Driven by the government’s subsidy scheme, sales of smart products and home appliances in Shenzhen have been given a noticeable boost since the beginning of August, further instilling confidence in businesses, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported yesterday.
“If consumers have no requirements for brands, they will be more inclined to buy products with government subsidies. Recently, sales of subsidized goods such as 5G mobile phones have increased significantly,” said a staff member with the Huaqiangbei outlet of electrical appliances retailer Sundan.
At the end of July, the city’s commerce bureau issued guidelines on the application of subsidies for purchasing home appliances and intelligent products, and earmarked a special subsidy of 300 million yuan (US$43.77 million) to support Shenzhen residents to purchase more energy-saving home appliances and smart products.
According to the policy, from Aug. 1, Shenzhen residents who purchase designated 5G mobile phones, laptops, 8K TVs, and other smart digital products and energy-saving home appliances from qualified retailers will enjoy a subsidy that amounts to 10-percent of the actual price paid. Each resident can enjoy an accumulated subsidy of no more than 1,000 yuan.
“Since August, sales have leveled off compared with the same period last year, with only a slight decrease of 3 percent to 5 percent,” said a source with Shenzhen Sundan Chain Store Co. Ltd.
“This shows that sales are picking up, and the overall foot traffic in August increased by about 10 percent month on month,” said the source, adding that the sales volume of government-subsidized goods of overall sales increased from 33 percent to about 50 percent.
“At present, the special subsidy is very attractive to customers looking to replace old and traditional home appliances,” said Zhu Dongmei, marketing director of retailer Suning.com in Shenzhen.
Communications products, computers, and refrigerators and washing machines are the three categories that recorded the highest sales volume in the retailer’s brick-and-mortar stores in Shenzhen in August, according to Zhu.