In order to "quit mobile phones", Que Que (pseudonym) bought a "abstinence box" on the e-commerce platform last June. The box is locked, and the time is set after the phone is put in, until the end of the timer, it is automatically unlocked, and the phone can be taken out. Every day after work, at about 7 p.m., put the mobile phone in, and then set it for 12 hours, and then take it out the next morning, so as to ensure that you can concentrate on reading and studying in your spare time, go to bed early, and get up early.
He posted his experience on the Internet, which resonated with many people, and has nearly 100 posts. Many people said in the message that their daily "screen use time" has never been less than 10 hours, most of the time is spent on brushing vibrato, searching hot search, visiting B station and other entertainment activities, seriously affecting the study of exams and work; waste too much time on the mobile phone, everyone feels anxious, and comes up with various methods, such as young people to replace the smart phone with only communication function of the "old man machine", some people set the screen to only black and white ink screen, but finally lament "self-control is too poor", Many people think that this method of "physical isolation" of mobile phones is good, and they also want to buy a similar "abstinence box".
With the development of the times, smartphones have become a necessity for most people. Due to the impact of the epidemic, some people work from home or study, and the time they use mobile phones is getting longer and longer, and it is not too much to describe it as "mobile phones in their hands". The need to "quit mobile phones" came into being and gradually developed into a business.
Searching for "quitting mobile phones" on an e-commerce platform, there are three or four related products. The reporter contacted The Jiangsu Taizhou people, Who claimed to be the first to turn the idea of "quitting mobile phones" into a product. In one breath, He Shun sent samples of several generations of products to reporters, and he found that some imitators on the Internet had followed up, and such a niche market track was becoming crowded.
Shu Shun was also a heavy mobile phone addict. In 2018, he decided to go to graduate school, and the mobile phone became his obstacle in the preparation for the exam, and he could not control that he always wanted to play: "The willpower was slightly loosened, brushed a little social software, immediately flooded with a large amount of fragmentary information, and then looked up, an hour or two passed." "Waste of time during the day, anxious and self-blamed at night, caught in a vicious circle, but he can not leave the mobile phone, and do not talk about travel payment, is to go to the library also need a mobile phone to scan the code, to check the information also need a mobile phone." In this way, he thought, it was a solution to lock the phone regularly. At that time, there were similar goods on the e-commerce platform, called "regular opening of storage tanks", the products were mainly exported, people bought it to resist the temptation of cookies, chocolates and other snacks, it was a transparent crisper box that could be locked, and the time needed to be changed through the rotary knob, but the design was not too fine. After Blocking Shun bought it, he turned the mobile phone into flight mode, put it into the box and locked it regularly, and found that the effect was very good and the efficiency was extremely high.
In March 2019, Tuoba Shun's results in the examination and research were not satisfactory, and he simply began to start a business and make the mobile phone time box into a commodity. His father was a businessman, and although he did not understand his novel invention, he still took out 100,000 yuan to give him start-up funds. He found a Xuzhou factory specializing in the production of locks on the wholesale website, tossed several times, half a year passed, and nothing came out. After Tuoba Shun reflected, he went to Shanghai to find a more reliable industrial design team, and at the same time put together 500,000 yuan, barely enough for him to prepare the first batch of 5,000 products.
In May 2020, Tuoshun launched the first generation of mobile phone timing box to the market, palm size, shape similar to a charging treasure, the surface is made of aluminum alloy material, reserved charging interface, the most critical function is timed locking, 5 minutes to 12 hours can be set.
The mobile phone timing box designed by Dou Shun is the size of a palm and resembles a charging treasure.
Block shun trembling. If this business wants to continue, the first batch of 5,000 units must be sold hard. He found learning bloggers on various social platforms and ran a lot of ads. He opened a store on the e-commerce platform, in order not to have bad reviews, block Shun himself as a customer service, the way to deal with bad reviews is very sincere, discount coupons, give all the benefits. Fortunately, 98% of the reviews are positive, and some people lament how there can be such a product that fits the needs. When it sold well, it sold more than 100 units a day, and after half a year, 5,000 units sold out. Store background data shows that the customers who buy products are mainly high school students and college students, and the demand for graduate school students is the strongest, and most of them are women. Most of his relatives and friends feel that this thing is not necessary, some people say that this is an IQ tax, and more people think that the product is flashy and does not play much role.
Holding the sales model of 5,000 units of products, Tushun can't wait to launch the second generation of products, in terms of appearance and use of feelings, and strive to be more in line with the needs of the target group.
In 2021, just after the Lunar New Year, the product began to "fire". Since the sixth day of the Chinese New Year, Tushun can sell more than 300 per day, and by the Lantern Festival, the 3,000 products prepared years ago have been sold out. Many people did not buy it, sent a private message to Block Shun, asking when to replenish the goods and when to start snapping up. Tu Shun speculated that it should be a batch of short video advertisements newly launched a few years ago that played a role. On the short video platform, everyone likes to see this small box, usually each work can only get a few hundred likes of bloggers, send "mobile phone timer box" related videos can get, get tens of thousands of likes. In May 2021, the product was "on fire" again. Luo Zhenyu, the founder of the app, showed off the mobile phone timer box at the event he hosted, saying that it was a "mobile phone prison". Luo Zhenyu's team contacted Tuo Shun and jointly produced a derivative product, a total of 10,000 units. Later, training institutions and overseas e-commerce companies have come to cooperate, and the monthly sales of products in the second half of the year have stabilized at about 15,000 units.
Recently, due to the emergence of competitors with similar functions and appearances, the sales volume of Tuoshun's products has declined. However, he is still confident in this market and is preparing to launch a third-generation product. He believes that it is a good thing that more and more young people are aware of the problem of "mobile phone addiction", put down their mobile phones, overcome procrastination, and spend more time on study and work. Behind the market of mobile phone timing boxes is people's demand for self-discipline.
It remains to be seen what the future market of mobile phone time boxes will be.