Emerging products with high household appliance complaints need to be regulated urgently

Household appliances and consumer electronics products are closely related to consumers' daily lives, and are also one of the hardest hit areas where problems and complaints occur. The reporter of New Consumer Daily has collected data from various sources to sort out and summarize the relevant issues highlighted in the market feedback over the past year.

Due to the rapid technological development of home appliance products, there have been many "online blockbusters" and emerging products responding to new scenarios. These products urgently need to be regulated and accepted market standard certification.

In addition, there are also many complaints about smart phone products, mainly focusing on the head brand. Among them, virtual service products that rely on platforms such as smartphones/televisions have been criticized by the China Consumer Association.

The number of complaints about household appliance products remains high

According to the analysis of complaints received by the National Consumer Association in 2022 released by the China Consumer Association, the number of complaints from household electronic appliances, daily necessities, food, clothing, shoes and hats, and transportation vehicles ranked among the top five.

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Among them, household electronics is closely related to people's lives, and due to technological progress and accelerated product iteration, this category has generated a variety of emerging household appliances around a variety of scenarios, such as cooking machines, air purifiers, sweeping robots, intelligent projectors, and so on.

In addition, various small household appliance market segments and "online red products" have emerged in an endless stream, becoming the main growth force in the household electronic consumer market.

According to the "White Paper on Business Trends in the Consumer Electronics Industry" released by Tmall in 2023 and Euromonitor data, vertical long-tailed products have emerged during the consumer recovery period, with year-on-year sales growth exceeding 100% last year.

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In 2016-2020, the CAGR of electric rice cookers, razors, induction cookers, and electric kettles was around 0-10%, while emerging kitchen appliances such as long-tailed products such as air fryers, Western style juice machines, electric ovens, and electric hotpots realized demand awakening through consumer education, and the overall market size growth rate was above 20%.

Due to the fact that this category involves multiple use experiences such as product quality and after-sales service, and involves a lot of brand, channel, industry, and professional knowledge. Once encountering a problem, consumers not only face their own economic losses, but also may encounter situations such as merchants shirking responsibility and difficulty in safeguarding their rights.

According to the statistics of complaints received by the National Consumers Association, in 2022, the National Consumers Association accepted a total of 1151912 consumer complaints. Among them, there were 388492 complaints from after-sales service consumers, accounting for 33.73% of the total number of complaints, an increase of 58931 cases compared to 2021, accounting for 2.19% of the increase.

There were 121524 complaints about household electronics and appliances, accounting for 10.55% of the total number of complaints, an increase of 13103 compared to 2021, accounting for 0.17%, and still ranking first in the number of complaints about various commodities.

Emerging home appliance products urgently need to be regulated. Although some "online celebrity" home appliance products have attracted many young consumer groups relying on high looks and new ideas, they also need to face issues of product quality and potential safety hazards.

Smart phones have become a complaint against "severely affected areas", and the Consumer Consumers Association has criticized "doll-like fees" by name

According to data released by IDC today, despite the decline in smartphone shipments, China's smartphone shipments will still reach 286 million units in 2022. The number of complaints surrounding the smartphone related industry remains high.

According to the data provided by the China Consumers Association, among the specific complaints about commodities, the number of complaints about communication products is 36990, ranking fourth, with batteries being one of the most numerous issues in complaint disputes.

On the one hand, with the popularity of smart phone screens with high refresh rates, as screens that consume large amounts of energy, power consumption increases; On the other hand, the rapid improvement of fast charging specifications has also led to a sharp increase in the amount of heat generated during phone charging. The superposition of dual factors makes mobile phone batteries prone to problems such as maximum battery capacity shrinkage, battery bulging, and so on.

In addition, the emergence of the emerging product form of folding screens has also increased the cost of screen maintenance. Many consumers have also reported on the complaint platform that the "man-made damage" of the official identification screen is unreasonable, resulting in problems with the folding screen product's own screen during the warranty period, and that consumers are required to bear high screen maintenance costs for many times.

In addition, as smartphone shipments are concentrated in most of the top brands, a reporter from the New Consumer Daily found through keyword searches on the Black Cat complaint platform that complaints are also mostly concentrated in brands with top shipments.

Among these complaints, customer service issues account for 13%, including poor customer service attitude, improper handling, delayed handling, and inability to contact customer service. Maintenance issues account for 9%, including disputes over the warranty period, maintenance scope, and maintenance costs. The problem of fee deduction accounts for 4%, including unauthorized fee deduction by consumer complaint systems or software, and refund requested by parents for recharging minors.

In addition to household electronic products, virtual service products that rely on intelligent device platforms are also a disaster area for consumer complaints. Among them, the Consumer Association even calls on the smart TV platform to charge for "dolls":

First, the "doll style" charging of the smart TV platform caused consumer dissatisfaction. Due to the independent resources of each module in the smart TV system, consumers are still unable to view all video content despite continuous recharging.

The second is the poor service experience of video platform members. The video platform restricts the mobile screen casting function of original member users. If the restriction is lifted, it is necessary to purchase more expensive value-added member services. Consumers are paying increasingly high fees, but the experience is greatly discounted.

Consumers' Association reminds that when purchasing mobile phones, computer digital products, and other products, consumers need to follow the principle of rational consumption, focus on service protection, understand the legal knowledge related to consumer rights protection, and try to choose merchants with strict standards, good reputation, and high reputation for consumption to protect their own consumption rights and interests.