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AVC (All View Cloud) online data shows that from January to September 2024, China’s online market for residential smart door locks saw a retail sales volume of 5.296 million units, a 21.8% increase year-over-year. Total online sales reached 5.31 billion CNY, up 14.7% compared to the same period last year. In the third quarter alone, online retail sales hit 1.733 million units, with a 20.1% rise year-over-year, while sales value climbed to CNY1.62 billion, a 13.4% increase. This positive growth indicates strong consumer demand and a continuously expanding market, signaling a promising future for the smart door lock industry.

In the first three quarters of 2024, China’s online smart door lock market showed robust double-digit growth, with notable increases in retail volume and four emerging trends shaping the industry.

Trend 1: Strong Growth in the Low-End Market, Challenges for Mid- and High-End Segments

Driven by differentiated branding strategies and a wider variety of product options, the online smart door lock market in China has seen a clear divide in price segments. On one hand, the low-end market has thrived by offering basic, entry-level, and high-value products, capturing a large base of price-sensitive consumers and achieving significant market share growth. On the other hand, mid- and high-end segments face competitive pressure from lower-priced alternatives while grappling with consumers’ higher expectations for functionality, quality, and service, leading to a slight decrease in their market share.

AVC’s online tracking data shows that in the first three quarters of 2024, the low-end segment (priced under CNY1,000) dominated retail sales volume in the traditional e-commerce market, accounting for 65%—a 5.3 percentage point increase over the same period last year, driven primarily by products priced under CNY500. In terms of growth, retail volume in the under-CNY 1,000 category rose by 49% year-over-year, with retail sales value up by 31%.

In contrast, the mid-range segment (priced between CNY 1,000 and CNY 2,000) held a 26.2% share of retail volume, down 1.9 percentage points. However, growth in products priced between CNY 1,800 and CNY 2,000 helped lift the segment’s share of retail sales to 38.2%, a 2.7 percentage point increase from last year. The CNY 1,000-2,000 market segment still achieved double-digit growth, with retail volume up 28% and retail sales value up 30% year-over-year.

While the high-end market offers higher value per unit, it has faced significant pressure on its overall market share due to intense competition and changing consumer purchasing behaviors. According to AVC’s online monitoring data, from January to September 2024, the retail volume share of the traditional e-commerce market for products priced at CNY 2,000 and above was 8.6%, a decline of 3.4 percentage points. The retail sales share in this segment also fell by 5.6 percentage points. In terms of scale, both retail volume and sales value in the over-CNY 2,000 market segment decreased by 2% year-over-year.

Trend 2: Average Online Price Around CNY 1,000, Diverse Development of E-Commerce Platforms

According to AVC's online monitoring data, from January to September 2024, the average price of residential smart door locks in China’s online market (including traditional and content e-commerce) hovered around CNY 1,000, specifically at CNY 986, which represents a 6% year-over-year decline. Price fluctuations across major e-commerce platforms have begun to converge around the CNY 1,000 mark. This trend not only reflects a shared understanding among platforms regarding price sensitivity but also indicates a general acceptance and willingness to pay for smart door lock products among consumers.

The rapid growth of the online smart door lock market can be attributed to the diverse development of e-commerce platforms. Each major platform tailors its product promotions based on the characteristics of its user base. From January to September 2024, retail volume and sales value for residential smart door locks in both specialized e-commerce and platform e-commerce experienced double-digit growth. With a strong focus on key brands, content e-commerce has optimized its product structure, resulting in a retail sales value growth that significantly outpaces retail volume growth, alongside a 12% increase in average price.

Differentiated development not only helps e-commerce platforms better serve their respective niche markets but also promotes the healthy growth of the industry. As technology advances and market education deepens, the potential of the smart door lock market will be further unleashed, with e-commerce platforms playing a vital role in this process.

Trend 3: Technological Innovation Drives Growth, Multifunctional Combinations Become the Norm

The fingerprint recognition technology, which was among the first applied in the smart door lock sector, has now matured. More advanced biometric technologies such as facial recognition and vein recognition are increasingly being used in smart locks, enhancing their security and convenience while significantly improving the user experience. This segment is also experiencing rapid growth, with a steadily increasing market share.

Specifically, AVC's online monitoring data reveals that from January to September 2024, facial recognition smart locks accounted for 38% of retail volume in the traditional e-commerce market, up 12 percentage points from the same period last year. Their retail sales share reached 47%, a 16 percentage point increase. For finger-vein recognition smart locks, the retail volume and sales shares were 7% and 10%, respectively, both up 2 percentage points. Palm vein recognition smart locks accounted for 5% of retail volume (up 3 percentage points) and 8% of retail sales (up 5 percentage points).

Moreover, with the continuous advancement of IoT technology, smart door locks can now interconnect with devices such as smartphones and smart home hubs, enabling various features like remote control. Their built-in security functions, including smart peepholes, indoor displays, and multiple cameras, further meet the dual demands for safety and convenience in households. From January to September 2024, smart locks with peephole displays captured 44% of retail volume, an 8 percentage point increase, and 54% of retail sales, a 13 percentage point rise. Multi-camera smart locks have also begun to emerge in 2024, capturing 2% of both retail volume and sales, offering a richer variety of products and potentially becoming a key focus for development in 2025.

As technology evolves, brands are continuously launching products with more features and enhanced experiences to meet the modern consumer's demand for an efficient and convenient lifestyle. This strategy also helps them stand out in a highly competitive market, leading to the inevitable rise of multifunctional smart door locks. With effective cost control and the ability to meet diverse user needs, these products have rapidly developed and achieved increasing market penetration. Moreover, the market share of multifunctional smart door locks is climbing in the mid-to-high-end segments, with concentration becoming more pronounced as products upscale.

According to AVC’s online monitoring data, from January to September 2024, the multifunctional combination of "peephole + display + facial recognition" performed the best in the traditional e-commerce market, capturing 28% of retail volume and 30% of retail sales. This combination also showed greater market growth than others, with retail volume share rising by 8 percentage points and retail sales share increasing by 11 percentage points. Following closely is the "peephole + display" combination, which accounted for 10% of retail volume and 12% of retail sales. The third-best combination was "peephole + display + facial recognition + palm vein recognition," capturing 3% of retail volume and 5% of retail sales. The fourth was the "peephole + display + facial recognition + finger-vein recognition" combination, which accounted for 1.5% of retail volume and 2.5% of retail sales.

Trend 4: Differentiated Brand Concentration, Intensified Competition in the High-End Market

The Chinese residential smart door lock industry is in a growth phase, with rapid market expansion. However, the market share, rankings, and concentration of brands across different e-commerce platforms remain in a state of fluctuation and adjustment. Brand concentration varies across platforms; in traditional e-commerce, the concentration of the top 10 retail brands has shown a downward trend, while content e-commerce has benefited from key brands increasing their presence, reshaping the market landscape and enhancing concentration.

Overall, AVC's online monitoring data shows that from January to September 2024, the concentration of the top three brands in terms of retail sales in the online market (traditional e-commerce + content e-commerce) reached 45%, and their retail volume concentration was 31%. This represents a 0.8 percentage point increase compared to the same period last year. Furthermore, the concentration of the top 10 brands saw a substantial rise, with retail sales and volume concentrations increasing by 5.2 and 3.1 percentage points, respectively.