(Yicai) June 18 -- Sales of small home appliances in China, particularly of beauty, health, and pet care gadgets, have surged over the course of this year's 618 shopping festival, driven by discounts, tech innovations, and a growing cohort of younger buyers who value quality and good design.

Tmall, Alibaba Group Holding’s online retail platform, reported a 21 percent jump in home appliance sales last month from a year earlier, with those of robot vacuum cleaners surging 55 percent. Sales of pet air purifiers and low-noise, pet-friendly, quick-dry hair dryers doubled.

The 618 shopping festival is China’s largest annual retail extravaganza after Singles' Day in November, and typically takes place from June 1 to 18. This year, most e-commerce sites launched 618 discounts on May 13 to embrace '520,' shorthand for May 20, which is celebrated in China in a similar way to Valentine's Day.

On JD.Com, sales of beauty gadgets and hair dryers have more than tripled since June 7, while massage and foot therapy devices have surged 132 percent, and electric toothbrushes and water flossers have climbed over 150 percent. Meanwhile, Meituan’s mid‑year promotion report indicates that small appliance transactions nearly tripled in value from a year ago.

Tymo prepared three times the usual daily stock for the 618 event, Qi Miao, who founded the maker of innovative hair-styling tools, told Yicai. Sales were good and met expectations, he noted.

While low prices still draw in shoppers for the 618 event, price differentiation, tech innovation, and rising competition are reshaping the industry, according to analysts. In the hair straightening brush market, for instance, Dyson’s blow-dry stylers retail for around CNY3,000 (USD418), while the products of Tymo and similar brands range from CNY150 to CNY600 (USD21 to USD84), with some budget options even under CNY20 (USD2.78), they noted.

Younger consumers, particularly those born after 2000, are redefining market trends, said Jing Hui, head of consumer electronics at BeautyOne and the livestreaming platform of star Chinese cosmetics influencer Li Jiaqi. This group values lifestyle quality and social experiences, and have a greater thirst for stylish, high-value products, Jing added.

Tmall Genie smart speakers, water purifiers, instant hot water dispensers, and coffee machines sold rapidly during Li's livestreams over the shopping gala, fueled by demand for home automation and convenience, Jing pointed out.

Top brands should avoid price wars and focus on premium products with strong quality-to-price ratios, noted a spokesperson for MiniJ, which recently launched a three kilogram wall-mounted washer-dryer and retro mini-refrigerators for offices. 

Significant potential for innovation in the small appliances market still exists, with companies that have sustained technological advancements likely to gain a competitive edge, a report by China International Capital said earlier this month.

Editor: Martin Kadiev