As the market enters the era of stock competition, the competition situation in the washing machine industry is particularly fierce due to the impact of unfavorable factors such as saturation of consumer demand and product homogenization. In this case, the washing machine industry is no longer facing the challenge of increasing penetration, but the problem of structural transformation and upgrading.
Recently, Roborock, an emerging cleaning home appliance company, launched a new product of mini drum washer-dryer M1 Pure, and its self-created drying black technology has brought a certain market heat to the washing machine industry. Can the mini drum washing machine become a game-changer in the industry, awaken the vitality of the market, and open up new growth space?
The potential track has been upgraded again, attracting enterprises to layout
In recent years, some emerging home appliance brands such as Dreame and Roborock have entered the mini washing machine industry and "got a piece of the pie" with their exclusive technology. On May 7, 2024, Roborock launched two new washer-dryer products, H1 Air and Roborock Mini Washer-Dryer M1 Pure, during the 618 period, Roborock alone occupied the top 10 seats in the sales list of 3 Tmall platform washing machines with dryers.
In this regard, the relevant person in charge of Roborock said that through huge market research and user research, Roborock found that with the increasing attention to hygiene and personal health, the demand for healthy washing mainly for mothers, babies and women is increasing, and consumers, especially female consumer groups, are becoming more and more refined and healthy for laundry, and the goal of home laundry has changed from the pursuit of cleanliness to more attention to health, and consumers pay more attention to the partition washing of intimate clothes and small clothes. Roborock keenly captures the changes in consumer demand and user pain points, continuously improves the molecular sieve washing and drying product matrix, and provides consumers with more refined health classification washing and drying solutions. "Roborock's mini washing and drying integrated washing machine not only ranks among the top sales on major domestic e-commerce platforms, but also has won the recognition of many consumers overseas." The relevant person in charge of Roborock said.
After discovering consumers' urgent demand for small pieces of laundry, various washing machine companies have begun to lay out the mini washing machine track, hoping to gain new market increments. The reporter learned from Jingdong, Taobao, Tmall and other e-commerce platforms that there are various styles of mini washing machine products on the market, which can be divided into wave wheel type and drum type according to the washing method, wall-mounted and desktop according to the installation position, and can also be divided into single cylinder, double cylinder, folding type and so on according to the number of washing machine cylinders.
"At present, the overall market of mini washing machines is in a state of decline, whether it is a 3kg mini wave wheel washing machine, a single-cylinder folding mini washing machine or a double-cylinder mini washing machine, they are all facing a rapid decline in the dilemma, but its internal structure is undergoing significant optimization and adjustment." Xing Xing, general manager of the global product manager department of Hisense washing machine, told the reporter of "Electrical Appliances", "Just like the washing machine has undergone an upgrade from the wave wheel to the drum type, the mini drum washing machine is also more popular than the mini wave wheel washing machine." Among them, the two categories of mini desktop drum washing machines and mini dryers have shown a rapid upward trend and have become new highlights in the market. ”
Domestic washing machine leaders Haier, Midea and other companies are also increasing the layout of mini washing machine products. "Electrical Appliances" reporter in Jingdong、Taobao with "mini drum washing machine" as the keyword search found,Haier brand on sale 4 mini drum washing machines have reached the industry's rare energy efficiency level 1,Haier's high-end home appliance brand Casarte mini washing machine new products are wall-mounted mini drum washing machines,In noise reduction、Shock absorption、Intelligent Wi-Fi to upgrade。 Midea brand has no less than 9 mini washing machines on sale, with washing capacities ranging from 0.5kg to 3kg, and has also launched single-cylinder folding mini washing machines and double-cylinder mini washing machines, but the energy efficiency and cleaning ratio parameters are unsatisfactory. The Little Swan brand mini washing machine is mainly a mini wave wheel washing machine of about 1,000 yuan, and the price of the mini drum washing machine is basically about 2,000 yuan. It can be seen that big brands have advantages in the mini washing machine track, and can quickly apply washing machine research and development and technology to mini washing machine products, and launch products with more performance and design advantages.
