How can domestic small household appliances enterprises take advantage of the situation and speed up their journey to the sea when opening the "explosive order" mode overseas?
In recent years, in terms of household consumption, all kinds of smart small appliances have become popular against the trend - air fryers that can see changes in food cooking, sweeping robots that can free their hands when sweeping, and coffee machines that can also experience sophisticated "slow life" at home... From kitchen to home, to life care, they have changed our lives in all aspects.
Not only is it widely popular in the domestic market, but also small household appliances are favored by overseas consumers. Domestic small household appliance export enterprises are opening the "explosive order" mode. According to customs data, the export of small household appliances in China will grow by more than 600% in 2024; Recently, a cross-border export platform announced six major trends in the shipment of domestic products in the second half of 2024, among which the shipment of domestic smart small appliances increased by 150% in the third quarter. Why do small household appliances perform well on the way to sea? How should small household appliances enterprises take advantage of the situation and speed up their sailing?
According to the research report recently released by the China Household Appliances Association, from January to July this year, among the many household appliances exported to Europe, the electric blanket has a 97% growth rate, which is far higher than other categories; The demand of Greece, Italy, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands and other countries has doubled.
Data shows that the market size of domestic small household appliances has increased from 62 billion yuan in 2016 to 155.7 billion yuan in 2024, but the growth rate has slowed down in the past two years, especially in 2023. Since then, domestic small household appliance enterprises have collectively promoted their own brands to explore their way overseas, and different from the previous OEM or OEM models, some small household appliance enterprises with their own brands based overseas have increased their investment in brand construction in recent two years to improve their global popularity through marketing and promotion.
Ding Shaojiang, an analyst in the household appliance industry, said: "There are many small appliance manufacturers in China, and we have long been OEM (original manufacturer/OEM) or ODM (original design manufacturer/OEM) Model oriented, relatively few independent brands, and relatively weak competitiveness. In recent years, the consumption environment, consumption concept and consumption scene have changed. The small household appliance market has a trend of phased outbreak. The overseas market has become an important breakthrough for domestic small household appliance enterprises to break through the development."
Zhang Zixian, the American overseas warehouse market manager of a logistics enterprise, observed that in recent years, the domestic products that overseas people prefer are changing from the previous large furniture to the small household appliances in recent two years. According to the different uses of the products, they can be subdivided into small kitchen appliances, small household appliances and small personal care appliances. They generally have the advantages of low unit price, small size, high face value, etc. Social media platforms also make these small household appliances popular in the "grass economy".
Zhang Zixian said: "A sweeping robot and a mopping machine are two products that have performed particularly well in the process of carrying goods when we were doing overseas warehouse in the past two years. The order volume in North America market is thousands of orders every day. This year, some kitchen supplies and sweeping robots for outdoor swimming pool cleaning are also selling very well. This product has a higher repurchase rate and dissemination."
Pan Lin, an expert in home appliance industry operation of a cross-border export platform, told the reporter that in recent years, not only a number of internationally renowned "Made in China" have emerged in the field of clean home appliances, but also many "domestic products" in other subdivisions of small home appliances have opened up the European and American markets.
Pan Lin said: "For example, domestic intelligent coffee machines, 80% of the world's household coffee machines are produced in China; for example, electric toothbrushes, and laser hair removal devices, there are already many brands made in China, which have opened up a very large international reputation. In some national markets, such as France and Poland, the market share in the vertical field can enter Top 5."
In recent two years, small household appliance enterprises have incorporated their own brand building into their corporate strategies, relying on cross-border e-commerce export platforms to improve brand influence.
Pan Lin said: "Between the platform and small household appliance enterprises, there is a service relationship that enables and helps these domestic brands to better go to sea. First, these brands can obtain consumer groups in more than 200 countries on the platform. Facing consumer groups directly can help brands extend from breaking through the production and manufacturing links, to further extending to product R&D, design, brand marketing and other links, so as to obtain higher product added value. At the same time, we also follow the enterprises Do some joint brand marketing to help them build better brand influence; In addition, the platform has market feedback from many countries, and also has the incubation function of new market development for brand launching. "
As enterprises enter a new environment when developing overseas supply chains and face greater uncertainty, some small household appliance enterprises are also actively deploying overseas warehouses.
Zhang Zixian said: "The sellers are more concerned about ensuring stable supply chain services, and the other is the refined cost. They put the goods in overseas warehouses and deliver them to consumers' homes within two or three days after they place an order. The consumers are more concerned about that if there is an overseas warehouse, they will provide high-quality service guarantee in terms of home delivery and return of local small household appliances."
In the opinion of Liang Zhenpeng, an analyst in the household appliance industry, the establishment of a cross-border e-commerce operation system abroad, especially the use of overseas warehouses provided by cross-border e-commerce platforms, can effectively cope with the impact of uncertain factors such as epidemics on international logistics, improve the enterprise's ability to deliver regional orders, and further expand sales channels and improve regional after-sales services.
Liang Zhenpeng said: "Chinese small appliance enterprises can first export small appliance products to overseas warehouses according to the needs of overseas markets, and then directly deliver goods from overseas warehouses to overseas consumers after trading through cross-border e-commerce platforms. This cross-border e-commerce export overseas warehouse model has some characteristics, such as lower logistics costs, faster delivery time, easier after-sales service, etc., which helps Chinese small appliance enterprises expand overseas markets. "
However, although domestic small household appliance brands have gone overseas collectively, they are still at the primary stage of developing the international market with their own brands. The situation that some domestic small household appliance enterprises rely on OEM for a long time for export sales also needs to be further improved. Major General Ding, an analyst in the household appliance industry, said that there is still a long way to go for domestic small household appliances to continue to develop in the international market, and it is a more sustainable choice to "ship to sea".
Ding Shaojiang said: "At the beginning, many of our enterprises only entrusted or signed an authorization to find several agents in overseas markets, but this was just selling goods, not really facing consumers and the market. China has a very good industrial innovation foundation for small household appliances, and the technology and supply chain are very perfect. In fact, we have a lot of innovation capabilities. Based on the insight of international and local consumer demand, in the new consumer environment and economic environment, we can Create more small household appliances suitable for local needs. We need to have a 'long-term' spirit overseas. Enterprises should really take their own brands as a strategy that requires long-term investment and persistence, not just for the sake of short-term financial data. Because overseas, especially in European and American markets, consumers actually recognize brands very much. Once they recognize brands, it is difficult to change their brand consumption habits. Chinese enterprises have no problems in product innovation, and can even lead the world. At this time, we can take advantage of a new category and take advantage of the opportunity of popularization or increasing penetration to achieve the upward leap in product technology and brand, rather than just becoming a OEM base for foreign brands."
