Exquisite Washing, Care, And Baking Are Gradually Becoming A Trend. Is Zone Washing Still in Its Dividend Period?

In the current clothing washing and care machine industry, many market data indicate that exquisite "washing, drying, and care" is becoming an important trend in the industry's development. In the market, there are countless products that meet the needs of efficient washing, healthy washing, drying, and fine maintenance of clothes. "Partition washing", as one of the longer established sub categories, was once seen as a new trend in the next stage of competition in the washing and care market due to its ability to meet the needs of users to wash different clothes separately, avoid cross infection and waste from multiple washes. However, even though the "zone washing" market has been developing for nearly a decade, it still remains a niche category in the washing and care industry. Moreover, compared to the strong rise of categories such as washing and drying sets, the market volume of "zone washing" products seems to have weakened.
Is the market going silent?
From the perspective of capacity structure, the space for partitioned washing and care has not yet been fully opened. In a recent interview and research on the clothing washing and care market by China Home Appliance Network, multiple washing machine companies reported this industry phenomenon to reporters.
The "zone washing" washing machine was first launched by Casarte in 2015, with a patented design of "one machine with two rollers", creating new market demand. In the following years, with the entry of brands such as Midea, TCL, Panasonic, LG, Skyworth, etc., and the joint promotion of demand and brand, the regional washing market achieved relatively rapid growth. According to data from GfK Zhongyikang, from 2015 to 2021, the retail volume of the online and offline markets for regional washing increased from 7000 units to 147000 units year by year, with a compound annual growth rate of 54.5%. However, by 2022, the retail volume of this category showed signs of decline for the first time, with a specific year-on-year decline of 4.8% to 140000 units.
In 2023, after the epidemic was lifted, consumption in various industries gradually rebounded. However, according to data from the regional washing market, the online and offline retail volume of this category from January to August this year was about 104000 units, and the trend of recovery was not obvious. The reporter also searched for relevant information and information platforms, such as searching on Baidu's information column using the keyword "zone washing" in chronological order. In the past one or two years, there have been about 20 articles related to "zone washing", mostly product promotion articles of two or three brands, or articles containing the word "zone washing" in individual washing machine reports. In the Baidu index, there are even no keywords related to "partition washing" or "classification washing" included. "Although there has been significant growth in partition washing products in the past few years, from the perspective of the main track of the entire Chinese washing industry, it still belongs to the niche category," a person in the white electricity industry told a reporter from China Home Appliance Network.
According to industry analysis, the decline in attention to the partitioned washing market and even retail sales is also related to the rapid growth of washing and drying sets. "The housing area of Chinese households is generally small, and the specific zoning of washing machines and washing and drying sets are relatively similar in product form, mostly combining upper and lower dual cylinders, making it inevitable for users to have choices when using them," an insider from a washing machine company analyzed to reporters. Nowadays, in terms of how to occupy the minimum space area, some companies have already reached the limit of the proportion of cylinders in the inner cavity of washing machine products. After all, partition washing requires an additional washing area, and it is impossible to achieve the same size as ordinary washing machines. It is obviously not realistic to stack a dryer integrated partition washing and drying set on top of this foundation. So in terms of product selection, compared to washing and drying sets, they can both wash clothes and finely "dry and protect" clothes, catering to a wider range of users; The zoning washing machine focuses on the needs of "classified healthy washing", targeting more special users such as the elderly and children at home, with a narrower audience and naturally more difficult to popularize.
In addition, from the perspective of the products themselves, the emergence of some "pseudo concept" products has also had a certain impact on the greater popularity of the market, such as the partition washing machines launched by some companies that claim to be "versatile and multi cylinder switching". "Similar to a 'laundry basket', different clothes can be washed with different 'cylinders'. According to insiders of washing machine companies, this type of product belongs to the concept of' pseudo zone washing '.". "Because in reality, an outer tube was still used and the washing was not truly separated, there is still a problem of cross infection, and consumers' user experience is not good, which has a negative impact on the product's further expansion."
So, does this mean that the partitioned washing market has lost its vitality and potential, and will enter a "continuous decline" channel from then on?