In fact, mini drum washing machines appeared abroad earlier than in China, and foreign washing machine brands such as Panasonic, BSH, Daewoo, etc. are also laying out the mini drum washing machine track. Taking Daewoo as an example, as a popularizer of wall-mounted mini drum washing machines, as early as 2012, Daewoo noticed the necessity of partition washing and healthy washing of intimate clothes, from the initial wall-mounted mini drum washing machine to the flagship model of underwear mini washing and drying cabin officially launched in 2023, Daewoo has been deeply involved in underwear washing and baby clothes washing and care for 12 years.
The relevant person in charge of Panasonic said that in 2016, after discovering the washing and care needs of maternal and infant groups for specific stains, Panasonic began to launch a special washing machine for infants and young children - Baby Star, and is very optimistic about the future development of wall-mounted mini drum washing machines. It can also be seen from the Jingdong platform that Panasonic currently has 11 models of mini washing machine products in the market, and continues to make efforts in this segment.
BSH has also launched a mini-drum washing machine, with its brand Siemens launching a wall-mounted mini-drum washing machine with 10 exclusive customization programs for different clothing materials and stain types. Another brand, Bosch Home Appliances, has launched a wall-mounted mini drum washing machine for mothers and babies, with specific mother-and-child exclusive customization programs, with mother-and-child-level care certification, high standards and greater peace of mind.
It is worth noting that Xiaoji mini drum washing machine has performed well in the market, and the product is equipped with 95 degrees high temperature cleaning technology and DD inverter motor, with excellent performance. The high-value products are also highly praised, and the innovative design has won many domestic and foreign awards such as the Red Dot Award, the IF Award, the Red Star Award, and the Golden Pin Design Award. Xiaoji's recently launched new mini drum washing machine also has an integrated washing and drying function, which can meet the drying needs of consumers.
Aiming at washing, drying and protecting, product upgrades for product pain points
There is still a lot of room for improvement in mini drum washing machine products. According to the feedback from consumers and industry insiders on Jingdong, Tmall, and Xiaohongshu platforms, at present, there are still technical difficulties in improving the cleaning of clothes, installation form and use safety, special clothes drying series problems, energy saving and intelligence.
In terms of washing, the washing ratio has become an important factor for consumers to consider cost-effectiveness. According to Xing Xing, although the mini washing machine is small, it is "complete". Whether such a mini power can wash the clothes has become a concern for consumers. In most cases, small pieces of laundry have special stains, which leads mini front-loading washing machines to focus more on actual washing performance. In response to this user demand,2024year,Hisense launches the perfect combination of retro aesthetics and modern technology"Roman holiday"Mini drum washing machine,Equipped with Hisense's exclusive research and development of living water washing technology,It can convert large molecule water into small molecule water,Achieve higher penetration in the washing process,Go deep into the fiber,Effectively separate special stains,Washing ratio up to1.03,Bring users the double enjoyment of art and quality。
It is worth noting that safety is another important factor that consumers consider when buying a mini front-loading washing machine. At present, some mini washing machines still adopt the design of wall-mounted, and the wall-mounted washing machine products can be installed on the wall above the balcony, toilet and toilet, which effectively saves space, but because the wall-mounted washing machine products will produce centrifugal vibration at high speed, they need to be installed on solid walls or load-bearing walls with a thickness of not less than 230mm.
At present, the industry generally adopts the method of increasing expansion screw reinforcement to solve the potential safety hazards that may exist in the installation and use of wall-mounted mini drum washing machines. For example, the Xiaoji wall-mounted washing machine first fixes the mounting bracket with 4 8.8-grade expansion bolts, then fixes the washing machine on the mounting bracket, and finally tightens it firmly with 2 fixing bolts. With the development of the market and the maturity of technology, manufacturers represented by Haier have brought safer solutions, Casarte wall-mounted washing machine is set up with 2 anti-drop sensors in series logic above the back of the product, in which any sensor due to the loosening of the machine causes the strut to pop out more than 4mm, the machine will stop working immediately, and there will be an error prompt accompanied by a buzzer alarm prompt, which is convenient for real-time monitoring of the wall-mounted status.
