The "flood - style stimulus" approach has become ineffective. How can the home appliance and home furnishing industries restructure their growth in the process of new - product launches?
In 2024, Hisense launched a high - end TV product. High hopes were placed on this product, but the actual sales volume did not meet expectations.
Facing the gap, Hisense held multiple internal meetings for review. At one meeting, Sun Jianxun, the deputy general manager of marketing at Hisense Visual Technology, pointed out a sharp problem: If the product selling points cannot precisely address users' pain points, even high - end product parameters are useless.
Especially in the sales of new products on e - commerce platforms, the previously common strategy of simply displaying product parameters has become ineffective. Everyone at the meeting looked at each other in dismay, as many were still stuck in old experiences.
This is a microcosm of the confusion period the home appliance and home furnishing industry has experienced. In recent years, the growth dividends brought by the intelligent wave to the home appliance and home furnishing industry have gradually faded. Many home appliance and home furnishing brands have found it difficult to boost the sales of new products despite their best efforts.
This year, the long - dormant home appliance and home furnishing industry has witnessed long - awaited excitement. All brands are launching new products, but the situation is a mixed bag. Some brands, despite launching new products, have not performed as expected and have even plunged the entire brand into a growth dilemma.
However, some new products have become blockbusters, providing brands and channels with a new engine to drive sales growth. Data released by JD.com shows that in the first quarter, the transaction volume of new home appliance and home furnishing products on JD.com increased by nearly 100% year - on - year, making a significant contribution to the growth rate. In most categories, the growth rate of new products was extremely high: for example, the sales of black - box TVs increased by nearly 5 times year - on - year, and that of air conditioners increased by nearly 3 times.
Why is there such an obvious polarization in the launch of new home appliance and home furnishing products?
It's Getting Harder to Create Blockbusters in the Home Appliance and Home Furnishing Industry
Sun Jianxun had the confidence to point out the problem at the review meeting because he keenly noticed the market changes during the sales process of new products.
The thinking of many major home appliance and home furnishing brands remains stuck in the past decade. At that time, the functions and experiences of TVs underwent multiple leaps in iteration. From bulky square boxes to thin and light LCD panels, and from simple program playback to intelligent functions such as high - definition screen mirroring, touch control, and video calls, consumers could perceive the differences between products without any advertising. However, this logic does not hold in the era of micro - innovation targeting niche demands.
The repurchase cycle of major home appliances and home furnishings is long, so attracting new customers is inevitably the primary task of operation. In the past, traditional e - commerce channels simply displayed product selling points. Even with high - end parameters, without intuitive experiences and the ability to precisely address users' pain points, it was difficult for users to be interested in new products.
It's becoming increasingly difficult for brands to create continuous blockbusters as before, but Hisense has found a new way to create blockbusters this year.
After reviewing the problems with last year's high - end new product, Hisense regrouped and launched another high - end TV new product, the E8Q, this year. This product set a record for the first - launch of Hisense's high - end products. It became the top - selling product in the 100 - inch TV category within 28 hours of its launch on JD.com. For high - end TVs with a unit price of over 10,000 yuan, 1,400 units were sold in one day - this new sales record far exceeded Sun Jianxun's expectations.
Why is there such a big difference in the sales performance of two new products from the same brand?
Sun Jianxun's multiple decisions were crucial in the sales of new products this year.
He decided that operations must be closely linked. Previously, different teams were responsible for each stage from new product R & D to market sales, and the teams were accustomed to working independently.
However, the market environment has changed. Consumers are increasingly valuing cost - effectiveness and personalization. This means that Hisense needs to align its product R & D, marketing planning, and basic operation and maintenance work, clearly defining the aesthetics and pain points of the target consumer group. Only when each task is closely linked and every step is well - executed can a blockbuster product be created. The channel strategy also needs to change. While most people believed in multi - channel cooperation, Sun Jianxun decided to "bet" on JD.com with the E8Q series and jointly create a high - end blockbuster in the industry with JD.com's Lightning New Product project team. In his view, the resource support from the channel is crucial. Only when the brand and the platform work together can a new product gain a large amount of exposure upon its launch.
Sun Jianxun chose JD.com because he valued its execution ability. He observed that last year, as soon as the national subsidy policy was introduced, JD.com became the first channel to implement the policy nationwide. In various new product projects, JD.com also has a well - established and standardized SOP for new product launches and a clear schedule. Collaborations with JD.com are always well - organized and successful.
