New education trends during Double Eleven: Upgrading of home hardware, explosion of skills training, and AI entering real scenarios
In the Double Eleven shopping festival of 2025, educational consumption presented a more comprehensive cross - section than in previous years. Whether it was JD.com's list of top - selling educational hardware or Tmall's list of vocational training courses, or the rapid rise in popularity of AI toys and educational robots, they all pointed to a common trend: Learning is evolving from a single - scenario activity to a continuous need across the whole family, all age groups, and all scenarios. Learning machines, dictionary pens, and tablets form the foundation of home learning. Adult vocational training is experiencing explosive growth, and the competition among brands in content ecosystems is becoming increasingly intense. The newly emerged "companion educational robot" this year has extended the reach of educational technology to scenarios with more emotional attributes, such as "companionship, enlightenment, and interaction", thus completing the fourth growth curve of educational consumption.
01 Home Scenario: The Overall Rise in Popularity of Educational Smart Hardware
In the detailed category lists of JD.com's Double Eleven this year, educational smart hardware, as part of the "smart home" ecosystem, has gained incremental market space. Learning machines, electronic dictionary pens, tablets, and children's smartwatches have all entered the core lists, constituting the "four key devices" for home educational consumption.
The learning machine segment has maintained high popularity. The lists show that the monthly sales of many AI learning machines exceeded 10,000 units, and their scores generally ranged from 98 to 99 points. These machines mainly feature functions such as "AI - based diagnosis, learning, and practice", "textbook synchronization", and "eye - protecting large screens", covering multiple educational stages from primary school to high school. In consumers' reviews, keywords such as "alleviating parents' tutoring burden" and "personalized learning paths" appeared frequently. This indicates that learning machines are shifting from traditional "homework - assisting devices" to "home learning centers", with AI functions and interactive experiences becoming the core factors in purchase decisions.
Electronic dictionary pens have performed outstandingly in the context of the high - school entrance examination and college entrance examination. The monthly sales of mainstream models ranged from 5,000 to 10,000 units, and their core selling points mainly focused on AI voice recognition, scanning translation, and word - source training for the high - school entrance examination and college entrance examination. Compared with early word - looking - up tools, the new - generation products are more like "learning assistants", providing instant feedback through voice interaction. This also reflects the trend of language - learning hardware towards being more lightweight and intelligent.
The tablet list shows a simultaneous strengthening of educational attributes and brand stratification. Among the top ten models, domestic brands (including Huawei, Honor, Xiaomi, Lenovo, etc.) accounted for the majority, while Apple still maintained a stable performance. The iPad 11 and iPad Air series were both ranked among the top. This pattern indicates that the hardware competition in the educational scenario has a "dual - layer structure". Domestic brands are seizing the mainstream market with high cost - performance ratios and AI learning ecosystems, while Apple retains high - end users with its system smoothness and content compatibility. Some models are also enhancing functions such as eye - protecting displays, family management, and course recommendations, reflecting a further integration of educational, entertainment, and productivity scenarios.
Children's smartwatches have witnessed a concentrated explosion in the smart - wearable device field. The lists show that there are many products with monthly sales exceeding 100,000 units, and their scores generally ranged from 96 to 99 points. Domestic brands still dominate the market, with brands like Xiaotiancai, Xiaomi, Huawei, and those with reading - and - writing functions performing prominently. In terms of functions, they have expanded from basic positioning and calling to "homework reminders", "AI voice recognition", and "learning resource push", gradually taking on both educational and companion attributes. Children's smartwatches are evolving from "safety devices" to "learning terminals" and becoming a new traffic entry point in the home smart ecosystem.
Overall, the increasing popularity of educational smart hardware is not only due to the popularization of AI functions but also reflects a structural transformation in home - education methods. Parents are no longer just buying single devices; they hope to use smart hardware to build a complete and continuous learning scenario. From tools to content, from companionship to services, the expansion of educational hardware is reshaping the boundaries of home learning and injecting new impetus into the overall growth of "electrical product categories".
