The Spring Festival can be said to be a time node that major appliance manufacturers must compete for, and 2022 is no exception. At present, major appliance manufacturers have opened or are opening the New Year Goods Festival. The author found on Weibo that there is a brand that borrowed the Spring Festival point for two consecutive years, and through the innovation of user experience, it has attracted a lot of "tap water".
The image comes from a screenshot on Weibo
When the author searches for "cloud whale" on social media platforms such as Weibo and Xiaohongshu, there will be a lot of content about cloud whale "killer whale dress-up", which is originally published by users. According to the author's understanding, Cloud Whale sent an original set of original Year of the Tiger fuselage stickers to all users express at the end of the year, and this is already the second year's "New Year Whale Joy". The user content mentions that the "first whale joy in 2022" is given by the cloud whale; the first annual taste is given by the cloud whale, the first ritual sense of the new year is given by the cloud whale, and even the user "From last year to now, there have been surprises sent by the cloud whale, worrying about the boss will lose." This inevitably makes people wonder, what exactly did the cloud whale do?
Under the opportunity of consumption upgrading, many cleaning electrical appliance companies are not only striving to innovate products, but also want to pass on corporate culture and user care to users through their own ways. How to enhance the value of products and attract consumers' attention and recognition has become a new issue for many manufacturers of cleaning small household appliances.
Domestic products catch up with foreign brands, and independent brands are indispensable
Ten years ago, the foreign brands led by Albert in the domestic sweeping robot market came out of the limelight. Ten years later, in the case of foreign brands such as Ai Robert occupying the market opportunity, domestic sweeping robot brands have regained the dominance of China's sweeping robot market through advantages such as technology, products and services.
According to the data of Aowei Cloud Network, during the double 11 period in 2021, the overall sales of clean electrical appliances were 5.53 billion yuan. Among them, the sales of sweeping robots accounted for 45.3% of the cleaning appliance market, an increase of 45% year-on-year. Coworth ranked first in the industry with 47.3% of sales, and Cloud Whale and Stone ranked second and third with 19.1% and 8.2% of sales, respectively. The top three sales of double 11 sweeping robots are all local Chinese brands without exception.
Today, China has become the country's largest production base of sweeping robots, and the sweeping robots sold on the market are mainly from brands such as Coworth, Stone Technology (outsourced OEM) and Yun Whale Intelligence. Among them, the cloud whale intelligent self-cleaning wipe function and sweeping robot base station model, led to the upgrading of the whole industry products, in 2021 cloud whale domestic sales increased by more than 10 times, becoming the second largest sweeping robot enterprise in China after Coworth.
The image comes from a screenshot of an e-commerce product
From the perspective of product sales, many consumers are willing to pay for sweeping robots. Among them, the price advantage of domestic low-end products has gradually weakened, while the sales of high-end products have become stronger, especially in the price segment of more than 3,000 yuan, and the market share has increased by 10.5 percentage points year-on-year, catching up with many foreign brands such as Robert, Dyson, Panasonic, philips and so on.
At present, the domestic sweeping robot market has formed the first ladder camp dominated by Coworth, Cloud Whale Intelligence, Stone, and Albert, and brands such as Chaomi, Haier, Midea, Wow Li and Puppy Electrical Appliances have formed the second camp. Under the leadership of the head brand, domestic cleaning small household appliance manufacturers are surpassing imported brands from many aspects such as brand quantity, product output and product sales, and becoming the mainstream of the market.
According to UBS forecast data, the global and Chinese sweeping robot market size will reach $13 billion and $5 billion respectively in 2025. Compared with Europe and the United States and other countries, the penetration rate of China's sweeping robots is low, and with technological innovation, the future market growth space is broad.
The vast market potential of sweeping robots has attracted home appliance manufacturers, Internet brands and small and medium-sized independent brands to enter this track. As a rising star in the field of intelligent cleaning, the new domestic brand Yun Whale Intelligent has attracted people's attention by virtue of its world-leading self-developed core technology and product strength in the domestic and foreign markets.
In the author's view, the rapid rise in market share shows that while consumers recognize China's clean small household appliance brand products, it also further emphasizes the improvement of the product strength of its own brand sweeping robot, and also means that China's cleaning small household appliance brands need to do more and more. It is not only necessary for entrants to do a good job in products, but also need to work hard in terms of product experience and user care to enhance product strength in an all-round way. By continuously improving the quality of sweeping robots, updating product forms, and integrating more elements that meet the needs of human settlement cleaning in products, we can meet the needs of modern people to reduce housework in an all-round way.
How can clean small household appliance brands leverage the tens of billions of markets?
There are many categories in the cleaning small household appliance industry, why can the sweeping robot stand out in the tide of intelligence? In the author's opinion, the most important thing is that it is grounded and belongs to the product of just need, consumers want to be freed from tedious housework, making the sweeping robot a productivity tool, rather than a simple consumer product.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the size of China's sweeping robot market is expected to reach 23.14 billion yuan in 2024. The promising sweeping robot market has attracted many manufacturers to enter this camp, from traditional cleaning small household appliance brands, imported brands to cross-border brands all want to eat "ten billion cake".
