During Staying at Home, Health Appliances Protected Me... Booming Sales Amid COVID-19

Rapid Increase in Sales of Dishwashers, Dehumidifiers, and Clothing Care Devices
Popularity Expected to Continue Despite Vaccines and Treatments
Home Appliance Companies Expand Lineups and Launch New Products

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the morning of January 13, 2021, at 7 a.m., office worker Kim started his day by waking up, opening the curtains, and tidying up his bedding. The air purifier in the room automatically began purifying the air. Kim took a cup from the dishwasher, drank a glass of water from the water purifier, had breakfast with foods recommended by the refrigerator, and started working from home. During lunch break, he finished laundry using the washing machine and dryer. After work, Kim quickly cleaned with a robot vacuum and a cordless vacuum cleaner, and did so-called ‘home training’ using a smart TV. At night, he took out clothes to wear on the weekend in advance, put them in the clothing care device, and went to sleep.

This is the ‘home-staying life’ that has unfolded as working from home increased and people became reluctant to go out due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) last year. While health appliances emerged one after another a few years ago as health management became prominent due to fine dust and environmental pollution, last year they became mainstream home appliances due to COVID-19.

Samsung Electronics Bespoke Dishwasher

LG Electronics WashTower

Health appliances also affected the performance of the home appliance industry last year. For example, according to the analysis of home appliance sales in 2020 announced by Electronic Land on December 30, 2020, dishwasher sales surged by 150%, dehumidifiers by 63%, and clothing care devices by 35% compared to 2019. According to the home appliance industry, Samsung Electronics’ representative hygiene appliances, washing machines and dryers, saw sales increase by 40% and 50% respectively; dishwashers, which became a trend last year, grew up to 360%; and premium cordless vacuum cleaner sales also surged by about 70%. LG Electronics also achieved record-high sales and operating profit of 63.2 trillion won and 3.2 trillion won respectively, thanks to increased sales of hygiene and health-related home appliances last year.

Even if the pandemic situation ends this year with the administration of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, demand for health appliances is expected to increase rather than decrease. The industry expects sales of each product to increase by around 10% compared to last year. Home appliance industry officials said, “Even if COVID-19 vaccines and treatments are introduced this year, the popularity of hygiene and sterilization appliances will never fade,” adding, “Health appliances, once considered ‘optional,’ have already become ‘essential.’”

Samsung Electronics Bespoke Water Purifier

LG Electronics InstaView Refrigerator

Accordingly, home appliance companies are expanding their existing lineups and announcing new product launches in the first quarter of this year, a boom period for home appliances. Especially at the world’s largest IT and home appliance exhibition, various new health appliances and digital health products have been introduced since the opening day on the 11th of this month (local time). Samsung Electronics unveiled the Bespoke water purifier through CES2021 on the 12th of this month (local time). This is Samsung Electronics’ first time launching a water purifier product. They also recently released the ‘Bespoke Air Cube,’ an air purifier equipped with an electric sterilization system that greatly enhances functionality. LG Electronics also unveiled a new LG InstaView refrigerator with enhanced design and hygiene. This product is equipped with a UV nano function that uses UV (ultraviolet) LEDs periodically to eliminate up to 99.99% of bacteria that may be present in the water outlet.

In particular, products with enhanced artificial intelligence (AI) that help people live healthier lives more efficiently are also scheduled to be released. Samsung Electronics introduced ‘SmartThings Cooking,’ which provides personalized diets and recipes based on AI and the Internet of Things (IoT), and ‘Samsung Health’ for smart TVs on the 11th. They also unveiled the Samsung Jetbot AI, the world’s first AI robot vacuum cleaner equipped with Intel’s AI processor. LG Electronics introduced the AI Cook (overseas name, Scan to Cook) function, which uses the LG ThinQ application to purchase food and find the optimal cooking method. They also introduced a sterilization bot that keeps spaces where people stay clean.

Along with increased purchases of healthcare home appliances, rental demand has also risen, forecasting another boom in the rental industry this year following last year. Last year, rental account numbers for rental companies such as Coway, SK Magic, and Cuckoo increased by about 10-20% compared to 2019. LG Electronics, which had 2.04 million rental accounts at the end of 2019, exceeded 2.7 million last year. These rental companies plan to strengthen their digital capabilities and non-face-to-face businesses and services to secure new customers this year. They aim to actively introduce new products tailored to the trends of the MZ generation (born early 1980s to early 2000s), who are particularly sensitive to hygiene and new home appliances, to boost sales. Oh Jung-won, CEO of Cheongho Nice, recently stated in his New Year’s message, “We must strengthen online capabilities for the non-face-to-face era to secure potential customers.” Jang Pyung-soon, Chairman and CEO of Kyowon Group, also urged employees to “establish a system to operate non-face-to-face businesses systematically.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.