumers for washing and drying clothes, and are deeply loved by young consumers.

According to data from Aowei Cloud Network, under the stimulus of the trade in policy, the penetration rate of green intelligent products in the home appliance industry has increased. From the results, it can be seen that during the May Day promotion period, the proportion of retail sales of core categories such as air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, as well as energy efficiency and intelligent products in Dajia Electric has significantly increased.

"After years of development, China's home appliances have gone through a stage of development from scratch. Consumers are shifting their focus from pursuing 'whether or not' to paying attention to 'whether or not it is good'. In the future, there is enormous potential for intelligent and green home appliance consumption. In Xu Dongsheng's view, exchanging old for new is not just about replacing new products and models, but also about providing 'new value' to the market and users, such as updated functions, higher energy efficiency, higher aesthetic design, and a better and more intelligent experience.". "We need to help consumers upgrade the functionality and performance of household appliances through the" trade in "initiative, better meeting the people's aspirations for a better life. Therefore," trade in "will still be one of the main themes for the long-term development of China's household appliance market," said Xu Dongsheng.

The initial results are showing, and further efforts are needed

The latest data from the Ministry of Commerce shows that China's home appliance sales increased by 9.3% year-on-year in April, an increase of 2.3 percentage points compared to March. The effect of the policy of exchanging old for new household appliances has initially become apparent.

And this is just the beginning. At present, China's home appliance market has entered an era of equal emphasis on both increment and stock from the "incremental era".

"At present, the total number of major categories of household appliances in China has exceeded 3 billion units, and the recycling of waste household appliances and furniture in the country has increased by 20% annually. At this time, launching the" trade in "action is a rare opportunity for both the household appliance industry and the recycling industry of renewable resources." The person in charge of Gree Electric Appliances said.

In the eyes of industry insiders, the service life of household appliances is generally 8 to 10 years. Currently, the stock of household appliances in society is entering a new peak of scrapping, and there is a great demand and potential for replacement. According to relevant calculations, after the launch of a new round of home appliance trade in, the stock conversion increment mainly based on trade in is expected to exceed 50% in the next 3 to 5 years, creating a consumption market space of billions of yuan.
However, in order to turn the "beauty" of exchanging old appliances for new ones into a "reality", it is necessary to further improve the recycling system of recycled resources such as waste appliances, break through bottlenecks, and provide consumers with tangible convenience and benefits.

In order to find a "good destination" for more waste household appliances, He Haifeng suggests linking the subsidy for exchanging old for new machines with the compliance disposal of old machines, tracing the entire process of the whereabouts of old machines, and achieving a full chain closed-loop after the dismantling factory returns the dismantling certificate.

"Distribution channel merchants have the advantage of being close to consumers. Enterprises can take away old appliances while selling new ones, which is the lowest cost and most efficient way of recycling." Xu Dongsheng believes that to solve the "last mile" recycling problem, on the one hand, it is necessary to strongly encourage home appliance sellers to actively participate in the recycling process; On the other hand, it is necessary to clarify the respective responsibilities of producers, sellers, consumers, and recyclers. In addition, the punishment for illegal dismantling should be increased, and consumers should be encouraged to choose formal recycling channels. At the same time, more support should be provided for the recycling of waste household appliances, such as storage sites.

The person in charge of Gree Electric deeply agrees with this. "Currently, the demand for consumers to trade in old appliances has significantly increased, and the second-hand home appliance market is gradually expanding. However, personal private dismantling is very common. The person in charge stated that the cost of private dismantling is low, the entry threshold is low, it is easy to pollute the environment, and it can also lead to ineffective recycling and reuse of waste home appliances.". Faced with the current situation of recycling and dismantling waste household appliances, enterprises should actively practice producer responsibility, effectively monitor the whereabouts of waste household appliances, and try their best to reduce the outflow of waste household appliances; The government should also strengthen regulatory efforts, increase punishment for individuals or enterprises who pollute the environment and engage in violent dismantling, and jointly build a green and environmentally friendly industry and social environment.