1. Each brand actively creates a private domain traffic pool and locks customers for repurchase
At present, the players in the sweeping robot market are mainly divided into three categories, first of all, the industry leaders led by Coworth and Ai Robert, the up-and-coming stars represented by start-up companies such as Cloud Whale Intelligence, Stone Technology (which began to work for Xiaomi IN 2014) and Chaomi, as well as the traditional comprehensive home appliance giants represented by Midea and Haier.
In terms of brand business layout and locking customers, Coworth's product matrix is diversified, and the market focuses on product performance. Generally, celebrity endorsement brands are invited to attract and consolidate fans, and on top of the fan economy, accurately lock in Generation Z consumers; Stone Technology solidifies powder by creating black technology "human design", and hot marketing features are distinctive; Cloud Whale Intelligent focuses on creating high-quality products, has strong technical strength, and pays attention to user care. It only has two products on sale, and they are all "explosive products", and the user reputation on social media is relatively high, and some consumers and industry insiders believe that it is a company focused on creating "boutique products".
Behind the clean small household appliance enterprises to create high-quality products is not only technological innovation, but also high-quality service and user care. At present, Platforms such as WeChat, Weibo, Xiaohongshu, and Douyin are still the main channels for cleaning up the marketing interaction of small household appliance brands, creating private domain traffic, and locking customers for repurchase.
The huge market prospects for sweeping robots have stimulated new players to enter the market frequently, all trying to get a piece of the pie in this explosively growing but slightly younger market. However, the sweeping robot products seem simple, but their research and development and manufacturing require a high level of technical strength. For new and old brands entering the sweeping robot market, how to better maintain old customers and attract new customers? In the author's opinion, doing the following three points can attract consumers to become the tap water to promote the development of the brand.
First of all, we must have strong technical strength and adhere to the belief in research and development of scientific and technological products. Representative enterprises in the industry include Cloud Whale Intelligence and Stone Technology, among which Cloud Whale Intelligence is a robot innovation enterprise that firmly takes the technical route, and the management of Stone Technology is mostly a technology development or product manager, and their product design and technological innovation strength is strong.
Second, it can grasp the user's pain points and fully automate the process of mopping, sweeping or cleaning. For example, Coworth and Cloud Whale Intelligence reorganize product innovation, focusing on and amplifying every detail. One is good at sweeping and wiping windows, and the other is good at wiping the floor, and they do a very good job in their respective segments and are recognized by consumers. For example, the Coworth sweeping robot has technical advantages in sweeping methods and planning cleaning, and Cloud Whale Intelligence performs well in technical functions such as wiping the floor and automatic washing wipes. The sweeping robot products they launched redefined the product form and application of mopping robots.
Third, behind the boutique is not only the innovation of technology, but also the quality of service and user care. Like Coworth and Cloud Whale Intelligence, they not only focus on products, but also focus on user maintenance services, but there are subtle differences in the intensity of their care for users. It is understood that during the New Year's Day of 2022, Coworth issued New Year gifts for users, but only issued a pair of mop for the first batch of X1 users; Cloud Whale Intelligence sent whale stickers to all users, which attracted users to post circles, and more than 5,000 users had a very friendly interaction with Cloud Whale Intelligence through Weibo.
In the author's opinion, the core reason why independent innovation brands such as Cloud Whale Intelligence and Stone Technology can achieve explosive growth in the cleaning small household appliance industry is that they have chosen the right path for development. These independent innovation brands create "hard-core products" through "hard-core technology", and create "hard-core technical barriers" through continuous innovation, promote the development of sweeping robot categories and industries, and continuously improve user experience and reputation through user activities and user care.
2, from Coworth, Stone Technology to Cloud Whale Intelligence, the market play is different
Insight into the real needs of users, and use this as a point to make a breakthrough is one of the principles that clean small household appliance brands follow in their innovation. In terms of maintaining new and old users, Xiaomi is a forerunner, it has achieved explosive sales growth by playing with the fan economy; Coworth and Stone Technology have formed a "rice circle culture" with fans by hiring celebrity endorsements; Cloud Whale Intelligence, which is good at insight into the real needs of users, but wants to be a friend of users.
The author sees that most of the brands, including Coworth and Stone Technology, use large advertising to improve brand voice and promote sales year-on-year, while Cloud Whale Intelligence spends more money on old users and influences more people through the good reputation of old users. The relevant person in charge of Cloud Whale Intelligence once said that it never treats users as a one-time purchase and sales relationship, but treats users as accompanying friend relationships, hoping to bring users value other than products, including surprises, touching, rituals, etc., which is also the original intention of Cloud Whale.
From running ads to inviting celebrity spokespersons, every brand that enters the field of sweeping robots has a different way of gaining market share. Among them, many companies have not thought carefully when entering the clean small household appliance industry, and when recommending products to consumers, what can they bring to users? In the author's opinion, enterprises entering the field of cleaning small household appliances do manufacture products, and even rely on products as a link to create unique brands and cultures, establish resource platforms such as marketing and services, and even some excellent enterprises also export cultural concepts, lifestyles and so on based on products and services.
