This year has seen a remarkable surge in new forms of consumption, with innovative digital experience centers that bring virtual characters to life, artisanal workshops showcasing traditional crafts through skilled hands, and an array of smart products that cater to various aspects of daily life. In today’s rapidly advancing tech landscape, smart consumer goods are increasingly becoming mainstream, transforming people’s consumption habits and lifestyles.
**Comprehensive Product Services**
There’s a wealth of technology aimed at seniors. One particularly charming new product—a robot dog with a playful design that features a small head, tiny ears, and a wagging tail—has caught the attention of many customers. Combining AI technology with advanced four-legged robotic motion control, it serves multiple purposes including security monitoring and smart home assistance.
According to Cheng Yuzhuo, the store’s sales team leader, “Our location opened at the end of June and we’ve already sold nearly 10,000 units. It continuously updates, evolves, and upgrades, with its software applications and interaction methods constantly improving.”
Smart products span a wide range of consumer needs, appealing not only to the younger population but also addressing the urgent requirements of older adults. For instance, an otherwise ordinary-looking mattress is capable of adjusting various angles while also gathering data on seniors’ physical conditions to analyze sleep quality and recommend adjustments in firmness.
Statistical data indicates that China’s technology and durable consumer goods market is on a rapid path to recovery, with projected revenue exceeding 22 billion yuan in 2024—a nearly 5% increase year-over-year. Particularly, since the implementation of the “upgrade and exchange” policy, the market for electronic consumer goods has seen significant momentum.
**From Individual Products to Ecosystems**
With an expanding range of consumption scenarios, smart products are enhancing quality of life. Let’s explore how spaces such as restaurants, cafes, and beauty shops are transforming into smart public areas.
In a park in Shanghai’s Changning District, a smart coffee machine skillfully operates its “arm” to brew a cup of coffee in under a minute, offering over 50 different flavors. Meanwhile, at a smart cafeteria, an automated noodle machine serves up piping hot bowls in less than three minutes, with only two kitchen staff needed to manage the robots that handle various cooking tasks. This setup can serve 400 to 500 people during lunchtime, significantly enhancing service efficiency.
Zhou Yang, Vice President of a Shanghai e-commerce company, noted, “Large-scale group meals, central kitchens, and community elder care cafeterias all utilize AI kitchen systems.”
In beauty experience stores, skin diagnostic devices equipped with “AI facial recognition” leverage algorithms trained on over 15,000 images to deliver a range of skincare recommendations.
**High-Tech Meets New Demands**
Smart products are gradually becoming the market’s focal point, with an increasing frequency of new launches as consumers crave smarter living. Rising demand is driving the development of more high-quality products and services, leading to a booming smart consumption industry.
Currently, the trend is to cluster new and trending products to create integrated spaces for smart home appliances, furniture, and household goods. A newly opened shopping mall in Changsha, Hunan features a dazzling array of merchandise including smart vacuum and mop machines, refrigerators, curtains, and lighting controls.
The progression from smart products to intelligent commercial districts and ultimately to smart living illustrates a trend of “gradually becoming smart” in product development.
Moreover, supportive policies are being introduced. The Beijing Economic and Technological Development Area recently established the nation’s first parallel fund for the development of new productive forces. A local school in Yizhuang is outfitted with smart learning facilities like VR glasses, AI teaching screens, and interactive reading booths.
Guo Zebang, Director of the Information Technology Industrial Bureau of the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone, stated, “We support the construction of vertical large models across several fields including industry, consumption, and government services. We allocate 100 million yuan each year for computing power vouchers and modeling vouchers to back both the developers and users of large models.”
