In line with the upgrading of user needs, integrated kitchen appliances have grown against the trend in the context of complex macro environment and fierce internal competition, and have become a "sweet and sweet" under the trend of the times. Among the integrated kitchen appliances, the development momentum of integrated dishwashers is good, and it has achieved rapid growth in the past three consecutive years. In the context of the overall poor environment, such a performance can be described as unique. Although the market size of integrated dishwashers has declined in the first quarter of 2024 due to the sluggish real estate industry, the industry is still full of expectations for the development of this category.
Outstanding advantages and rapid growth
The average size of a home kitchen in China is only about 5 square meters, but the demand for kitchen appliances is growing rapidly. This provides a demand soil for the development of functional integrated kitchen appliances. Among them, the integrated dishwasher, which is the center of kitchen washing, is entering more and more Chinese households. From the perspective of product form, in addition to the two standard modules of dishwasher and sink, the integrated dishwasher can also add optional modules such as water purification treatment, hot water supply system, food waste disposer, fruit and vegetable cleaning and pesticide residue removal equipment, knife holder and cutting board disinfection dryer, soap dispenser and so on according to consumer demand. "As long as there is water and cleaning equipment in the kitchen, it can be added to the integrated dishwasher." An industry insider said.
The relevant person in charge of Midea said that the integrated dishwasher has three major advantages. First, it saves space, and one-stop integration of sink, dishwasher, water purifier and garbage disposer can be realized within 0.6 square meters. The second is worry-free installation, a variety of household appliances can be purchased and installed at one time. The third is to save walking, washing, cutting, draining, preparation, and cleaning links can be completed in the same position, reducing reciprocating walking. "Therefore, integrated dishwashers are favored by consumers in small kitchens and simple decoration, and have maintained rapid growth in the past three years."
Due to the outstanding product features, the audience for integrated dishwashers is also typical. According to the relevant person in charge of Martian, the dishwasher audience mainly includes families who mainly enjoy life and cook at home, or young couples who love cooking; Users who like to try new things and have a certain concept of dishwashers; Users who have small kitchens or have a lot of needs for electrical appliances, but have certain requirements for cooking and use experience; Users with high acceptance of integrated stove products.
Integrated dishwashers, which are born in response to consumer demand, have become a hot emerging category in the kitchen appliance industry, and their sales have achieved rapid growth for three consecutive years. AVC data shows that in 2023, the retail sales of integrated dishwashers in the online market will increase by 25.1% year-on-year, and the retail sales in the offline market will increase by 82.8% year-on-year.
Entering 2024, the development pace of the integrated dishwasher industry will slow down, and the market size will decline. AVC monitoring data shows that in the first quarter of 2024, the online market sales of integrated dishwashers will be 9,870 units, a year-on-year decrease of 15%; The sales volume in the offline market was 167 units, a year-on-year increase of 62%. Some industry insiders said that the offline sales of integrated dishwashers are more scattered, and the actual shipments will be larger.
According to the "Electrical" reporter, the market for integrated dishwashers is declining, mainly because integrated dishwashers are currently mostly sold with integrated stoves, and integrated stoves are highly dependent on the new housing market. Therefore, when the new housing market is sluggish, the integrated dishwasher market, like the integrated stove industry, will also be affected.
Due to the fact that integrated dishwashers are mostly sold with integrated stove products, integrated stove enterprises are currently the main players in the integrated dishwasher industry, and the head enterprises have basically launched products. Among the comprehensive home appliance brands, Midea made an early effort, began to conduct research on integrated dishwashers in 2018, and products have been launched in 2021. According to the relevant person in charge of Midea, in the three years since the product was launched, Midea's integrated dishwasher shipments have grown at a rate of 1 times per year, and in 2023, it will win the first place in the sales volume and sales of integrated dishwashers on the Jingdong platform. Among the kitchen appliance brands, Robam Appliances has launched integrated dishwasher products, and there are currently 3~4 models of products on sale.
