If you have experienced the comfort of a smart toilet, you will feel that it is "really fragrant", but after having the experience of having your butt burned, you can't help but complain about "mentally retarded"...... Home intelligence has become the general trend, and even the toilet is no exception. Smart toilets have gradually entered the homes of ordinary people, showing a rapid growth trend. However, after an investigation by a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily, it was found that there was chaos behind the prosperity of the smart toilet market, not only spontaneous combustion, but also people were burned.
The good news is that electronic toilets (also known as "smart toilets") will be included in the compulsory certification products: the State Administration for Market Regulation announced today that from July 1, 2025, electronic toilets and other products listed in the CCC certification catalog should be certified by CCC and marked with CCC certification marks before they can be manufactured, sold, imported or used in other business activities.
The increase in the configuration rate of smart toilets far exceeds that of ordinary toilets
"In winter, I will never shiver when I go to the toilet in the winter, and my sense of happiness will be doubled. Mr. Sun said that he spent more than 3,000 yuan on a smart toilet under the recommendation of a friend around him. The automatic heating function of the seat is the most intimate, saving you the trouble of cleaning the toilet seat regularly. "The original old-fashioned toilet relies on cotton toilet seat cover to keep warm in winter, but it is easy to hide dirt and grow bacteria after a long time. Nowadays, smart toilets are much more hygienic, and some are also equipped with washing and care functions, saving toilet paper, which is more friendly to hemorrhoids patients. ”
In recent years, more and more smart homes have been favored, in addition to TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners, door locks, etc., even toilets are also being intelligent. According to AVC monitoring data, from January to July 2023, the smart toilet configuration rate will increase by 8.7 percentage points year-on-year to 37.3%, far exceeding the 2.1 percentage point increase of ordinary toilets. Smart toilets have become a veritable emerging star category.
According to the "China Smart Bathroom Appliance Industry Development Research Report (2023)" released by the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, the mainland is the country with the largest smart toilet market, with domestic sales of smart toilets reaching 31.7 billion yuan in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 1.7%, and domestic sales reaching 9.65 million units, a year-on-year increase of 3.9%, accounting for 56% of the global market. Goldman Sachs, an internationally renowned investment bank, even predicts that by 2026, the penetration rate of electronic toilets in the Chinese market will increase rapidly to 11%.
China accounts for 66% of the world's smart toilet production
The huge market potential has naturally attracted many enterprises to enter the bureau, after inquiring on the enterprise check platform, up to now, there are more than 1,500 existing enterprises related to smart toilets, and the establishment period is mostly concentrated in 5-10 years, accounting for more than 4 percent.
According to the statistics of the Smart Bathroom Appliances Special Committee of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, the annual output of China's smart toilets in 2022 will be 11.69 million units, and the growth trend will remain unchanged in 2023, with the total output exceeding 10 million units for three consecutive years, and China's smart toilet production has accounted for 66% of the world's production;
The top two online hits are priced at less than 1,000 yuan
According to Zhu Jun, full-time vice chairman of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, thanks to the rapid development of the industry and the market, it has a number of excellent brand enterprises, including dozens of well-known brands. At the same time, there are also many new entrants and small and medium-sized enterprises.
It is understood that in addition to Wrigley, Huida, Hengjie, Jiumu and local brands such as Zhongyu, Apollo and Dongpeng, Duravit, Villeroy & Boch, Kohler, TOTO and other foreign brands also occupy a certain market share in China by virtue of their first-mover advantage.
A reporter from Beiqing Daily noticed that the commonly used functions of smart toilets include seat heating, warm water washing, warm air drying, remote control induction, night lighting, power failure flushing, sterilization, deodorization, etc. In the domestic market, offline channels are the main sales channels of smart toilet products, mainly concentrated in the building materials market and engineering channels; online channels have developed rapidly in recent years, and new brands choose online channels as the focus of their efforts.
At present, smart toilet products in the domestic market are mainly divided into split and integrated. The function of the split smart toilet is concentrated on the toilet lid, the price is between 1000-3000 yuan, and it can be directly installed on the traditional toilet. The integrated intelligent toilet is an integrated design of electronic components and toilets, with a domestic price of 4,000-6,000 yuan and a joint venture product price of 8,000-12,000 yuan.
According to the total data of AVC, the average price of online intelligent all-in-one machines in 2018 was 4060 yuan, and the price difference between the two was 2008 yuan. By 2023, the average price of smart all-in-one machines and smart toilet seats will be 2,505 yuan and 1,383 yuan respectively, and the price difference will be 1,122 yuan.
