In the past two years, online water purifiers have shown a trend towards higher flow rates, with consumers increasingly opting for larger flow models. According to data from AVC (All View Cloud), in 2022, online retail market share for 1000G and 1200G water purifiers reached 23% and 6.3% respectively, representing increases of 15.3% and 4.4% compared to 2021. Furthermore, the online trend towards higher flow rates is faster than offline, with offline 1000G water purifiers accounting for less than 2% of retail sales in 2022. However, in the next two to three years, it is inevitable that offline retailers will follow the online trend of upgrading to higher flow rates.
Water purifier manufacturers are also pushing for the development of high-flow-rate products. According to online monitoring data from AVC (All View Cloud), in 2022, the proportion of new products with a flow rate of 1000G reached 15.5% online, an increase of 7.6% year-on-year. The proportion of new products with a flow rate of 1200G reached 6.9%, indicating a continued trend of expanding product flow rates. Some companies have even launched 1600G products, and some have even reached 1800G. The launch of these new products has made the high-flow-rate water purifier market even "bigger." So, is there still a need to continue increasing the flow rate of water purifiers?
From a user perspective, consumers' demand for high-flow-rate water purifiers primarily focuses on the volume of purified water. For example, filling a 150ml glass of water with a 600G flow rate takes 5.7 seconds, while a 1000G flow rate takes 3.4 seconds. For boiling soup and filling a 2L pot, a 600G flow rate takes 76 seconds, a 1000G flow rate takes 45 seconds, and a 1600G flow rate takes less than 30 seconds. High flow rate is directly reflected in the volume of purified water. A 1600G flow rate water purifier achieves a purified water flow rate of 4.25L/min, which is close to the flow rate of a typical kitchen sink faucet (5.8L/min), making the experience of using the purifier comparable to using tap water.
In terms of flow rate, most users can continue to increase their demand for water purifiers if their daily water usage habits are met. However, in addition to flow rate, consumers also pay attention to factors such as rated total water purification capacity, filter lifespan, filter replacement cost, heating function, and price when purchasing water purifiers, and will not only pursue a "large" flow rate.
From a supply perspective, a small number of companies have launched high-flow-rate products of 1600G and above, and consumers have largely appreciated the increased water flow rate in these products. Technically, the key difference between 1200G and 1600G/1800G flow rates lies in the increased power of the booster pump, inevitably leading to higher production costs. Companies must now prioritize production costs and return on investment. In terms of brand positioning, few companies have entered the 1600G and above market. Xiaomi has entered the 1600G market, 352 the 1800G market, and other companies have yet to launch corresponding high-flow-rate products. According to online monitoring data from AVC (All View Cloud), the retail market share of 1600G and 1800G in 2022 was 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.
As can be seen, there are relatively few products with 1600G and above on the market, the time they have been on the market is relatively short, and the market share is not high. Related companies did not strongly promote them during the Double 11 period, and users' willingness to consume was not strong. This market is still in the development stage. For companies that have not yet entered the market, there are certain competitive opportunities and room for development. In the future, companies can consider whether to enter this market based on users' consumption response and the promotional strategies of relevant brands for this type of product.
It is worth noting that one of 352's products offers another solution for increasing water flow rate: by storing water in a built-in water tank, the water flow rate is maintained at 1800G. When the cumulative water consumption exceeds a certain amount, intelligent water replenishment is performed, which can effectively solve consumers' pursuit of high flow rate. This may be the direction for water purifiers to increase water flow rate in addition to increasing flow rate.
Considering consumers' focus on water purifiers, the current trend in the market for high-flow-rate 1000G purifiers is towards increased flow rate, while the 1200G market is gradually opening up. In addition to flow rate, upgrades to water purifiers also include factors such as increased filter lifespan and the addition of heating and mineralization properties. Consumers' pursuit of high flow rate is evident, and leading companies are also making moves in this area. However, other attributes of 1600G and above products have not been significantly improved, making them less cost-effective compared to 1000G products. Furthermore, flow rate is not the decisive factor for water purifiers.
In the short term, water purifier companies do not need to rapidly pursue expansion in the 1600G and above market. Instead, they should focus on the 1000G and 1200G flow rate market, paying attention to attributes that users care about, such as filter lifespan, rated total water purification capacity, wastewater ratio, and smart features, and continuously improving product competitiveness. In the long term, as the technical cost of increasing the flow rate of these products decreases and the cost-effectiveness of the products improves, consumers will be more willing to pay, and the 1600G and above high-flow rate market can continue to grow.
