Among cleaning appliances, floor washing machines are undoubtedly the most eye-catching category in recent years. With the rapid rise of floor washing machines and the entry of more and more brands, the atmosphere of "price war" for floor washing machines is getting stronger and stronger. According to the data of Ovi Cloud, the online and offline average prices of floor washing machines in the first quarter of 2024 are in a downward trend, and the trend of industry reshuffle is increasing. At the moment of increasingly fierce competition, How do enterprises view technological innovation and market trends?
The "price war" started last year, and the average price decline is due to various factors
"The floor washing machine has entered the price war since last year, and now the floor washing machine is going through the process of shuffling, which is what every household appliance category will experience," an analyst from Ovi Cloud (AVC) told the reporter of China Household Appliance Network. Data shows that in the first quarter of 2024, the retail sales of floor washing machines will be 2.78 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 23.4%, and the sales volume will be 1.244 million units, with a year-on-year growth of 50.1%. Behind the modest growth, the "price war" of land washing machines is becoming more and more intense. In the first quarter of 2024, the online average price of land washing machines will be 2092 yuan, down 19.5% year on year, and the offline average price will be 3084 yuan, down 7.3% year on year.
In view of the sharp decline in the average price of floor washing machines this year, the relevant person in charge of Tianke brand said, "With the gradual maturity of the market for floor washing machines, more and more brands have poured into this category, which has indeed led to intensified price competition in the industry. This price adjustment more reflects the positive response of market participants to consumer demand and the gradual maturity of the industry."
In addition, the price war also reflects the decline of product costs from another aspect. The relevant person in charge of Yunjing said to the reporter of China Home Appliance Network, "With the continuous improvement of the technical maturity and market awareness of the floor washer, as well as the continuous improvement of the supply chain and channel construction, enterprises can more effectively control costs, so it is normal for the average price of products to fall back."
Observing other categories such as television, air conditioning, etc., the "price war" once had a profound impact on the industry. For the current trend of "average price decline" of floor washing machines, as the above enterprises said, as an emerging category of floor washing machines, the industry is now becoming more mature. With the decline of the industrial chain and cost, the corresponding decline in product prices has also occurred. At the same time, fierce competition is also increasing the speed of shuffling. In general, the "price war" of the current floor washer is very different from the vicious price competition in the past.
However, many enterprises are also avoiding the possible signs of vicious competition in the industry. The relevant head of the brand of Tianke said, "We have never been blindly involved in the so-called 'cost war' and 'price war'. Tianke always sticks to its original intention, is committed to leading the development of the entire industry through technological innovation, and establishes high standards in the industry."
New product innovation focuses on fine polishing. How can enterprises create a "blue ocean" in the "red ocean"?
Enterprises not only focus on the "roll" price, but also on the "roll" technology. Since the beginning of the year, many enterprises have launched new products of floor washing machines. In February and April this year, Tianke launched Fuwan Station Pro intelligent floor washing machine and Fuwan Stretch Mix intelligent floor washing machine respectively. These two new products have made innovations in terms of self-cleaning ability and one machine with multiple functions, The Fuwan Station Pro intelligent floor washer has an 8-in-1 space station that can automatically enter and exit the water, and can also realize 2-minute hot water thorough washing and roller brushing, 5-minute full chain quick drying, and 70 ℃ high temperature sealed sterilization. Fuwan Stretch Mix intelligent floor washing machine can be combined into a flat floor washing machine, a ground vacuum cleaner, a gap vacuum cleaner, a 2-in-1 combined suction and a mattress acarid suction according to different cleaning scenarios, so as to achieve one machine with five functions, which is more versatile.
On April 24, Yunjing also launched its annual flagship floor washer S2. Compared with the S1 Max launched in October last year, Yunjing S2 new product is equipped with 20000 Pa top suction, and the Max powerful recycling system 2.0 is upgraded at the same time. One click startup can instantly stimulate 5 times the cleaning power; Innovate hair 0 winding to achieve 100% barrier hair without omission; The roller brush has upgraded the three welt design to solve the corner cleaning problem; As well as pasteurized self-cleaning, hot ironing and roller brushing at 65 ° C, the sterilization rate reaches 99.9%.
On May 15, Pursuit Technology held the "Full Choice" new product launch conference, releasing two series of six new heavy weight products at one go. The new product of the floor washer launched this time is equipped with many innovative technologies, including "active zero wool wrapping system", "100 ° C boiling water self-cleaning", "five minute soft tone constant temperature drying" and so on.
Observing the new products released by enterprises this year, we can see that the innovation of new products mainly focuses on experience upgrading such as self-cleaning, hair winding, corner cleaning, etc. For the current new product technology of floor washing machines, analysts from Ovi Cloud (AVC) said frankly that, "At present, we do not see disruptive technological innovation, but more focus on the fine polishing of existing products to solve the various pain points of consumers in the use process, so that the floor washer products can be used more easily."
In view of the future technological innovation direction of the floor washing machine, Yunjing's relevant person in charge said that "the new technological innovation mainly focuses on two major sectors, one is focusing on the refinement of cleaning to make cleaning more comprehensive; the other is to improve the self-cleaning degree of the machine and avoid excessive participation of people as much as possible."
The relevant person in charge of Tianke brand said, "In the future, the technical innovation direction of the floor washer will pay more attention to the application of AI technology, develop more subdivision functions, and Tianke will focus more on the implicit needs of users. Only by starting from the actual use scenarios of users and using new technologies to solve users' 'old problems' can it create a blue ocean in the' red ocean '."
During the interview, many enterprises said that the market demand for floor washing machines will also grow with the increasing demand of consumers for household cleaning. At present, the penetration rate of floor washing machines is low, and there is still a large potential consumption demand space in the market. However, we need to face up to the fact that only those enterprises with core technology and innovation ability can survive in the fierce competition, The core of the enterprise is to finally return to the product, polish the product, improve the supply chain capacity, and make profits, rather than burning money to fight price wars.
