Industry News: High-speed hair dryers drive the second upgrade of the hair dryer industry, and electric toothbrushes enter the technological era

In today's era of individuality, young people are paying more and more attention to their own consumption. The consumption concept of enjoying life and pampering yourself is becoming a new social trend, and it has also become an opportunity for the development of small personal care appliances. According to the total online push data of AVC, from January to November 2023, online retail sales of small personal care appliances (hair dryers, electric toothbrushes, electric shavers) (traditional e-commerce + Douyin) reaching 22.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.8%. retail sales were 124.48 million units, a year-on-year increase of 18.1%. At the same time, beauty devices, massage devices, dental rinsers and other categories also performed well.

PART.01

High-speed hair dryers drive the second upgrade of the hair dryer industry

As we all know, the rise of high-speed hair dryers has promoted the second upgrade of the hair dryer industry, and the scale of the industry has grown year by year. High-speed hair dryers have gone through several stages:

2016 was the first year for the development of high-speed hair dryers. Dyson quickly dominated the list after launching the first model.

In 2020-2021, the industry has entered a growth period, and some Internet brands have entered the high-speed hair dryer market and positioned the price at more than one thousand yuan.

Brands will continue to pour in from 2022 to 2023, which is the explosive period of high-speed hair dryers. Products are blooming and prices are significantly reduced. Some models are priced as low as about 299 yuan. At the same time, the pull of emerging channels for the industry cannot be underestimated. With the influx of new players one after another, some problems have also arisen. The proportion of counterfeit brands and white brands has increased, and the number of falsely labeled parameter products has increased, which also indicates that industry standardization must be improved without delay. In short, the future development direction of the high-speed hair dryer industry is:

On the brand side, we fight against counterfeit products, optimize product lines, reduce costs, and increase profit margins.

On the product side, we optimize product functions and appearance, and launch products that better meet consumer needs, such as high-speed blow care machines.

PART.02

Electric toothbrushes enter the technological era

In the involutive electric toothbrush market, Laifen’s product path and approach are of great reference and dismantling value.

Based on the imitation of the super popular model of Dyson hair dryer, and the price of less than one-eighth of Dyson, Leifen has achieved explosive growth. The company's sales hit 600,000 units in 618 this year, and the total online sales exceeded 330 million. Imitating super single products, creating low-priced hot models, and investing heavily in emerging online channels seems to be the formula for the success of Leifen hair dryers. Dyson for Leifen, and even the entire hair dryer industry, is as the standard answer. Subsequent brands only need to reduce costs to achieve breakthroughs. Leifen told New Entropy that after Leifen, hundreds of companies have successively launched new products imitating Leifen hair dryers.

Now, when Leifen comes to the electric toothbrush market with this methodology, the same path becomes difficult.

First of all, in the electric toothbrush market, there is no Dyson-style disruptive hot product. Although early electric toothbrush brands, such as Soushi, boosted production through low prices and crowdfunding, as competition deepened, low prices once backfired on the entire industry.

According to reports from Aoweiyun.com, the electric toothbrush industry will be in a downturn from 2021 to 2022, with many brands under pressure. The number of electric toothbrush brands has been significantly shuffled, from 658 brands on sale to less than 300 brands on sale.

The downturn and clearing of the industry has also given brands a warning that short-term low prices are not the answer for electric toothbrushes. Judging from the latest products, adding 'technological' and 'medical' attributes seems to have become a new consensus in the industry. From a technical perspective, Leifen is trying to break through its own strong electromechanical technology reserves and related understanding.

From a larger perspective, Leifen's problem seems to be a dilemma for the entire industry. Whether it is Philips, Usmile, or Yifu, each brand has launched its own recognized technological innovation path, but from the results It seems that whether it is usmile’s visual dual screens, sensors and self-developed algorithms, or Philips’ GumPro frequency conversion gum protection function, it seems difficult to impress users from a larger perspective.

After experiencing a simple and crude price war, electric toothbrushes seem to have entered another level of technology stacking and performance carnival, and users have begun to get lost in more professional terms. In addition, the catalyst to accelerate this electric toothbrush carnival is inseparable from finding marketing channels that are consistent with the brand’s tone and that young people are more willing to accept.

The introduction of cutting-edge technology into public life means that more people can enjoy higher-end products at affordable prices, which means the improvement of everyone's quality of life and the improvement of social productivity. If there are more companies and more technological products around us that can achieve 'technological inclusiveness', then the beauty of life empowered by technology will truly belong to more people.