China consumer electronics market report for the first half of 2020 
In July 2020, the China Electronics and Information Industry Development Research Institute released “China Consumer Electronics Market Report for the first half of 2020”. The report provides analysis and reporting on the size of the Chinese consumer electronics market in the first half of 2020, detailed market conditions of each product, and future prospects. The overview is as follows:
Market size
According to the report, the retail sales of China’s consumer electronics market was 369 billion yuan, down 14.13% from the same period last year due to the impact of the new coronavirus, but the drop was 2.73% higher than the average level of consumer goods in China as a whole.
Among them, the retail sales of the consumer electronics market in the first quarter were 120.4 billion yuan, down 35.8% year-on-year, while the retail sales in the second quarter were 248.6 billion yuan, double the sales of the first quarter and up 2.64% from the same period last year.
On a monthly basis, retail sales were the lowest in February, and have started to increase since March. The highest amount of sales was recorded in June, with over 100 billion yuan in sales.
Sales channels
Due to the impact of the new coronavirus, online sales of consumer appliances have increased, while brick-and-mortar sales are on the decline. The first half of 2020 in China’s consumer appliance market, retail sales in brick-and-mortar stores were 77.7 billion yuan, down 29.3% from the same period last year, while online retail sales were 191.3 billion yuan, increasing 7.23% from the same period last year. Online retail sales amounted to 51.84% of total sales.
Sales status of each product and outlook for the second half of this year
- Television: In the first half of 2020, national television retail sales were 50.2 billion yuan, down 20.44%from the same period last year. In the second half of this year, further growth in demand and technological reforms are expected to turn the market around, but it is hard to be optimistic because of the impact of price wars caused by soaring production costs.
- Air conditioning: In the first half of 2020, retail sales of air conditioners nationwide were 92.1 billion yuan, down 22.5% from the same period last year. In the second half of this year, the development of health-oriented air conditioner is expected to accelerate due to consumer’s becoming more health-conscious. The introduction of new energy efficiency regulations is also expected to further raise demands on product production processes and technologies, resulting in new market competition.
- Refrigerators: In the first half of 2020, retail sales of refrigerators nationwide were 47.5 billion yuan, down 7.9% from the same period last year. Demand for refrigerators is expected to gradually recover in the second half of this year, and the market size is expected to gradually increase.
- Washing machines: In the first half of 2020, retail sales of washing machines nationwide were 31.3 billion yuan, down 11.3% from the same period last year. In the second half of this year, strong sales in the online sales market are expected to continue, and the market size is expected to continue to expand. In addition, due to becoming more health-conscious, the “sterilization” function is expected to be the main sales point of the washing machine in the future.
- Kitchen appliances: In the first half of 2020, retail sales of kitchen appliances nationwide were 56.8 billion yuan, down 20.4% from the same period last year. In the future, for kitchen appliances, the emphasis will be on product appearance, kitchen cabinet-related products and technological innovations.
- Consumer electronics: In the first half of 2020, retail sales of consumer electronics nationwide were 91.1 billion yuan, up 1.4% from the same period last year. The factor for the sales increase is thought to be more sales of vacuum cleaners including cleaning robots due to the extended period of “stay at home” and growing needs for cleaning at home. In the second half of this year, the market size of consumer electronics products is expected to continue to expand as demand expands.
The original text of the “Report” above can be viewed from the following URL (Chinese: Simplified).
http://www.cena.com.cn/special/file/2020-sbnzgjdscbg.pdf
