Can Washing Machines With Good Sales in 2023 Continue To Maintain Good Sales in 2024?

In the beginning of 2024, washing machines continued the trend of "simultaneous increase in production and sales" in 2023. From the domestic and foreign sales data of the first two months, it can be seen that the export of washing machines has achieved sustained growth, and domestic sales are also steadily recovering. Faced with the still uncertain year of 2024, can the mature washing machine industry continue to ride the wind and create new glory?
Riding the wind and going out to sea, the export growth momentum is astonishing
According to industry online data, in 2023, the output of China's household washing machine industry was 79.958 million units, a year-on-year increase of 16.4%; The sales volume was 80.45 million units, a year-on-year increase of 16.9%.
What's even more amazing is that in 2023, China's washing machine exports achieved a significant growth of over 38%, ranking first among the three major white electricity companies in terms of year-on-year growth rate. According to data provided by the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, the export volume of washing machines in China was 36.44 million units in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 38.7%; The export value was 5 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 18.8%.
Riding on the rapid recovery of the European and American markets, washing machines achieved impressive export results in 2023, with quarterly year-on-year growth rates of 18%, 52%, 44%, and 38%, respectively. Panasonic officials believe that the significant growth in washing machine exports in 2023 is the result of multiple factors working together. One is that inventory in foreign markets has decreased, consumer demand has rebounded, and there is a demand for inventory replenishment; Secondly, the depreciation of the RMB has led to an increase in foreign manufacturing costs and a decrease in import costs, which has promoted the growth of China's washing machine exports; Thirdly, the competition in the domestic washing machine market is intensifying, and more enterprises are actively going out to promote export growth; Fourth, the demand along the "the Belt and Road" has increased and the market has further expanded. In addition, the decline in shipping prices has further reduced the cost of exported products.
Overall, the price advantage of Chinese products and the rebound in demand in the European and American markets have provided strong support for the explosive growth of Chinese washing machine exports in 2023, both on the supply and demand sides.
In the beginning of 2024, the export of washing machines will continue the high growth trend of 2023. Industry online data shows that in January 2024, the export volume of washing machines in China was 3.462 million units, a year-on-year increase of 25.6%. But with the gradual release of the backlog of demand in the early stage, it is not yet known whether the export of washing machines can continue to rise like in 2023. At the same time, the European and American markets that rely heavily on in 2023 are affected by long-term inflation, and there is a widespread phenomenon of consumption downgrading. The impressive export performance in 2023 largely benefited from the higher cost-effectiveness of Chinese washing machine products. However, for highly popular products such as washing machines, exporting low-priced products alone is not a long-term solution. Increasing the average export price, adjusting product structure, and expanding into the mid to high end market are more beneficial to the long-term development of the industry. Leading enterprises have taken the lead in making layouts. According to a reporter from Electric Appliances, in 2023, more than 90% of Haier's washing machine products exported to Europe were energy-saving series products with A-level energy consumption or above.
Stepping on the waves, domestic sales steadily recover
In the Chinese home appliance market, the washing and care industry represented by washing machines and dryers has also achieved a leading growth rate. According to AVC's overall data, in 2023, the omni channel retail sales of washing machines in China reached 40.05 million units, a year-on-year increase of 3.4%, and the retail sales reached 93.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.8%; The omni channel retail sales of dryers reached 2.17 million units, a year-on-year increase of 16.4%, and the retail sales reached 12.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 23.8%.
However, the leading growth rate comes more from the relatively low domestic sales scale and dryer scale base in 2022. In interviews, mainstream companies generally stated that they achieved sales growth in 2023, but the overall domestic washing machine market can only be considered as a recovery growth, and a true recovery will take time.
Excitingly, the domestic washing machine market will have a good start in 2024. The Fourth Meeting of the Central Committee of Finance and Economics emphasized that accelerating product updates and replacements is an important measure to promote high-quality development. It is necessary to encourage and guide a new round of large-scale equipment updates and consumer goods trade in. For highly mature products like washing machines, exchanging old for new will be a long-term issue and main driving force for future market development. The decision and deployment of exchanging old for new at the national level is undoubtedly important positive news. Since the beginning of the year, consumption promotion activities represented by the 2024 National Consumption Promotion Month have been gradually implemented.
Intelligent consumption, green consumption, and healthy consumption are recent hotspots in the Chinese consumer market, and are also important directions guided by consumption promotion policies. In 2024, the washing machine industry is ready on the supply side. Taking intelligent consumption as an example, intelligent technologies such as washing and drying linkage, washing and drying linkage, automatic dispensing, clothing recognition, and voice control are being applied in more and more products, and the intelligence level of washing machine products is constantly improving. Taking health consumption as an example, major brands have continued to innovate in health technology in recent years, and health functions have become a standard feature of washing machine products.
Innovate to break through the situation and activate the demand for replacement
Perhaps the time to break the deadlock still needs to wait, but to activate the new market, what is more needed is the patience and ability to break the deadlock, which is the innovation and extension of mature categories, and the satisfaction of user care needs. The reporter from Electrical Appliances found through interviews that the three major needs are worth paying attention to.
One is the demand for upgrades, especially high-end upgrades. Upgrading has always been the core development mainline of washing machines after achieving high maintenance and quantity. The replacement of categories and the increase in capacity were once the directions for upgrading washing machine products, which also drove the scale of the washing machine market to continue to rise. Nowadays, the extension of functions from "washing" to "drying" and "protecting" is the upgrading direction of consumer clothing cleaning needs. The launch of washing and drying sets in 2023 reflects this upgrading trend. So, what kind of growth can "baking" bring to the washing machine industry? According to the domestic sales market data in 2023, the retail sales of washing machines are about 40 million units, while the retail sales of dryers are still at the level of 2 million units. When "drying" is as timely as "washing", the market space that can be released is self-evident, and the industry scale will also double. At the same time, the "protection" for higher end upgrade needs also needs to be laid out in advance. From the current market situation, the competition for exquisite washing and care has already begun.
The second is to segment the demand. Although washing machines are highly mature products, this does not mean there is no room for innovation. With the segmentation of consumer groups and demands, new tracks in the industry have been constantly emerging in recent years, such as mother and baby washing machines, shoe washing machines, underwear washing machines, etc. In 2023, mini washing machine products with a capacity of less than 3kg performed outstandingly, accounting for 6% of the online market. Small capacity products such as underwear washing machines are highly favored by young consumers. However, the development of a new track is not achieved overnight, and it requires companies to conduct detailed research and technological innovation on segmented needs. The shoe washing machine that became popular in 2022 has been somewhat stagnant in the market in 2023, with issues such as product homogenization and poor user experience hindering the development of this new category.
The third is a customized cleansing solution. The popularity of washing and drying sets to some extent indicates that consumers are no longer limited to basic functions for washing machines, and their demand for home clothing washing and care solutions is constantly upgrading. It has become a trend to provide customized overall washing and care solutions for consumers throughout the entire process of household clothing washing and care. It may be an intelligent washing and care scene composed of multiple washing and care devices, a washing and drying set of washing machines and dryers, or a multifunctional washing and drying integrated machine. Under the wave of home appliance integration, this trend may become more apparent.