However, a reporter from Beiqing Daily browsed on the e-commerce platform and found that the price differentiation of smart toilets is more obvious, ranging from 600 yuan to 20,000 yuan, and there are nearly 30 brands. The top three on the best-selling list are the Taoerman automatic smart toilet at 899 yuan, the Jiumu antibacterial water-saving toilet at 799 yuan, and the Hengjie smart toilet at 3099 yuan.
According to AVC online monitoring data, whether it is an intelligent all-in-one machine or a smart toilet seat, the low-end price segment has indeed increased significantly. In 2023, the sales volume of products below 1,500 yuan in smart all-in-one machines will reach 13.7%, and the sales proportion of products below 1,000 yuan in smart toilet seats will increase to 21.6%. "At present, the low-end price segment on the market is mainly done by emerging brands, and the product functions are usually relatively simple, with only basic functions such as seat heating, women's washing and buttocks washing, and induction flushing. ”
Fires, burns, counterfeits, etc
There is no doubt that the domestic smart toilet market has entered a period of rapid growth. However, with the expansion of the market scale, the increase of production enterprises, and the intensification of market competition, there are also mixed problems in listed products. An investigation by a reporter from Beiqing Daily found that smart toilets are involved in water and electricity, and are in direct contact with the human body, and there are some products that are not standardized and have great potential safety hazards.
A reporter from Beiqing Daily noticed that on the black cat complaint platform, there are more than 2,600 complaints about smart toilets, involving leakage, poor quality, false propaganda and other issues, which also mentioned that a number of well-known brands at home and abroad have been counterfeited, most of which are fakes that are only known when the product has problems and contacts after-sales. Public reports show that in recent years, electronic toilet fire accidents and consumers have been burned during use, including some well-known brands.
In 2019, a man in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, spent 4,000 yuan to buy a smart toilet, but after using it for a period of time, he found that the temperature of the toilet seat was too high, the water sprayed hot buttocks, and cold wind in winter. Contacted the brand's maintenance staff to come to the door, but was told that he had bought a fake.
Smart toilets have also caught fire from time to time, and some people have been burned. In 2023, a man's smart toilet in Fuzhou suddenly leaked during use, and the built-in power wiring of the toilet sparked, almost burning the home. In July 2023, a woman in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, suddenly spewed hot water when she was using a smart toilet seat, and was later diagnosed by a doctor as a second-degree burn.
In addition, there are quite a few people who have bought fakes. Ms. Zhu from Beijing spent 1,700 yuan online to buy a smart toilet in February 2023, but it didn't take long for the smart toilet to have various problems, and it was completely "not smart"! After contacting the manufacturer, she was told that it was a counterfeit product and could not provide services, so she could only find the seller to solve it. The seller who bought the smart toilet from Ms. Zhu online has closed the store and cannot be contacted at all.
The market supervision departments in many places across the country have reported the problem of unqualified sampling of electronic toilets. In 2023, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Anhui Provincial Administration for Market Regulation, the Hainan Provincial Administration for Market Regulation, the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, the Shenzhen Municipal Administration for Market Regulation and other official quality inspection departments have also announced the problem of unqualified sampling of electronic toilets.
The barriers to entry need to be raised urgently
Public information shows that smart toilets originated in Europe and the United States, and then developed rapidly in Japan and South Korea, and after entering China, smart toilets were initially used for medical treatment and elderly health care. In order to highlight the quality, high-end hotels will also choose to install smart toilets in their bathrooms.
With the upgrading of people's living standards and consumption, more and more people have begun to install smart toilets at home. There is even a phenomenon of Chinese tourists going to Japan to snap up toilets. In 2015, financial writer Wu Xiaobo's article "Going to Japan to Buy a Toilet Seat" made smart toilets a hot topic.
Driven by market demand, many companies have poured into the track to try to get a piece of the pie. According to Zhiyan Consulting's "2024-2030 China Smart Bathroom Industry Market Panorama Survey and Strategic Consulting Research Report", the participants in the mainland smart bathroom industry are mainly domestic and foreign high-end bathroom brands, regional local brands, and OEM brands.
"In China, smart toilets are the fastest growing among all household categories. This track is transforming into a mass market, but the penetration rate is still in its infancy, and the gap with Japan and South Korea is still quite large. Xiaomi ecological chain Specialist Xing Zitao said that because the threshold for market access is relatively low, and there are more foundries, now smart toilet brands are more mixed, with diverse categories and different quality.
