Small and transparent can also stand on the C position: forgotten niche digital market

Have you grabbed Apple 14?

Every year, when the new iPhone is launched in the autumn, it is bound to set off a wave of snapping. What I never expected is that this year, not only the mobile phone must be grabbed, but even a lane rope also depends on grabbing. On the day of the press conference, in addition to the launch of a series of new products such as iPhone14 and Apple Watch S8, Apple also launched an Incase lanyard for AirPods Pro 2. According to the official website, this lanyard can not only be worn on the wrist like a bracelet, but also use its own card clip to fix the lane rope on the backpack or handbag to ensure that the charging box is portable. The role of external, um, no high -tech ... The price of up to 98 yuan, although it is talked about the "IQ detection rope", but the first batch of the first batch is sold out in less than three days. It takes 4-6 weeks, it is more difficult than a new mobile phone. This can not help remind people of the Thunderbolt 4 Pro data cable launched by Apple this spring. The 3 -meter -long version is priced at 1169 yuan. Although the price refreshes the history of Apple's data cable, in the opinion of professionals, this data cable is good for price ratio. , Support the Thunderbolt 4 protocol, transmit data to reach an amazing 40GB/s, and support 100W power supply at the same time, known as the current most powerful data cable. However, for ordinary users, there is no substantial difference between the data cable of dozens of dollars, and it really has a threshold for niche things.

In the circle of digital 3C, there are many examples of this kind of high price but still many people who are willing to pay: the average price of ClickClack keycaps in the keyboard circle is more than $ 200 or more. ; HIFI has more than 10,000 earphones. From the perspective of music enthusiasts, the ultimate sound is real music ... Whether it is worth it or "recharge of faith", these are conventional operations in the niche digital industry. Nowadays, buying mobile phones is not as good as buying accessories. More niche digital products are gradually becoming the trendy fashion items for young people. So how does this change happen?

Therefore, in this issue, we will focus on niche digital products. By observing the development trend of the digital 3C industry, we want to know what the background of niche digital products is out? Why are consumers willing to "throw a lot of money" for these products? Times are changing, demand is also changing. Niche digital products reflect which segmentation of consumers and which new brands are rising?

Young people don't like to change their mobile phones. Where did the money spend?

According to data from market research agencies Canalys, in the second quarter of this year, global smartphone shipments were 287 million units, a year -on -year decrease of 9%. According to the previous report of the China Communications Institute, the overall domestic mobile phone shipments in the domestic market in the first half of the year were 136 million units, a year -on -year decrease of 21.7%. It can be seen that whether it is internationally or domestic, unable to sell mobile phones is a problem faced by the entire smartphone industry.

In July, the sales of mainstream domestic mobile phone brands showed negative growth sources year -on -year: Cinno Research

Why is the mobile phone market cold? The reason is that on the one hand, under the influence of the environment, people's consumption is becoming rational. As a necessary communication equipment for daily life, mobile phones have more and more valued their practical functions rather than fashionable and personalized. In the past The batch of young people no longer impulse to consume in order to pursue fashion. On the other hand, as the frequency of updating mobile phones has increased, the problem of homogeneity of products is becoming more and more serious, and it is difficult to produce disruptive innovation, which cannot make consumers feel bright. These have caused the mobile phone to replace the cycle to be greatly extended. According to Counterpoint data, domestic user replacement cycles have increased from 24.3 months in early 2019 to 31 months. The market research institution Strategy Analytics said that the average replacement cycle of Chinese users is 28 months.

The situation of the mobile phone industry is also a problem that the traditional "three major pieces" are facing (digital three major pieces refer to mobile phones, tablets, laptops). According to CBNData's "2022 China New Consumption Brand Growth Book", in recent years, the development of China's 3C digital market has changed newly changed. On the one hand, the saturation of traditional 3C digital products has gradually increased, and personalization and high -end have become the focus of competition in this stock market; on the other hand, the needs of 3C digital emerging products such as wearable smart devices, TWS headphones, and smart homes have gradually released. At the same time, companies that are committed to solving small and beautiful needs have continued to attract money, and hot money continues to flow. Station C organizes the latest financing cases of some niche digital tracks:

When the traditional digital product market is constantly tightening, old -fashioned companies have followed the change of new businesses in response to changes. Huawei, Xiaomi and other emerging markets such as smart, wearable devices, and TWS headphones in the whole house have been launched. Wait for rapid development. Although consumers do not like to change their mobile phones, the demand for digital 3C products has not decreased. Niche products have become new choices for young people.

Which niche "Digimon" does consumers fall in love with?

