BEIJING: Impacted by the coronavirus, sales of traditional household appliances have all dropped in the first two quarters of this year, while smart home devices like contactless smart gadgets and products with the function of sterilization and disinfection become the black swan in the market.
During the national online shopping festival on June 8, the retail sale of smart home devices tops the second.
Among the devices, sales of smart washers with sterilization functions increased more than 600 percent compared with that of 2019; sales of a smart towel rack with sterilizing and heating functions increased more than five times and smart switch sales increased by 107.8 percent year on year.
Other contactless home appliances like smart sweepers, smart lamps and wireless speakers have also become broadly popular among consumers as they shift their spending priorities from other areas like vacations, travel, and eating out.
“With the development of science and technology, people’s demands on the quality of life are increasing, which is driving the rapid development of the home furnishing industry. This year’s outbreak of coronavirus confined many people at home, making many of them pay more attention to their living environment. That’s the reason behind the boom,” said Chen Yongjie, media manager of Xinsheng Electronics, a Shanghai-based company.
He added that sales of household appliances in his company, such as smart kitchen ventilators, smart dishwashers, sweepers and smart toilets, have all increased significantly. According to iiMedia Research, China’s smart home market has been growing rapidly in recent years. The market reached 153 billion yuan in 2019 and impacted by the coronavirus in 2020, though the growth rate decreased, the market is still resilient.
–The Daily Mail-CGTN exchange item