JD.com also noticed Hisense's sincerity and determination. In their cooperation, JD.com mobilized multiple department teams to support the E8Q series without reservation.
During the product sales process, JD.com's Lightning New Product project team, based on past sales data, helped Hisense more precisely define the profile of the target consumers for high - end TVs and guided Hisense in targeted product promotion and sales. Meanwhile, Hisense used external advertising projects such as Xiaohongmeng and Jingzhijinghuo on JD.com to analyze users' adding - to - cart, clicking, and purchasing behaviors layer by layer, ensuring that the same group of users could be reached both inside and outside the platform.
At different sales stages of the product, JD.com's New Product Innovation Center also provided special support in research capabilities, helping Hisense simulate product launches, optimize the order of product details, and select appropriate selling - point packaging words to make the product description more user - friendly and improve conversion rates.
It can be said that JD.com's support in traffic and sales strategies, including coordinated advertising, resource support, and selling - point packaging, was the key to the instant success of Hisense's E8Q upon its launch.
During this year's 618 promotion, Hisense successfully created two super - blockbusters. On the JD.com platform, the 85E5Q Pro TV became the top - selling single product in the black - box TV industry, and the 100E5Q Pro TV became the top - selling single product in the 100 - inch flagship category. These two blockbusters drove up Hisense's black - box TV sales performance, and Hisense successfully became the top - selling brand in the black - box TV category during the entire 618 period.
On JD.com, Hisense's E8Q is not the only new product that has achieved great sales. The new Stone A30 Pro series of floor cleaners launched by Roborock has been the top - selling product in the floor - cleaner category during the 618 promotion on JD.com since May 13th.
Shuo Ge, a senior buyer and seller of handheld cleaning appliances at JD.com, is very proud of this. Shuo Ge has worked in the handheld cleaning appliance industry at JD.com for many years and has witnessed the industry's glory. However, in recent years, the most common thing he has heard from brand owners is "We don't know how to iterate our products anymore" because they have exhausted all possible functions.
Looking at the confused looks on the brand owners' faces, Shuo Ge always believed that opportunities were hidden in some inconspicuous places. He analyzed the sales data of handheld cleaning appliances on JD.com over and over again. One day, he suddenly had an epiphany: Floor cleaners with selling points such as high - temperature cleaning and steam cleaning were generally priced high. Although these new products received good reviews at their launch, they did not sell well. However, the user demand was very urgent.
He actively approached Roborock, and the two parties hit it off immediately. They jointly developed a high - cost - performance steam cleaning product, the Stone A30 Pro Steam, that consumers could afford. During the subsequent sales process, JD.com also provided a large amount of traffic exposure for this product, helping to achieve explosive sales growth.
When sharing the successful experience with 36Kr, Shuo Ge said that JD.com accurately identified the market demand and customized a product with Roborock that truly met users' needs and was well - received in the market.
While many handheld cleaning appliance brands are still in a state of confusion, Shuo Ge is constantly sharing Roborock's experience with more brands. He hopes to help brands regain growth through new products with his efforts.
From Traffic to Sales: Brands Find a Path to Launch New Products on JD.com
From the disappointing first - launch sales last year to the instant success of the E8Q on the launch day this year, Sun Jianxun specially thanked the JD.com team.
In his view, JD.com has enriched the content and gameplay of the Lightning New Product project this year. New capabilities such as the in - and - out - of - platform linkage model, 3D stereoscopic imaging, frame - breaking videos, search whirlwinds, and online - offline linkage for new product launches have been launched one by one, enabling new products to quickly gain traffic and improve efficiency. The in - and - out - of - platform efficient cooperation in promoting new products has helped win the first wave of sales at the product launch. During the product sales stage, with the assistance of JD.com, Hisense has developed a complete process for creating blockbuster products, integrating online and offline operations and creating a complete cycle of consumer return.
This new product launch also made him think more deeply about the value of channels: The importance of channels in launching new products in the home appliance and home furnishing industry is increasing. From the era of "Consumers search for products" to the current era of "Products find consumers", a high - quality channel is a "stable platform" for the home appliance and home furnishing industry, enabling products to reach the right users and improving the efficiency and success rate of new product promotion.
This view coincides with that of Alex, a senior buyer and seller of refrigerators and washing machines at JD.com. In the eyes of this senior buyer and seller with more than a decade of experience, JD.com's Lightning New Product project can effectively gather brand owners, consumers, and various resources, providing more certainty to brand owners in an uncertain environment and playing the role of a "stable platform".
