Winter Warm Economy | Can Heating Appliances Become a Fire in the Small Home Appliance Market in Winter

In the just concluded 2023 Double Eleven, the year-on-year decline in both retail sales and retail volume of small household appliances reached double digits.

However, the recent cold wave has boosted the sales of heating appliances such as electric heaters. Can it become a "flame" in the small home appliance market in winter?

Electric heaters are hot selling in winter

The decrease in temperature has an immediate effect on stimulating the sales of heating appliances.

According to data provided by AVC to First Financial reporters on November 29, its online monitoring data shows that the retail sales of domestic electric heaters in the online market decreased by 49.2% year-on-year from January to October 2023; The promotion period for Double Eleven saw a year-on-year decrease of 26.1%, with a narrower decline; In the 46th week (November 6-12), retail sales increased by 19.54% year-on-year; In the 47th week (November 13-19), retail sales increased by 53.86% year-on-year.

According to monitoring data from GfK, from September to October 2023, the online retail sales of electric heaters in China reached 470.1 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 42.4%, and the retail sales exceeded 1.2 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 52.4%. Since the beginning of autumn, the domestic electric heater market has experienced a significant decline, mainly due to the relatively late weather this year, which has affected the electric heater market due to climate change.

"With the increasing demand for warmth from users, the heating market is becoming more diverse and segmented." According to the person in charge of Suning.com, since November, heating appliances represented by baseboards, heating tables, and heating boards have seen hot sales, with sales of heating tables increasing by 63.5% year-on-year.

Heating coasters, heated desk mats, and heaters provide comprehensive warmth for urban white-collar workers at home and in the office, becoming a winter office set. "Heating consumption also shows obvious regional characteristics. The Southwest region prefers heating tables that integrate household appliances and home functions, while the East China region prefers small and lightweight heating boards," said the person in charge of Suning.com.

According to data from Suning.com, driven by the impact of cold waves and cooling weather, as well as the demand for high-quality home appliances, the demand for electricity in the heating category during the Double Eleven holiday this year has grown rapidly, with sales of central heating and central water heaters increasing by 115% and 123% year-on-year, respectively. At the same time, electric hot pot, baseboard, and central air conditioning have become the new "warm winter three piece set".

With the changing needs of users, the products of heating appliances are also upgrading towards intelligence and other directions. During this year's National Day holiday, Midea's sales revenue of small appliances for heating increased by nearly 300% year-on-year. The new product of Midea's intelligent voice heater has a single product sales revenue of over 25 million yuan, and the daily sales revenue of a single live broadcast room has exceeded 10 million yuan, focusing on high-power and shaking head heating.

"At present, Gree's electric heaters are selling well on various platforms," a person related to Gree Electric told a reporter from First Financial on the 29th. According to data from Aowei, Gree's domestic online retail sales of heaters remain among the top two in the industry. Currently, consumers pay more attention to safety, heating efficiency, comfort, convenience, health, intelligence, and other factors when choosing heating equipment. Gree has launched a new series of graphene electric heaters this year, including electric oil heaters, heaters, baseboards, electric heating films, etc. It has also launched heaters with offline voice function.

How to do big business

Because the area south of the Yangtze River