"Drinking water, drinking healthy water" has become a new concept of healthy life for contemporary young people. At the same time, consumers are aware of the problem of healthy drinking water and promote the prosperity of the water purifier market.

Under the general health tone, the water purifier industry has ushered in a wave of "dividends", and the product penetration rate has been further improved. At present, the first and second tier urban water purifier market has entered the stock replacement stage, and the third and fourth tier sinking market has great development potential. With the gradual increase of the replacement proportion of water purifiers, this industry will usher in a new round of opportunities.

At the same time of the outbreak of the water purifier market, the brand camp of the water purifier is growing. There are not only professional water purifier brands on the market, but also home appliance enterprises and Internet enterprises specializing in this business. The market is expanding year by year and the competition is becoming more and more fierce. What can water purification enterprises do to improve the current situation and develop healthily?

The epidemic situation stimulates the "vitality" of the water purifier Market

Last year, affected by the epidemic, the whole household appliance industry was under great pressure. While the epidemic affects the normal operation of household appliance manufacturers, it also brings opportunities. Taking the water purifier industry as an example, as a high-end health appliance, the water purifier has reaped a wave of dividends. At the same time, the awakening of consumers' demand for healthy drinking water has brought new vitality to the industry.

Drinking more water is a simple and effective way to improve immunity. In order to improve the problem of safe drinking water in families, many consumers began to install water purifiers at home, and user demand gradually drove the growth of water purifier market sales.

According to public data, in the first half of 2021, the cumulative sales volume of JD water purifiers exceeded 4.7 million and the sales volume exceeded 3 billion. Among them, the net sales volume in Q2 exceeded 2.7 million pieces and the sales volume exceeded 2 billion, with a year-on-year increase of about 23%. It can be seen from the data that the growth rate of water purification industry is obvious and the market can be expected.

At present, there are many kinds of water purifiers on the market. RO reverse osmosis water purifier has become the mainstream of consumption by virtue of its advantages of effectively filtering heavy metals, viruses and organics. However, due to the control of membrane technology, the water purifier products on the market have the problem of homogenization, and the product sales are weak. In the author's opinion, emergencies can only briefly stimulate market sales. Technological upgrading and product innovation can stimulate the real vitality of the market and promote the advancement of enterprises and industrial development.

Product homogeneity is serious and the market price war is fierce

At present, there is a hidden danger of product homogenization in China's water purifier industry, and the whole market has not formed a standardized ecological pattern. Although there are many brands of water purifiers, there is no competition of "letting a hundred flowers bloom" at the technical level.

As the layout of water purifier equipment in terms of function and technology is generally consistent, there are few production capacity resources, weak equipment quality and similar operation modes, there are no innovative technologies or products in the industry, and there are few enterprises carrying out technological independent innovation in the industry.

At present, there are three main categories of common water purifiers in the market: ultrafiltration water purifier, RO reverse osmosis water purifier and nanofiltration water purifier. Ultrafiltration water purifier can filter out bacteria, rust, colloid and other harmful substances in water, but it will release harmful heavy metals in water; RO reverse osmosis water purifier is the mainstream product in the market. It can filter almost all substances in the water except water molecules.

The filtration accuracy of nanofiltration water purifier is between ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis. It has a certain charge adsorption effect and can remove some heavy metals and mineral ions above divalent. Among the three types of production, RO reverse osmosis water purifier has the highest filtration effect. It can remove harmful and beneficial elements together. The filtered water is pure water.

Consumer demand has always been the wind vane of social development, just as "drinking good water" is related to consumer health index and economic development. The author believes that when developing innovative products, water purifier enterprises should not only combine the needs of local consumers, but also combine the changes in supply characteristics, select the technical route that enterprises are capable of doing well, and focus on development.

For example, focusing on membrane technology, Fangtai has developed NSP selective filtration membrane. The removal rates of lead, cadmium and arsenic have reached the same level as those of reverse osmosis membrane (more than 99%), while the minerals calcium, magnesium, sodium and other major elements beneficial to human body are almost not retained, and the water quality is similar to mineral water; Midea focuses on the basic functions of water purifiers and develops innovative products in combination with consumer needs; A. Research and develop different coffee purifiers to meet the needs of consumers with different temperatures; Xiaomi water purifier focuses on Intelligent upgrading, closely combines with smart home, and improves the intelligent water use scheme of the whole house.

