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New Trends in International Trade! Clean electrical appliances are still in a stage of low popularity and high market attention in the domestic market, while in the foreign market, they are in a stage of development where the popularity of a single category of vacuum cleaners is extremely high but the substitutability is strong. Both domestically and internationally, the clean electrical appliance market has shown significant growth potential and a relatively optimistic market outlook.

With the improvement of the quality of life of urban and rural residents, clean appliances have flourished and become a "star category" in the home appliance industry. In 2022, the sales volume of clean electrical appliances in China reached 27 million units, a year-on-year increase of 12.1%; In 2023, the sales volume of clean electrical appliances market is expected to achieve a growth of about 10%.

This is what the reporter learned from the "2023 China Clean Electrical Appliances Industry Summit Forum" recently held in Shanghai. According to GfK data, from 2012 to 2022, the scale of China's clean electrical appliance market increased from 2.9 billion yuan to 34.8 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate far exceeding the overall market size of the home appliance market. At the same time, clean appliances have also achieved good sales performance in the international trade market, and Chinese independent brands have rapidly risen globally.

It is not accidental that clean appliances have become a highlight in the home appliance market. Jiang Feng, Executive Chairman of the China Home Appliances Association, analyzed that on the one hand, China's home appliance industry has successfully achieved transformation and upgrading driven by technological innovation, continuously developing scientific and technological achievements based on user needs. Many home appliance enterprises have created unique innovative products with their independently developed core technologies; On the other hand, the demand for quality of life among Chinese consumers continues to increase, making it easier to accept new things and technologies, and paying particular attention to the requirements for clean living environments.

He Zhongqing, General Manager of GfK's China Retail Channel Service Division and Home Appliances Division, stated that China's clean electrical appliance product technology innovation has empowered industry growth and achieved a transformation from Made in China to Created in China. As of 2022, the Chinese market has formed a dual engine driven pattern of base station type sweeping robots and washing machines, both of which have a market size exceeding 10 billion yuan.

The industry generally holds optimistic views on the development prospects of the clean electrical appliance industry. Jiang Feng said, "Unlike the high penetration rate of household appliances, clean appliances are still in a stage of low penetration rate and high market attention in the domestic market, while in the international trade market, they are in a stage of development where the single category of vacuum cleaners has a high penetration rate but strong substitutability. It can be said that both in the domestic and international trade markets, the clean appliance market shows significant growth space and the market prospects are relatively optimistic.

At this forum, the Clean Electrical Appliances Professional Committee of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association released the "2023 Clean Electrical Appliances User Consumption and Experience Research Report", which showcases the daily cleaning habits, usage status, and consumption trends of Chinese consumers' households. According to Chen Li, Deputy Secretary General of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, through this user research, it has been found that with the arrival of the electrification stage of home three-dimensional cleaning, only cleaning the ground or hard ground can no longer meet consumer needs.

At present, the rapidly growing clean electrical appliance industry has formed a three-dimensional layout with multiple application scenarios such as floors, fabric, windows, vehicles, and offices. The category has also evolved from the initial "one big and one small" category of only vacuum cleaners and mite removal devices to a product matrix with multiple categories coexisting, such as floor washers, mopping robots, and fabric cleaning machines.

Cleaning scenarios are becoming more complex and diverse, posing higher requirements for the comprehensive cleaning ability of cleaning appliances. Ni Zugen, Chairman of Laike Electric Co., Ltd. and Chairman of the Clean Electrical Appliances Professional Committee of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, stated that clean electrical appliances will enter the "True 3 in 1 era". The future cleaning needs must be able to simultaneously solve the three major cleaning problems of wet floor cleaning, carpet cleaning and vacuum suction, and strong mite removal and vacuum suction for beds and sofas. This will promote the integration of three products: floor scrubbers, handheld/vertical wireless vacuum cleaners, and handheld mite removal machines. This product needs to truly have three functions in one, which can solve the problem of whole house cleaning and provide users with a more convenient, easy, and high cleaning ability user experience

Industry insiders predict that as various cleaning challenges and pain points are discovered, the cleaning appliance industry may also have various sub categories in the future. In the future, in the clean electrical appliance industry, it will further test the brand's rapid response to user needs. The research and development end needs to have both sharp market insights and continuous innovation, "said Huang Heqing, the head of the clean electrical appliance category for BISSELL in the Asia Pacific region.