However, for all enterprises that enter the clean small household appliances, the product is only the basis for the enterprise to base itself on the market, and what is really manufactured is the "human heart". Only by winning the "people's hearts" from users and capturing the "hearts" of users can enterprises continue to compete in the white-hot clean small household appliances market, face endless challenges and vicious battles, and cut through thorns to find a new road of their own.
From product function innovation to user care, the author found that at present, the sweeping robot industry has appeared three inflection points of development, and each industry development is driven by technological innovation or breakthroughs. The brand enterprises represented by Cloud Whale Intelligence, first by technological innovation to break through the market, and then by the humanistic spirit to maintain the long-term development of the brand, they will be people's yearning for a better life and pursuit as an important purpose of enterprise research and development of new products, so that more and more users take the initiative to become friends with it, or can better shout for the brand To call, to promote the high-quality development of the industry.
The high-quality development of the industry needs more "independent brands"
In the process of promoting the high-quality development of the clean small household appliance industry, the number of brands and the high and low "gold content" of the brand directly reflect the comprehensive strength of an industry. Focusing on increasing variety, improving quality, and creating brands is not only an inevitable requirement for deepening supply-side structural reform, but also a strategic choice to promote the high-quality development of China's economy.
Without the innovation and breakthrough of core technology, the home service robot industry will not become a big climate. In the view of industry insiders, the healthy development of the service robot industry must have strong technical support, and the new and old brands that have entered the camp of sweeping robots want to become the new leader of the industry, they cannot rely on price competition, and need to continue to improve in product functionality and user experience.
At present, with the efforts of Independent Innovation Brands and Traditional Cleaning Small Household Appliance Brands in China's sweeping robot industry, the products have been continuously innovated and upgraded in functional technology, and the functional application of sweeping robots has become more and more mature. The sweeping robot has gradually expanded from sweeping and mopping functions to automatic recharge, timed cleaning, mobile phone intelligent control, intelligent planning and self-cleaning wipes. Take Cloud Whale Intelligence as an example, it has focused on technological innovation and breakthroughs since its inception, and spent money on independent technology research and development with enough patience and courage. In the innovative structural design, intelligent perception, path planning, big data applications and other aspects of in-depth exploration, at present at home and abroad to apply for more than 200 technical patents.
The author found that the sweeping robot industry chain, the middle and the lower reaches are all making efforts in this field. Upstream parts manufacturers are more mature in the industry in LDS ranging modules, motor/battery equipment, motherboard chips and other components. In addition to power management chips, motors and a small number of CPUs need to be imported, the rest of the components are basically localized; midstream sweeping robot manufacturers, professional sweeping robot manufacturers (iRobot, Coworth, Stone Technology, etc.), vacuum cleaner manufacturers (Dyson, Shark, etc.), traditional home appliance manufacturers (Haier, Midea, LG, Samsung, etc.) are also actively making efforts; downstream millet, Jingdong and other channel providers are also actively promoting sweeping robots.
At the manufacturer level, for enterprises in the field of sweeping robots, it can quickly develop and go out of the circle, in addition to national policy support, it is also inseparable from its own strong strength. Take Cloud Whale Intelligence, for example, it was founded in 2016, the product was listed in 2019, the brand "exploded" in 2020, and then through continuous innovation, it conquered consumers with product power and became the dark horse of the clean small household appliance industry.
For another example, the sweeper company that masters the core technology can achieve a higher premium through product technology upgrades - the best-selling model in the Coworth flagship store is priced at 5299 yuan, and the number of monthly sales is several times that of the 2599 yuan old sweeper.
The author feels that new and old brands that enter the sweeping robot market and want to expand their brand influence must not only have the ability to develop and innovate products, but also learn to tell the corporate brand story, shape the corporate brand image, and establish an emotional bond of in-depth communication with consumers. Speak with strength, be recognized by users, let more Chinese realize that domestic cleaning small household appliance brands can do a good job of sweeping robots and catch up with foreign brands.
Write at the end
For many home appliance companies and home appliance merchants, they want to go out of the new track in the market. The key is to grasp the hearts of the people and win the trust of users. Therefore, we see that many clean home appliance companies will improve the user experience on the basis of doing a good job in products, bringing a higher level of life experience and enjoyment.
At present, cleaning electrical appliance companies have realized the importance of humanized services and brand promotion. Among them, independent innovation brands are more active in this regard. Considerate humanized service from the perspective of consumers is not only related to the life of consumers, but also related to the development of brands. The author believes that in the era of users, to create user touch, to achieve zero distance from users, in addition to continuing to maintain the quality of home appliances, in the basic service guarantee, corporate culture publicity and other aspects of continuous innovation, and strive to provide users with value-added services that exceed their expectations and can meet their potential needs, in order to better stabilize old customers and attract new customers.