At the same time, in order to completely dispel consumers' concerns about the safety of wall-mounted, as well as expand the use scenarios of mini washing machines, some companies have launched desktop mini drum washing machines, consumers can freely choose to place them in the living room, kitchen, balcony, bathroom floor and even above the washing machine, as long as there are inlet and drainage channels and power sockets.
Considering the high humidity climate conditions in the south, how to solve the drying of multiple types of clothes is another problem faced by the drum mini washing machine. In this regard, Roborock brings a unique laundry drying solution. The relevant person in charge of Roborock told the reporter of "Electrical Appliances" that Roborock has brought the third drying method to the industry with technological innovation - molecular sieve low-temperature drying technology, which is different from condensation or heat pump drying, this technology is to use solid adsorption technology to achieve low-temperature drying, with the industry's first dual-air circulation system, independent partitioning, to maintain the main circulation air path is relatively dry circulating warm air, and the circulating air path has no active heat source, so as to achieve low-temperature drying care. Due to the stable temperature and small fluctuation in the cylinder, it effectively solves the problems of high drying temperature, excessive lint residue, pollution residue of drying air duct, poor drying effect and long drying time, which can not only dry high-end fabrics such as silk and wool, but also improve the drying efficiency and achieve the effect of efficient drying clothes.
In terms of laundry cleaning and special stain treatment, mini washing machine companies also bring a variety of solutions. According to the relevant person in charge of Panasonic, for a variety of specific stains, Panasonic has launched a variety of specific cleaning functions and technologies such as secretion washing, 95 °C high temperature HPV washing, blood stain washing, baby special stain washing, underwear washing, etc., and all mini drum washing machine products have drying functions to meet the diverse washing and care needs of consumers.
In terms of smart clothing protection and convenience of mini washing machines, the relevant person in charge of Roborock said that Roborock's mini drum washing machine products can be connected to the mobile phone APP through Wi-Fi to experience more functions such as washing and drying programs, custom adjustment and OTA upgrades, etc., which can collect the temperature parameters of the drying process in real time, and use the unique RR clothing drying algorithm to achieve "clothes dry and stop", bringing consumers a smarter, more comfortable and more high-quality experience.
The competition in the industry has not yet become white-hot, and the future prospects are promising
Judging from the current market performance, although the market size of mini washing machines has declined, the mini drum washing machine market will still maintain a rapid growth trend. According to Xing Xing, at present, there are certain technical barriers in the mini drum washing machine track, mainly because some big brands are doing it, compared with washing machines, brand competition is not fierce. Although some companies have launched products that can realize partition washing of large double-drum washing machines, this does not conflict with the development of mini front-loading washing machines. "On the one hand, large double-drum washing machines need to take up more space and have many inconveniences to use. On the other hand, in terms of flexibility of use and water and electricity saving, large double-drum washing machines cannot compete with mini front-loading washing machines. The relevant person in charge of Hisense explained.
"As the choice of the second washing machine in the family, the mini washing and drying machine has a huge room for growth in the future." The relevant person in charge of Roborock said that with the increasing refinement and health of consumers' demand for household laundry, this category will occupy an increasingly important position in the market. More high-end intelligence and automation may be the main development trend in the future, and the mini washing machine will further integrate intelligent technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) function, through the mobile phone application for accurate remote control, status monitoring and detailed fault diagnosis. Energy conservation and environmental protection are also key directions, and future products will focus on the development of more energy-efficient washing and drying technologies to reduce energy consumption and water waste. In addition, the product design will pay more attention to aesthetics and practicality to adapt to different home styles and space layouts.
Of course, the development problems in the mini drum washing machine industry cannot be ignored. According to the relevant person in charge of Panasonic, from the industry level, China's mini drum washing machine market is in its infancy, the penetration rate is not high, the product quality is uneven, and consumers do not have enough awareness of the mini drum washing machine products, and they do not understand the industry standards. Some companies have problems such as false functional standards and gimmick marketing in publicity, resulting in consumer worries and low trust, which are all problems that the industry urgently needs to solve.
Text/Xu Guangyao