In my opinion, for water purifier enterprises, paying attention to the needs of consumer segments and developing innovative products can help manufacturers find new outlets for profit.

Why is it difficult to find leading enterprises in the 100 billion water purification market? With the changes of the times and the continuous improvement of people's quality of life, the water purifier is quietly changing due to the needs of users. It is changing from "drinking water safety" to "healthy and good water". At a time when the absolute leader of the water purifier industry has not yet appeared, there are four major development trends, and the market is ushering in a new pattern.

1. There is no leading enterprise in the 100 billion market

According to public data, from 2016 to 2021, the water purifier market is expected to maintain a compound annual growth rate of 50%, the water purification equipment will maintain a high-speed growth trend, and the scale of water purifiers will exceed 150 billion yuan in 2021.

In online channels, the sales volume of water purifiers with less than 1000 yuan is the highest, and the sales volume of water purifiers with 2999 yuan and above has increased significantly. Stimulated by consumers' demand for health and quality, the water purifier industry is about to set off a new round of technological optimization and functional innovation. Since there is no absolute leading enterprise in the industry, the growth opportunity of the water purifier market is controlled by the independent innovation ability of major enterprises.

With the gradual maturity of the water purification industry and the strengthening of consumers' awareness of water purification products, users' demand for water purifiers will rise from "price orientation" to "quality orientation". In the case of product homogeneity, Chinese and foreign water purification brands are located on the same starting line of technology. Who can first break the deadlock of brand homogenization, research and develop travel alienation technology and produce quality products, who can break through the circle and occupy the first opportunity of competition in the future.

2. The industry will present four major development trends

First, the ability to resist pressure is enhanced, and social e-commerce promotes channel reform. The water purifier industry has experienced the baptism of the epidemic, and the pressure resistance of various brands has been greatly enhanced. It also gives more development opportunities to online channels, and product competition has turned into user competition. Compared with physical stores, consumers prefer online shopping with social nature. Social e-commerce can not only strengthen user stickiness, but also improve sales.

Secondly, the industry will accelerate the reshuffle, and the backward will be eliminated directly. At present, the homogenization of water purifier products is serious. Fortunately, some enterprises have realized this and made great efforts in technology and function application to establish a differentiation trend and widen the distance between brands. At the same time, it has also accelerated the speed of market reshuffle, and the industry will usher in the development of scale and centralization.

Thirdly, intelligence will lead the trend of industry transformation. Intellectualization is not only the only way for the development of water purification industry, but also one of the driving forces of industrial growth. AI voice, face recognition, intelligent interconnection and other technologies not only bring more imagination space to the water purification industry, but also provide consumers with a better use experience.

Finally, green environmental protection. Under the continuous promotion of national policies such as "carbon neutralization", water purification enterprises will gradually implement the emission reduction targets into the product line. Green environmental protection is the mainstream trend of the future development of the water purification industry, and high efficiency and energy saving is the only way for water purification enterprises to carry out technological innovation and product upgrading.

The author believes that with the continuous attention of users to healthy drinking water, the water purifier will likely become the standard configuration of middle-class families. To some extent, COVID-19 has accelerated the shuffling of the water purification industry, and has also brought new opportunities to the industry. After the intensified competition in the water purifier market, the industry threshold will be raised, and more standards and specifications will be formed in the water purification industry. If the leading enterprises take the lead, build product ecology and deeply cultivate the differentiated fine service product system, they may find opportunities to break through the market.

At present, the undercurrent of the water purification industry is surging and is on the eve of great changes. Whoever can grasp the fate of the times and surpass himself can stand out in the chaos. For new enterprises, the establishment of short-term goals can make up for the lack of channels through product technology innovation, and seize the market in advance from different directions.

For industry veterans, through comprehensive analysis of sub market capacity, competition pattern, demand, as well as their own positioning and development direction, carry out the layout of new strategies to accelerate the cultivation and catalytic development of high-end aquatic products market. It can not only help enterprises expand from drinking to multi scenario demand, but also provide more new ideas for product development for the household water purifier industry.