That's not the case either.
Diversified and advanced forms
In the interview and research conducted by China Home Appliance Network, whether industry analysts or brand leaders, they do not believe that the future development of zone washing products has lost its growth momentum. It is just that the market space for this category has not yet been fully opened at this stage. In fact, from the development trend of the market size of partitioned washing products, the expansion of its online mainstream market is still accelerating. According to data from GfK Zhongyikang, from January to August this year, the online retail sales of regional washing products reached 360 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 61.9%, with a retail volume of 59000 units, a year-on-year increase of 111.9%.
Compared to the severe shortage of market supply and insufficient selection of SKU models before 2018, the partitioned washing market has gone through a starting and developing period. Currently, we believe that the supply of the entire market is relatively sufficient. Especially in the online market, in the past two years, with more second and third tier brands entering the market, competition has intensified, and the average price of partitioned washing products has also rapidly decreased. For example, some brands of partitioned washing machines can reach a price of 3999 yuan at the promotional stage, which should be said to have entered the main consumption range. According to Wang Hongji, the general manager of the Yikang White Electric Business Unit at GfK, the average price of products in the online market has declined, and consumers have more brands and product space to choose from, which has also prompted partitioned washing products to enter the market. Accelerated popularization period.
In addition to the sharp tool of "average price decline", in the current situation of high-quality development in the washing and care industry, how to further expand the capacity of partitioned washing products with the trend of "exquisite washing, drying and protection"? As mentioned by insiders of washing machine enterprises to reporters earlier, functional integration is a major direction. "Nowadays, partition washing products can achieve the integration of washing and drying in one single cylinder. If we can further solve the problem of independent 'drying' in technology and balance the integration design of partition washing and drying machines in the future, one-stop diversification can meet the pain points of users' 'healthy washing' and 'fine drying protection', which may promote the next round of explosive growth in the market," said an insider of the washing machine enterprise.
Fu Liyao, a senior analyst at GfK Home Appliances Business Unit, also believes that driven by the high-quality development of the washing and care industry, consumers are no longer just pursuing different types of clothing for separate and classified washing. Instead, they hope that a washing machine can not only meet most of the household's washing and care needs, but also take into account the aesthetic appearance. "At present, partition washing products have been upgraded from the past 'healthy partition washing' to 'partition washing and care'. The corresponding enterprise's product innovation not only has washing and drying functions, but also integrates washing and care programs for different people's needs and types of clothing, as well as air washing, high-temperature steam and water free care for high-end clothing materials," said Fu Liyao. In addition, in terms of appearance, partition washing products are limited in their form and installation, which is also a major obstacle for some consumers when purchasing products. Therefore, in order to change the current situation and better meet consumer home needs, ultra-thin flat inlay is also one of the main development directions of partition washing products.
Of course, if we further expand the concept of "zone washing", not limited to the current inherent definition of upper and lower double drum, upper and lower drum, upper and lower drum, left and right wave wheel type zone washing machines, we will find that zone washing products such as mini underwear/pants washing, mother and baby washing, pet washing machines, etc. can be extended to more diverse directions. "Considering the current relative downturn in the real estate industry and the newly installed housing market, it is worth exploring whether consumers will choose a 2in1 solution to achieve classification," said Dan Lingxuan, Deputy General Manager of TCL Industry's White House Appliance Business Unit, to a reporter from China Home Appliance Network. As he said, compared to developed countries such as Europe and America, where the penetration rate of washing machines is much higher than 100% and basically reaches around 120% in the market, most consumers have the habit of "classified washing". The current market growth of desktop/wall mounted mini washing machines in China is also very rapid, especially in the market below 1kg. Therefore, using a "second washing machine" to achieve zone washing is more likely to become a trend direction. "From the current perspective, the installation scenarios for more consumers' washing machines at home are relatively fixed. Due to the pre designed installation location, it may not be possible to replace a 2-inch non-standard 850mm high partition washing machine product. Therefore, a standard 24" drum+a mini desktop or wall mounted model may become a product combination that can achieve higher penetration. "