Xing Zitao introduced that the smart toilet technology is complex, and the components involve gas, electricity, water, sensing, welding and other fields of technology, especially in humid environments, and there are still many hidden dangers. "This product is in direct contact with people's intimate parts, and safety and hygiene are very important. ”
Zhu Keli, founding dean of the National Research Institute of New Economy, said that smart toilets are a relatively new industry, due to the lack of unified standards and supervision, some unscrupulous businesses in order to reduce costs, use inferior materials or reduce production processes, resulting in a decline in product quality and safety hazards to consumers. Some manufacturers exaggerate product functions in publicity, resulting in a sense of disparity among consumers in actual use.
A number of interviewed experts said that the quality of some products on the market is not only harmful to the interests of consumers, but also may affect the healthy development of the entire industry. It is particularly important to strengthen regulation and raise barriers to entry. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce mandatory standards for smart toilets.
3C compulsory certification will be implemented soon
It is understood that on April 7, the State Administration for Market Regulation held a press conference to interpret the "Announcement of the State Administration for Market Regulation on the Implementation of Compulsory Product Certification Management for Commercial Gas Burning Appliances and Other Products". It is mentioned that from July 1, 2025, electronic toilets and other products shall be certified by CCC and marked with CCC certification marks before they can be manufactured, sold, imported or used in other business activities. From July 1, 2024, the designated certification body will begin to accept the CCC certification entrustment, and the certification work involved will be undertaken by the certification body that already has the designated business scope of the corresponding product category, and the laboratory will be designated separately.
It is understood that CCC certification is the abbreviation of China's compulsory product certification, CCC certification is a fair and authoritative consumer guide and rights defender, through the certification of products, will be on the body or outer packaging and other prominent positions on the CCC mark, can solve the problem of information asymmetry at both ends of supply and demand. As long as consumers see this sign, they can rest assured that the "blind selection" of product quality and safety will be realized, which is more conducive to consumers' exercise of the right to know and the right to choose.
Zhu Jun, full-time vice chairman of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, said that at present, 19 kinds of commonly used household appliances such as household refrigerators and electric blankets have implemented CCC certification, and the product quality is relatively stable. The inclusion of electronic toilets in the CCC certification catalogue means that every electronic toilet on the market must undergo strict product testing and production condition audit to ensure that it meets the relevant national safety standards and requirements, which will help to further improve the overall quality level of electronic toilets, standardize market order, protect consumer rights and interests, and promote the high-quality development of the electronic toilet industry.
Li Chunjiang, deputy director of the Certification and Supervision Department of the State Administration of Market Regulation, said that considering that enterprises may need to further adjust and improve the production process and management process in order to adapt to the management and technical requirements of CCC certification, and the product inventory that has left the factory into the sales field also needs a certain digestion cycle, so before the implementation of CCC certification for new products, there is a one-year transition period for enterprises. In order to reduce the cost of obtaining certification for enterprises, relevant certification bodies and laboratories are required to reasonably adopt the existing international certification, voluntary certification, commissioned test reports and other conformity assessment results of enterprises on the premise of ensuring the quality and risk control, simplify the certification process, and improve the convenience of enterprises to obtain CCC certification.
Xing Zitao said that from the process point of view, 3C certification is relatively mature, because most of the household appliances have 3C certification, there are special institutions, there are also intermediary agencies, the application period is generally two months, three or four months for the long, and the longest is not more than half a year.
For the products that have been introduced to the market, the relevant departments will give the enterprise a certain transition period to digest and deal with it. However, if you do not obtain 3C certification after the transition period, you may face the risk of being recalled or discontinued.
Reminder: Don't forget to check the certification when you buy
At present, some manufacturers claim to have 3C certification when promoting their products, but in fact, only the plug-in head has the corresponding logo. In this regard, a number of experts emphasized that 3C certification is not only for plug-ins, but for the mandatory certification of the entire smart toilet product, including its design, materials, processes, structure, function, performance and other aspects.
Industry insiders remind that when buying a smart toilet, you must first understand your own needs and budget, and then screen according to the size, function, safety and details, etc., when judging the quality, in the absence of 3C certification, you can check whether the product has obtained the China Metrology Certification (CMA) qualification or China Quality System Certification (CQC), in addition, you can refer to the evaluation and suggestions of other users, choose well-known brands and formal channels and other ways to judge the reliability of the product, to ensure the quality of the product and after-sales service.
Since there are also relevant precautions for the operation of smart toilet seats, it is necessary to follow the product instructions and safety specifications during installation and use to ensure the safety of yourself and others.
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Song Xia Intern/Zhang Zhiyun
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