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The Malaysian home appliance market is not optimistic. Many channel dealers in the industry said that the overall performance of the home appliance industry in 2023 is lower than expected. Compared with 2022, a conservative estimate is a double-digit decline.
Despite the decline in the home appliance industry, there may still be opportunities for individual stock prices. Based on the predictions of channel vendors, the three major categories of sweeping robots, small household appliances and kitchen appliances, and smart homes may have better market expectations in 2024.
1. Intelligent sweeping robots have become a necessity.
In recent years, with the improvement of Malaysia’s consumption level, more and more consumers have begun to pay attention to improving their quality of life. The rise of smart homes has led to the instant success of sweeping robots.
As of the first half of 2023, sweepers exported by Chinese brands account for nearly 50% of the overseas market, with the Southeast Asian market accounting for the highest share, reaching 68%.
Why do Southeast Asian consumers love sweeping robots? This has a lot to do with the living habits of local people. Taking Malaysia as an example, due to the warm climate all year round, most people like to walk barefoot at home, and keeping their home floors clean is their living habit. Using a sweeping robot can not only save time and energy significantly, but also reduce more time spent on household chores.
In addition, Malaysia’s population is younger, and consumers are more receptive to emerging things and are more inclined to direct consumption or advance consumption, which makes it easier to popularize mid-to-high-end products such as sweeping robots. Therefore, the demand for smart sweeping robots will gradually heat up and may outperform the electronics industry.
2. Small household appliances and kitchen appliances need more experience boost.
According to a report by market research company Statista, the size of the small home appliance market in Southeast Asia is growing rapidly. From 2017 to 2022, the scale of Southeast Asia’s e-commerce will grow from US$24.2 billion to US$102.5 billion. Especially in 2020 and 2021, the epidemic has accelerated a wave of growth in the small home appliance business. Among them, the demand for small household appliances in 2022 will be close to 250 million pieces, and this type of kitchen appliances are constantly iterating product innovation to improve the quality of life of local people.
Malaysia, with its rapidly growing population, is naturally fertile ground for the kitchen appliances market. Especially in recent years, health and environmental awareness have gradually increased in Malaysia. Consumers pay more attention to the quality and safety of food and tend to choose kitchen appliances that can retain the nutrients of ingredients and reduce fumes and waste. For example, products such as slow cookers, steam ovens and high-efficiency range hoods are popular in the market
3. “Fragmentation” needs to be unified, and smart home has huge potential
Regarding smart homes, currently only a small group of people in Malaysia can adopt smart home devices. Most of them are DIY, and consumers have not really experienced the advantages and convenience of smart homes.
Xiaomi is currently a major player in the Malaysian smart home retail market. Xiaomi’s smart home ecology in Malaysia is more dispersed, and it has created many separate devices such as light bulbs and speakers in a “decentralized” manner. It can be said that Xiaomi has completed market education very well. The main consumers of smart home products are young people who have strong receptivity to new things. Now they are slowly integrating into the smart home environment from small accessories to small accessories.
The new trend of intelligence and digitalization in the home appliances and home furnishing industry is expected to become a hot spot in the Malaysian industry and is accelerating towards implementation. It is foreseeable that Malaysia’s smart home market is expected to continue to grow in 2024.
As 2023 comes to an end, it is a foregone conclusion that the growth rate of Malaysia’s home appliance industry will return. Industry insiders predict that although the overall performance in 2024 will not be optimistic, companies may still be able to reap a wave of dividends by seizing the opportunities in the above categories.
