A few days ago, the "2023-2024 China Household Hot Water Scene Consumption Market" released by Aowei Cloud Network shows that the household hot water market is gradually maturing, and consumers' demand for hot water products is also increasing. In an interview with a reporter from China Consumer Daily, industry experts said that a combination of multiple heat sources is used to meet consumers' hot water needs. According to relevant data from JD.com, electric hot water faucets have sprung up to meet the hot water needs of consumers.
There are pain points in hot water demand
According to data from Aowei Cloud Network, from January to October 2023, the online market sales of electric water heaters decreased by 8% year-on-year23%, sales increased by 2% year-on-year72%;Offline market sales increased by 126%, sales increased by 038%。“The electric water heater industry has entered the stock market, the competition is very fierce, the market recovery is weak, and there is still a certain gap between the growth momentum and the industry's expectations. Xu Dongsheng, vice chairman of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, told the reporter of China Consumer DailyAlthough the overall scale of the market is not performing well, the structural upgrade is relatively obvious, and there is still room for development.
The data shows thatMore than 90% of Chinese households believe that they need to add hot water to their daily lives, and 60% believe that the ideal amount of hot water should be more than four times the current one。And in addition to bathing, daily dishwashing, washing, laundry and other scenes require a lot of hot water, especially in the cold winter season. ** shows that the current demand for hot water among Chinese consumers mainly includes drinking hot water, using hot water and washing hot water, among which the scene of "using hot water" is generally based on washing, washing and bathing, with the improvement of consumer demand, cooking scenes such as washing vegetables and soaking are also related to the scene of hot water.
Jingdong Home Appliances Ice Washing Kitchen and Bathroom Procurement and Sales Brother Hai told reporters that he had used the weekend to visit more than 500 users' homes in more than 20 cities in China, inspect their kitchens and bathrooms on the spot, and understand the real needs and pain points of user groups across the country and at all levels. "Only by really going to the middle of the customers can we listen to their sincere words, understand the users better, and dig out the detailed needs. "In fact, in addition to bathing, there are many scenes that use hot water in the family, such as daily washing, hand washing, washing vegetables and dishes, etc., all of which require a lot of hot water, especially in winter." ”
Uncle Zhang, a consumer in Beijing, told reporters: "My gas water heater is installed in the kitchen, and every time the bathroom needs hot water, a large basin of cold water must be released to wait until it is hot." Because I am reluctant to waste water, I wash and wash my hands most of the time, and use cold water directly, so every winter, my hands will crack a lot and hurt. ”
Make up for the hot water demand of household segmentation scenarios
More cost-effective
Haige said that at present, it is difficult for a single gas water heater or electric water heater to meet the user's demand for hot water in the whole house. On the one hand, there is still a dead end in the supply of hot water demand from large households, and at the same time, although there are new products in the electric water heater market and the product structure is constantly upgraded, not every family has the conditions to replace hot water equipment.
At this stage, in terms of meeting the hot water needs of families in multiple scenarios, such as gas water heaters, more advocates the concept of "zero cold water", and most mainstream water heater companies have achieved fruitful technological and product innovation in this regard. However, from the perspective of some related enterprises and industry analysts, the "zero cold water" of gas water heaters is mainly realized through the built-in circulating pump and the circulating heating of pipeline hot water, which inevitably causes the problem of high gas use cost. Therefore, when the electric water heater industry carries out the product layout of "multiple hot water points", it proposes another solution - heating at the end of the water outlet, and small kitchen treasures, electric hot water faucets, etc. are the products presented under the idea of heating at the end of the water outlet.
Double 11" Jingdong procurement and sales live broadcast room electric hot water faucets are selling well.
The electric hot water faucet can be understood as a two-in-one product of small kitchen treasure and ordinary faucet. It has a heating element built into the pipes of the faucet, and when the water is electrified, hot water is immediately dispensed. The water is heated in the process of flowing out, which eliminates the link of preheating and hot water storage in advance, and saves the electricity consumed in the process of hot water storage and heat preservationThere is no need to drain the cold water in the pipeline during the hot water connection, and the overall use saves electricity and water。It is estimated that the current domestic market volume of electric hot water faucets has reached about 10 million units, but the reporter's investigation found that the current market of this category is mainly participated in by small and medium-sized enterprises, which is basically in a low-price, low-quality embarrassmentIf the industry wants to develop in a truly healthy and standardized manner, it needs to improve its quality and upgrade.
In this regard, as the main circulation channel of electric hot water faucets, e-commerce platforms have gradually become the most critical gateway for product quality assurance. According to the real needs and pain points collected from visiting hundreds of user households, Haige put forward a requirement to the manufacturer in reverse: guide the body material of the main electric hot water faucetUpgraded from plastic to stainless steelIt strengthens the compression and wear resistance, delays the service life of the product, and also increases the feel of the user and the grade of the product; willThe normal plug is upgraded to a leakage protection plugto set up an extra line of security for users; Promote the large area of medium and first-class productsAdd inverter thermostat functionThe water adjustment constant temperature button is added under the super-large temperature digital display of the fuselage, so that the elderly can see clearly and operate conveniently, so that the child's delicate skin can avoid being burned; Strict control of costs, so that consumers can spend one or two hundred yuan to buy high-quality electric water faucets.
Xu Dongsheng, vice chairman of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, believes that the current development prospects of electric hot water faucets are worth looking forward to, but the premise is that enterprises need to have a more accurate grasp of the existing consumption pain points and the water consumption in different seasons of the regional market when carrying out product layout, and insist on controlling the quality of products.
In Haige's view, the electric hot water faucet is more cost-effective, basically suitable for all users with terminal hot water needs, in line with the purchasing power of the vast majority of consumers. "Even if we don't make money, we will increase our efforts to promote it, so that every Chinese family, whether in rural or urban areas, can use hot water at a lower cost," Hai said. ”
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* China Consumer Daily, China Consumer Network.
Reporter Sang Xueqi.
Edited by Li Xiaoyu.
Producer: He Yongpeng, Ren Zhenyu.