JD.com doesn't just aim to sell products well; it also wants to help create good products. JD.com doesn't stop at being just a good channel for selling products. The JD.com buyer and seller team represented by Alex closely monitors the pain points and needs of consumers and actively communicates with brands about product R & D, becoming the "first external brain" for brand product R & D.
Alex has guided brand owners to shift from focusing on "One washing machine solves one specific need" to "One washing machine solves the needs of the whole family", which has been unanimously recognized by brand owners. Brand owners have realized from Alex's insights that partitioned washing and classified washing are all new opportunities, and they can make more innovations and explorations based on these pain points.
At the same time, Alex also reminds brand owners to value the support of channels in marketing resources. Marketing increasingly tests the ability to integrate resources. A combination of in - platform resource recommendations, out - of - platform joint advertising, and offline store linkage for product launches is a more effective approach.
During this year's 618 promotion, Alex helped several new washing machine products obtain traffic support from JD.com, and these new products also had excellent sales performance.
Hisense is one of them. To sell high - end washing and drying machines well, Hisense first launched its offline high - end sub - brand "Cuican" online, giving the new product a new brand definition and packaging design. JD.com not only adopted an exclusive sales model to relieve Hisense's concerns and encouraged Hisense to make bold marketing investments but also mobilized nearly 20 JD Mall Super Experience Stores across the country to promote the new product, achieving an online - offline linkage for the product launch. At the same time, with the help of JD.com's tools, Hisense can directly see the business results of its promotional content on Xiaohongshu and Douyin and receive strong support from JD.com's search traffic.
Similarly, the Little Plum 3.0 series of washing machines jointly launched by JD.com's refrigerator and washing machine department and Little Swan sold 10,000 units at its launch after applying this approach.
In summary, JD.com provides two main types of support for new home appliance and home furnishing products. On the one hand, it collaborates with brand owners on product R & D, helping brand owners produce products based on sales forecasts and conduct more targeted R & D. On the other hand, it collaborates on marketing. With the help of JD.com, brand owners have changed their original marketing approach that focused more on traffic and shifted to a strategy of precisely reaching the target audience to boost sales, achieving excellent results.
In addition, JD.com also uses its professional capabilities to help brand owners solve problems such as "fulfilling national subsidy requirements" and "strengthening price control across all channels", allowing brand owners to sell new products more steadily.
Although brand owners have faced many challenges in launching new products this year, many brands have achieved incremental growth after learning these experiences. Data shows that this year, more than 100 super - new products that became blockbusters at their launch were launched on JD.com alone.
According to the 618 data released by JD.com, the first - wave promotions of major new products in the first half of the year saw a year - on - year growth of over 100%, and more than 1,000 new products became top - selling products in their categories. The transaction amount of 15 new products, including the TCL Really Energy - Saving SE series of air conditioners, the Little Plum 3.0 series of washing machines, the ECOVACS T80 series of sweeping robots, the Hisense TV Little Ink E5Q Pro series, the Leader Three - Drum Lazy - Man washing machine, the Roborock P20 Ultra series of sweeping robots, the TCL QD - miniLED Q9L Pro series of TVs, the Midea 1.5 - HP Ultra Energy - Saving wall - mounted air conditioner, the Xiaomi 1.5 - HP Super Energy - Saving wall - mounted air conditioner, the Haier 1.5 - HP Clean Energy - Saving wall - mounted air conditioner, the Midea 1.5 - HP Magic Machine Second - Generation wall - mounted air conditioner, the Midea Ultra Energy - Saving Cool series of air conditioners, the Aux Power - Saving Hero Pro series of air conditioners, the Yunjing Xiaoyao 002 series of sweeping robots, and the Xiaomi S Mini LED 2025 series of TVs, exceeded 100 million yuan. The new Acacia Wood Black General Chopping Knife jointly launched and exclusively sold by JD.com and Zhang Xiaoquan sold over 10,000 units at its 618 launch on JD.com, becoming the top - selling product in the knife, scissors, and chopping board industry.
The sales explosion of hundreds of new products is definitely not a coincidence. JD.com has explored a mature methodology for new product sales.
In the view of JD.com's Lightning New Product project, the growth curve of a blockbuster new product should be a tick - shaped "✓" curve - under refined operations, new product sales should explode at the launch and reach new highs during major promotions.
