by Doris Liu
As a steadfast promoter of green consumption, JD.com has secured a leading position of home appliances in China not only by providing a wide range of products with superior full-service capabilities, but also by helping push forward the recycling economy in the form of trade-in services and more.
According to the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s household appliances ownership has exceeded 2.1 billion items, with an estimated scrappage volume of 200 million items in 2022.
A considerable number of families are still using home appliances that were bought during 2009 to 2011, when China had implemented trade-in policies to expand consumer demand and improve energy use efficiency. It is worth noting that air conditioners with a safe service life of 10 years are just entering the replacement cycle.
By replacing new energy-efficient products in a timely manner, safety hazards can be effectively eliminated and consumers’ energy expenses can be largely reduced as well. Data from the China National Institute of Standardization shows that the energy efficiency of air conditioners can drop by 40-50 percent after 10 years of use. Taking 1-HP inverter air conditioners as an example, new energy-efficient products can save nearly 40 percent of electricity compared with the old models which were manufactured 10 years ago.
JD has introduced a variety of stimulus steps to push consumers to replace appliances that are beyond their safe service life. For example, the trade-in service has been further simplified. Rather than following the industry’s valuation mechanism that is mainly based on product model and status, JD Home Appliances launched a one-price trade-in model in 2022, which allows customers to trade in their old appliances by selecting a specific product category. Each category has a fixed price, regardless of the product’s brand or status. The service has covered more than 95 percent of cities, counties and towns nationwide, and besides the subsidies for new purchase, customers also enjoy free dismantling and free transportation of the old appliances.
Promotions of energy-saving and emission-reducing products also help. Noting that the public’s consciousness of health and environmental protection has been strengthened with the demand for quality products, JD has also initiated rounds of promotions for energy-saving and innovative products.
The “2022 Air Conditioning Industry Trends Report” jointly released by JD Home Appliances and market consultancy All View Cloud shows that the domestic air conditioning industry retail sales in 2021 were down 1.2 percent year-on-year (YOY) at RMB 152.7 billion yuan, and the retail volume was down 8.7 percent YOY at 46.89 million items.
However, amid the overall decline, online sales of fresh air ventilation and air-conditioning integrated systems in 2021 rose 492.7 percent YOY at RMB 820 million yuan, said the report. JD.com’s sales of such products increased by more than six times YOY in 2021, as it had carried out an array of promotions and awareness-raising activities.
Through in-depth insights of the market, JD also provides brands with customers’ health needs to help the manufactures enhance R&D of the fresh air ventilation and air-conditioning integrated system, pushing for upgraded products.
JD Home Appliances has offered trade-in services since 2016, with more than 30 recycling categories such as large and small home appliances. According to the company’s calculation, the air conditioners, fridges and televisions with primary energy efficiency sold through JD.com in 2021 can reduce nearly 2 million tons of carbon emissions. Honored as the “Annual Influential Enterprise in Carbon Neutral Field” by domestic websites early this year, JD will continue to operate with the concept of cutting emissions through its businesses.
