Recently, the State Council issued the "Action Plan for Promoting Large-scale Equipment Updates and Consumer Goods Trade-in", proposing four major actions including consumer goods trade-in and recycling, to support home appliance sales companies in cooperation with production and recycling enterprises to carry out promotional activities for trade-in. The introduction of the trade-in policy has brought new market opportunities for home appliance manufacturers. Major manufacturers have responded one after another, launching subsidy campaigns.
According to CCTV's "News Live", JD.com has set up a trade-in area at the 2024 AWE exhibition, allowing attendees to get a close look at its trade-in services. In fact, as early as 2016, JD.com launched trade-in services for home appliances and was the first to introduce trade-in services for home furnishings. Up to now, JD.com's trade-in services cover over 200 subcategories, reaching more than 99% of cities/towns nationwide. From small items like electric toothbrushes to large appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators, and washing machines, all can be traded in on JD.com.
To boost consumers' willingness to upgrade, JD.com has launched a trade-in program for home appliances. In an interview with CCTV's "Newsroom" reporters, a service business executive from JD.com's Home Appliances and Home Living Division stated that in 2024, they will invest 3 billion CNY in consumer subsidies. They plan to intensify the trade-in subsidies and service experience upgrades for home appliances and furnishings, aiming to provide the trade-in service to over 20 million users. It is expected that the total number of old appliances collected through this program will exceed 30 million items.
Regarding the difficulties consumers face in moving and disassembling old household appliances, JD.com has introduced a series of convenience measures. These include waiving the doorstep fee, disassembly fee, and clearing fee for old appliances. There are no restrictions on the category, brand, age, or condition of the old appliances. JD.com adopts a fixed-price deduction model to reduce consumers' concerns about recycling old appliances.
Furthermore, JD.com has pioneered the "trade-in for new" program in the home category. It has also introduced integrated disassembly, delivery, and installation services for household appliances such as refrigerators, televisions, and washing machines, streamlining the delivery and installation process to save consumers time when upgrading. To reduce the cost of upgrading for consumers, JD.com also offers a minimum 10% discount for trading in old appliances for new ones.
The introduction of policies and the implementation of detailed regulations will further stimulate consumers' enthusiasm for purchasing new home appliances, while also benefiting the development of the household appliance industry. Jiang Feng, the Executive Director of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, stated in an interview with CCTV's "News Broadcast Room" that the implementation of the old-for-new policy can further improve the recycling system for old appliances, smooth the renewal consumption chain, and by 2027, the amount of old appliances recycled will increase by 30% compared to 2023. She believes that the implementation of the policy will definitely promote the exchange of old appliances for new ones, and drive the growth of the consumer market.
With the push of policies and active response from enterprises, the household appliance industry is showing a vibrant development trend. In the future, with the introduction of more innovative services and preferential policies, the household appliance industry may embrace even broader market prospects.