The first is that digital products represented by productivity tools are being loved by young people. According to the "Tablet PC Consumption Insight Report" released by CBNData, the working -only worker pays more attention to equipment interconnection and peripheral expansion, and key and mouse sets have become a must -have for office. Source: CBNDATA "Tablet PC Consumption Insight Report"

Since 2011, the era of online collaborative office is coming. According to public information, from 2019 to June 2021, a total of 53 financing has been completed in the cooperative office field. Roughly estimated that the total financing of financing exceeded 60 billion yuan, and the track was hot. At the same time as the rapid development of software applications, various hardware facilities that can improve efficiency have also emerged one after another. From mechanical keyboards to recording pens, niche digital products named in productivity tools are crazy.

Taking a mechanical keyboard as an example, in recent years, with the development of the e -sports industry and the pursuit of personalization and efficiency of the office people, a sensitive and rhythmic mechanical keyboard has entered the public's vision. According to data from the Huajing Industrial Research Institute, from the perspective of various types of products of keyboard products, the mechanical keyboard is far ahead of other types of products, and the attention ratio of 2021 reached 68.44%.

Picture source: Huajing Industrial Research Institute

Among them, higher -end customized mechanical keyboards can be assembled into unique products that meet the personal preferences of consumers through customization and transformation, which is particularly welcomed. Recently, Angry Miao, Angry Miao, announced the completion of a new round of financing of tens of millions of yuan. One of the main products of Nu Meow is the customized mechanical keyboard. It can be seen that the capital market is quite popular with this "new species". In 2021, Nu Meow released the world's first wireless three -dimensional split ergonomic keyboard AM Hatsu, with a price of $ 1,600 (about 10347 yuan). The first hundred was sold out immediately after the shelves. In 2022, the AM Hatsu keyboard hand -painted by the Graffiti artist SHEK, which cooperates with the Parisian family, and the "Angry Meow X Tmall number one player", including the Tmall Public Welfare auction, was taken away by the mysterious buyer for 89,000 yuan. Station C observed that there are only two products on the official store of Nu Meow, one of which is a mechanical keyboard keycap priced at 650 yuan.

Zuo Weiyu Miao ergonomic keyboard AM Hatsu, right for the store details

Source: Nu Meow Tmall flagship store

At present, it is the norm in the customized custom keyboard circle in the customized customized customized keyboard. Many people spend enough money to buy it for 1-2 years to get it.

In addition, with the rise of the media and the development of short videos, live broadcasts and other industries, equipment such as GOPRO, Yundai, and recording pens ushered in rapid growth. According to the "2021 Network (Performance) Live Industry Development Report", as of December 2021, the anchor account was nearly 140 million, and 8.26 million new accounts were launched in the first half of 2022. The competition in the live broadcast industry has entered a fierce stage, and the increasingly large media population naturally has a more segmentation and higher demand for related equipment.

Taking the recording pen as an example, the recording pen industry has transitioned from digital recording to the smart recording stage. Due to the continuous improvement of the user's demand for the recording pen, the services provided by the intelligent recording pen are also more cognitive. During recording, it provides pictures such as picture recognition, multi -language translation, edge translation, and real -time error correction. In addition to functional iterations, the recording pen has also begun to show diversification in shape. There will be different forms of products in different scenarios, such as placing on the table, wearing on the wrist, etc., and HKUST Xunfei, JNN, and Xinke have launched it. The wrist -like recording pen similar to a smart bracelet.

Picture source: HKUST Xunfei Flagship Store

In addition to work and study, the camping of the fire during this time also made the niche product of outdoor power popular. In Xiaohongshu, more than 3W has been planted by camping charging. According to Tmall data, the market growth rate of outdoor power for three consecutive years is nearly 300%, and the sales volume in 2021 is only about 300 million yuan, and it has exceeded 1 billion yuan in 2022. Today, this niche track has also derived a small giant with a market value of 10 billion yuan. The two head brands Zhenghao and Huabao Xinneng are preparing for listing. Investigations of the Chinese Chemical and Physical Power Industry Association show that by 2026, the market size of global portable energy storage equipment is expected to reach 88.2 billion yuan, and the future of outdoor power tracks is quite imaginative.

Source: Screenshot of Xiaohongshu

Whether it is a mechanical keyboard that is in line with ergonomics or the upgrading of the industry's competitive equipment, we find that the common point of these niche digital products is to accurately solve the pain points of some consumers. The more subdivided the functions, the more the products, the more It is easy to become a handful of people. In addition, what else is there of niche digital, can consumers use wallets to "call" for love?