The top five products on JD.com's lists of learning machines, electronic dictionaries, and children's smartwatches (Image source: JD.com's official list)
02 Adult Scenario: Vocational Training Becomes the Biggest Dark Horse in Double Eleven
Different from the rising popularity of home - educational hardware, Tmall's educational list in Double Eleven shows another high - growth curve: Vocational training has become the most powerful dark horse. The latest list shows that the turnover of office software training courses increased by more than 160% year - on - year, and the turnover of health management courses soared by 1400% year - on - year. Brands in the vocational skills category occupied 7 seats in the TOP20, showing a significant expansion compared with 2024. The focus of educational consumption is shifting from "examination - oriented learning" to "skill - based learning" and extending from the examination stage to the entire career cycle.
The list of educational brands in Tmall's Double Eleven 2025 (Image source: Tmall's official data)
The detailed trends in Tmall's list are particularly obvious. Office software training has become the most popular activity for office workers to "stock up on courses". Content such as PPT beautification, Excel spreadsheet operation, and efficient WPS operation has continuously topped the hot - search lists on live - streaming rooms and store pages. In addition, the sales of skill courses in project management, new - media operation, and marketing planning have increased exponentially, changing from "optional improvement" to "basic job skills". The most explosive area is the health management field. Combining the "Healthy China" policy, the national topic of weight management, and the boom in professional qualifications, the turnover of relevant courses increased by 1400% year - on - year, making it a core part of the Double Eleven list for the first time.
The brand landscape is also being reshaped accordingly. Dongao Accounting Online, despite the overall pressure in the accounting field, achieved a 90% increase in turnover through customized live - streaming benefits and has ranked first on the list for three consecutive years. Gaodun Education maintained its leading position through multi - track layouts in accounting, civil service examinations, and postgraduate entrance examinations. New brands such as Zhinangquan and English Deskmate have risen rapidly. Zhinangquan's ranking has jumped one place, and English Deskmate has entered the top of the list, becoming the most popular content brand among young office workers. This pattern change of "established brands holding steady and new brands breaking through" indicates that the demand for skill learning is becoming more youthful, immediate, and product - oriented.
The core reason why Tmall was able to drive the explosion of vocational training this year lies in its precise reconstruction of user touchpoints and learning scenarios. Whether it is the "health - consumption scenario" associated with health management courses or the "work - efficiency scenario" integrated with office skills, educational content is no longer regarded as an independent category but is naturally integrated into users' daily consumption chains. This logic of "learning is consumption" has transformed education from a highly purposeful activity into a lifestyle that can be accessed at any time.
This year's Tmall Double Eleven educational list marks that adult education is no longer just "compensatory learning" but "pre - emptive investment". Learning has become an important way for adults to deal with uncertainties, and educational consumption is extending towards being all - age, scenario - based, and long - term.
03 Brand Case: Youdao's Breakthrough across Two Platforms
Among educational hardware brands, NetEase Youdao is the most representative case of breaking through boundaries this year. Its performance on both JD.com and Tmall provides a vivid example of educational hardware entering the "era of systematic competition".
Youdao leads comprehensively in core categories such as dictionary pens and question - answering pens. It ranks first in brand lists, store lists, hot - selling lists, and repurchase lists. Its dictionary pens are selling well on both platforms, and the sales of its AI question - answering pens have exceeded 50,000 units. Its listening devices and tape recorders are among the top in JD.com's praise lists and hot - selling lists.
More importantly, Youdao's leadership does not come from a single hit product but from its complete learning tool chain: The dictionary pen is responsible for input recognition and instant feedback, the question - answering pen provides explanations of knowledge points and locates weak areas, the listening device undertakes listening training functions, and its tablets and language applications form a larger content ecosystem. This structure of "multiple hardware entrances + content platform" means that the competition among educational hardware brands has shifted from comparing single - product parameters to "content - AI - hardware - service" integrated systematic competition.
