![Due to the increasing demand for home appliances, some new products from domestic home appliance manufacturers have to wait for nearly a month to receive products after purchase. On the 25th, consumers are looking at products to purchase refrigerators at a home appliance store in Seoul. [이충우 기자]](https://i0.wp.com/file.mk.co.kr/meet/neds/2020/12/image_readtop_2020_1321113_16089049814485258.jpg?w=560&ssl=1)
Due to the increasing demand for home appliances, some new products from domestic home appliance manufacturers have to wait for nearly a month to receive products after purchase. On the 25th, consumers are looking at products to purchase refrigerators at a home appliance store in Seoul. [이충우 기자]In the first half of this year, the early days of the spread of Corona 19, the outlook that home appliance makers’ earnings this year will contract due to the global economic contraction and consumption slowdown was dominant. There have even been concerns that if some overseas production facilities are shut down, they will suffer double troubles in supply and demand.
However, in the second half of the year, the situation reversed. Demand for’pent-up (repressed)’ due to Corona 19 is greatly increasing, and the home appliance market is experiencing an unprecedented boom in the second half of the year. As overseas travel and outside activities became more difficult, the sentiment of reward consumption, replacing leisure consumption with consumer electronics consumption, had an impact. Also, as the time spent working at home has increased, the role of the residential space has expanded, which is also a good thing.
According to the home appliance industry on the 25th, as the COVID-19 outbreak is prolonged, external growth and evolution are occurring simultaneously in the home appliance market. In particular, the growth of products other than mainstream home appliances such as TVs, refrigerators and washing machines is remarkable. According to an analysis, the boundary between mainstream and non-alcoholic products is gradually disappearing as sales of dryers, clothing managers, and dishwashers, which have been classified as non-alcoholic products so far, increase. Consumers spend longer staying at home, and sales of products that make household work more convenient or save time, even if they are not essential home appliances, are on the rise.
This trend is also evident in sales statistics. According to Hi Mart, sales of some items increased by more than 100% compared to last year. As of the 23rd of this month, Hi Mart compared sales of home appliances this year with last year, and the growth rate of the dishwasher reached 145%. Clothing management and electric range sales increased by 55 and 22%, respectively, compared to last year. TV sales growth also reached 15%.
In the case of Samsung Electronics, sales of dryers in the domestic market increased by about 60% on a cumulative basis in the third quarter of this year, while air dressers and dishwashers grew by about four times. In particular, as interest in health and hygiene is growing more than ever, home appliance manufacturers are also releasing products that meet hygiene needs. Home appliance makers are showing off most of their daily home appliances as products with enhanced sterilization function. LG Electronics launched a series of home appliances products using the high-temperature’Truce Team’ that boiled water at 100 degrees. It is explained that the product to which Trusteam is applied has sterilization performance that removes 99.99~99.999% of harmful bacteria and viruses. Trusteam boils water at 100 degrees, so that the moisture particles become finer and the amount of steam is rich, so you can care for clothes, blankets, and tableware.
Samsung Electronics has adopted a sterilization cleaning function that removes 99.999% of harmful bacteria and viruses with high temperature water of 75 degrees through a direct water method that supplies clean water connected to a water pipe whenever washing in the Bespoke dishwasher.
Home appliance companies are even setting up their own research institutes that have received global certification to improve the quality of products related to health and hygiene. Samsung Electronics announced last year that’Eco Life Lab’ was certified as a microbial laboratory in Germany’s’TUV Rheinland’, a global testing and certification agency.
TV purchase demand is also increasing significantly. Consumers, who have found it difficult to go to movie theaters, concert halls, and concerts, are increasing their purchase of ultra-high-definition TVs to replace’intuition’. Global TV sales this year are expected to increase by 4.1% compared to last year to 223.83 million units. This is the highest sales volume since 2015. Samsung Electronics is expected to continue the No. 1 TV market sales for 15 consecutive years, selling about 49.2 million TVs this year. In particular, the growth of the game market is also having an impact. LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics are focusing on selling customized TV products to target consumers who have purchased new gaming consoles.
In addition, as the time to stay at home increases, the perception that residential spaces are more than places to eat and sleep, reflect personal preferences as they are. Accordingly, home appliance companies are releasing products tailored to the demanding interior eye level of consumers.
Since last year, Samsung Electronics has been introducing Bespoke kitchen products that can be customized. LG Electronics plans to lead the space interior home appliance trend with the’LG Object Collection’.
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