Niche niche digital products that are addictive

There are "three pit" in the niche cultural circle: JK, Lolita, and Hanfu. There are also some pit in the niche digital circle, such as Bluetooth headsets, speakers/audio, fast charge data cables, etc. Of course, different digital enthusiasts The views are not the same. Why do you know that it is a pit, and consumers are willing to jump in? What are the reasons for the user to place an order?

1. See the process of planting grass, "Please eat this Amway"

Watching the evaluation video to complete the planting and grass -pulling, it is already a must -do homework before deciding to spend money. In fact, the evaluation video originally originated in a small circle of digital enthusiasts. Before the birth of the video website in 2005, some people on the related blogs and forums shared the box opening process in the form of pictures and texts. Various areas or niche areas. It is actually difficult to make a circle in the field of digital products. It is actually difficult to get out of the circle. First of all, you need to have more professional digital knowledge reserves. Secondly, it is best to cultivate in a certain sub -category to accurately reach key users. Finally Make a real evaluation of the product. Because of this, once a digital evaluation blogger has established a trust foundation with the fans, the loyalty and stickiness of fans will be particularly high. For niche digital products, bloggers often play the role of popular science to guide entry. The more niche products, the stronger the bloggers' irreplaceability, and the fans will rely on it. Therefore, for the blogger's niche products, fans will bring natural filters. Even if there are "Charian" videos, as long as the quality of conscience is high, fans will "tolerate" the full collection.

2. The symbolic label attached to the niche product brings psychological identity to consumers

In the niche digital product circle, members in the circle often have common hobbies or similar aesthetics. Consumers will not only pay for the functions of the product itself, but also because of their feelings or labels that they have attached to buy. The seek identity of niche digital products is also a relatively common psychological needs.

For example, the CCD camera suddenly suddenly in Xiaohongshu's fire recently is that Ouyang Nana has some in his personal video, and then Zhang Zifeng brings the camera with a variety show "The Life Life". In addition, the bloggers' waves of the bloggers, the old -fashioned camera that was eliminated by the times early became the representative of the niche retro trend camera. For niche products, the halo effect brought by public figures such as celebrities is greatly attractive. Consumers are willing to find a sense of closure and identification on their favorite stars. At the time of last, this sense of identity will be greatly improved, which is why celebrities can always bring fire after another "niche brand".

3. Different groups of specific work and life needs

Sometimes niche digital products are still necessities of work and life, and people in different circle will also give birth to new opportunities for digital markets.

Today, light people are not satisfied with the "professional profession" lifestyle, and choose a diverse life with multiple occupations and identities, which is the so -called "slash youth". They may be out of economic considerations, or maybe to escape the atmosphere of 996, and they chose niche occupations such as illustrators, recording artists, and podcast production. growth of. In addition, young people who pay attention to the quality of life will also purchase related digital products for interest, such as smart guitar that can connect Bluetooth real -time teaching, and fitness mirrors that can guide action. These trendy lifestyles bring a new gap to the niche digital market Essence

At the same time, digital products are no longer exclusive to young people. With the development of the digital economy, silver -haired people have also begun to accept and use intelligent electronic products. The "6 · 18" Consumer Trends Insight Report released by Baidu Union JD shows that since 2022, the search proportion of the "Silver Hair" search for "smart products, digital products" has increased to 12%, and the search heat has increased by 32 year -on -year. %. Among the consumers who purchased smart supplies and digital products this year, the consumption amount of "silver -haired people" accounted for 6.3%.

Source: "Report on 2022 618 Consumption Trends Insight"

The silver -haired people have specific preferences when buying digital products. For example, the operation is simple and easy to get started, explaining that the font is eye -catching, safe and comfortable, etc. At present, digital products on the market for silver -haired people mainly include smart bracelets, smart watches, and elderly smart wearable products. Overall, market development is still in the initial stage. In the future, with the intensification of population aging, how to find the balance point of "intelligence" and "aging" may be the focus of the research and development of digital product manufacturers.

It should be noted that the niche products we talked about this article are relative to popular products. Today’s niche products may become popular products in the future. (For example, the old -fashioned camera), this just reflects a trend. Although niche digital products are rising from Dongfeng, the industry still has pain points that cannot be ignored: high idle rate, serious premium, difficult accessories, difficulty in maintenance, etc. These all hinders the development and circle of niche digital. This road from small to the public is the issue that merchants standing behind the niche digital thinking.

Remarks: 3C products are a collective name for computers, communication and consumer electronics. 3C products include relatively traditional TVs, desktop computers, digital cameras, CD players, audio, etc., as well as smart electronic products such as emerging smartphones, tablets, wearable devices. All home appliances that can interact information through the network system can be called 3C products.

Author: Beihe

Council: reverse light

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