From the evaluation structure of JD.com's top lists, it can be seen that when consumers choose learning hardware, their focus is shifting from "hardware performance" to "complete learning experience". Factors such as the accuracy of AI recognition, the depth of knowledge base and question - bank coverage, the quality of content services, the perfection of parental supervision and learning - planning systems, and whether devices can form a seamless learning linkage have all become key factors affecting repurchase and word - of - mouth. Youdao's ability to maintain its leading position on both platforms is based on continuous investment in this "experience - driven" competition logic: It not only provides devices but also learning capabilities; it not only sells single products but also builds a continuous learning system.
Behind this phenomenon is a profound change in the role of educational hardware. In the past, they were regarded as "home auxiliary tools" with limited uses. Now, as learning needs become more long - term, process - oriented, and data - driven, smart hardware is becoming the home infrastructure that determines learning efficiency. When educational consumption shifts from one - time purchases to long - term investments, brand competition has also expanded from products themselves to content ecosystems and service capabilities, showing an obvious "systematization" trend.
04 Educational Robots and AI Toys: The Integration of Companionship, Enlightenment, and Learning
Besides educational smart hardware, another bright growth curve in this year's Double Eleven comes from "companion educational robots" and "AI toys". This field combines educational and emotional attributes and is becoming an "implicit learning investment" for many families.
In JD.com's smart robot list, many educational and companion products have reached high positions: The SenseTime Yuanluobo robot ranks third, and the Unitree Go2 robot dog is in the top five. Both have sold more than 200 units within 15 days. The AI pet robot Ropet and the Luka reading machine have also maintained stable sales of more than 200 units. In addition, the Songyan Xiaobumi achieved a pre - sale of 800 units on JD.com, indicating a rapid increase in users' interest in "new - type companion learning tools".
The AI toy list shows even stronger consumption momentum. Taking the Fuzozo Fuzai AI trendy toy as an example, its sales exceeded 1,000 units and it ranked second. The sales of many products have increased several times within a month. Multiple sub - fields, such as "intelligent talking dolls" for children and "AI programming robots" for STEM enlightenment, are all active, forming a "light - innovation group" in this year's Double Eleven educational consumption.
Industry experts generally believe that the growth of educational robots is not a "toy craze" but "another expansion of the form of learning tools". With the built - in large - model dialogue ability, anthropomorphic companionship, and interactive learning content, some AI toys have broken through the traditional boundaries of "toys" and become new carriers connecting interest enlightenment, learning behaviors, and family interactions.
The importance of this field lies not only in the sales volume itself but also in that it fills the gap in educational hardware in terms of "companionship, interaction, and enlightenment". Learning machines focus on knowledge systems, dictionary pens on instant feedback, tablets on multi - scenario learning, and educational robots are embedded in children's daily lives in a more natural interactive way. From a functional perspective, they are becoming the "emotional interface" in the home learning ecosystem: They can relieve parents' tutoring pressure and enhance children's learning interest through high - frequency interaction. With the enhancement of model capabilities, the enrichment of content supply, and the more lightweight form, this type of product may become an important new growth point in the educational hardware market in the future.
In the Double Eleven of 2025, educational consumption presents four parallel and complementary growth curves: Home smart hardware builds the learning infrastructure, vocational training meets the growth needs of adults, brand ecosystems determine experience and efficiency, and educational robots and AI toys fill the gap in enlightenment and companionship scenarios. As learning needs become more continuous, diverse, and integrated into family life, educational consumption is shifting from "periodic purchases" to "long - term configurations". Whether it is a child's learning machine, a parent's skill course, or a companion robot in the living room, they together form a gradually taking - shape picture of "lifelong learning", making this year's Double Eleven not just a promotion but a real slice of the changing contemporary educational needs.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Duojing" (ID: DJEDUINNO). The author is Deng Lixian. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.