A person in charge of an integrated cooker company said that in the next few years, the main competitor of the integrated dishwasher will be Midea and the integrated cooker company. For other companies, integrated dishwashers, despite their good momentum, are still a niche category in the long run, so they are more willing to work on dishwasher products with greater market potential, even if they continue to launch products, more to supplement the product line.
The product continues to be upgraded, and the low awareness is the biggest challenge
Relying on the development situation of the integrated stove industry, the integrated dishwasher industry is still in the early stage of development. The relevant person in charge of Martian believes that at this stage, integrated dishwasher companies need to recognize how the product can better meet the needs of users and make users accept, how to better iterate on user pain points, and how to improve users' category awareness.
At present, the Martian has launched the 5th anniversary attitude work - the D75 integrated dishwasher. The product integrates six functions: sink, fruit and vegetable machine, dishwasher, residue disposal, sterilizer, and cabinet, which can not only wash dishbrass, but also purify fruits and vegetables. Among them, the function of the fruit and vegetable machine adopts micro and nano cavitation cleaning technology, and the pesticide residue removal rate reaches 98.8%, far exceeding the level of traditional fruit and vegetable machines; With a wide cavity and large capacity of 15 sets, it has the leading advantage of being able to put down, wash clean, and dry, which is more suitable for Chinese kitchens.
Senge also upgrades products around user needs. Taking Senge U7 sterilization integrated dishwasher as an example, the product has made breakthroughs in space optimization and technological innovation, and successfully integrates the concept of efficient use of space into modern smart kitchens, including integrated sinks, dishwashers, disinfection cabinets, 1m cabinets, water purifiers or food waste disposers, and achieves a breakthrough in the large-capacity design of up to 16 sets in a small size. Ji Changan, assistant to the chairman of Senge, said that in order to better meet the diversified needs of users, Senge continues to optimize the use of space, so that the combination of various modules is closer and space-saving, such as the launch of ultra-thin food waste processors. In addition to the standard modules, consumers can also add optional modules according to their own needs.
Increasing industry awareness is the biggest challenge facing the integrated dishwasher industry today. "At present, consumers basically buy integrated dishwashers when they buy integrated stoves, and they will buy them when they learn about integrated dishwashers, and there are few users who directly buy integrated dishwashers." An industry insider said that the awareness of integrated stoves is not high enough, and the awareness of integrated dishwashers is even lower. Even if it is classified as a dishwasher, Chinese consumers' awareness of dishwasher products still needs to be improved, and even fewer users are aware of the emerging category of integrated dishwashers.
For this reason, many companies are working hard to increase consumer awareness of integrated dishwashers. Martian expands the influence of products and categories through product trial experience, customer training and guidance. The relevant person in charge of Martian said: "The growth of integrated dishwashers is inseparable from the improvement of users' awareness of the overall category of dishwashers. Only when the whole industry works together to enhance consumers' awareness of products, can the integrated dishwasher industry have a better development. ”
Midea also invests a lot of resources every year to promote and popularize related categories to promote the development of the entire industry.
In addition, Zhang Xiaozhong, secretary general of Shengzhou Kitchenware Industry Association, believes that the high unit price is also a major challenge for the industry, he said that the unit price of the integrated dishwasher of the general brand is more than 10,000 yuan, but consumers may not spend so much to buy the dishwasher alone.
At the beginning of the rise of integrated dishwashers, some integrated stove companies positioned this type of product as the second growth curve. So, is the integrated dishwasher the next big thing in the integrated stove industry? In this regard, many respondents believe that integrated dishwashers have some room for development in the future, and will maintain a good compound growth rate in the next few years due to the small base, but after all, it is a niche category and one of the kitchen cleaning solutions that consumers can choose. However, if the industry can solve many development problems such as lack of unified standards, complex installation, limited capacity, and excessive unit price, it is not excluded that the integrated dishwasher industry has sprung up and become the next explosion point in the market.