IDC consulting: It is expected that the shipment of the intelligent home market in China will reach 281 million units in 25 years, a year-on-year increase of 7.8%.

IDC predicts that the shipment of smart home devices in China will reach 281 million units by 2025, a year-on-year growth of 7.8%, with smart lighting leading the growth. The government's subsidy policy for replacing old appliances since 2024 has accelerated the penetration of high-end products to some extent. In 2025, under the background of government stimulus for consumption, traditional home appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners will accelerate their entry into a cycle of product structure upgrade, moving towards high-end, intelligent, quality, and personalized directions. IDC has summarized and provided ten insights into the development direction, product innovation characteristics, competitive landscape, and channel layout of the Chinese smart home market in 2025, as follows: Insight 1: Under the policy of replacing old appliances, traditional home appliance categories accelerate their entry into a product structure upgrade cycle. Insight 2: Leading smart home manufacturers focus on AI models in the home vertical domain, transitioning from "helping you" to "understanding you" and addressing user pain points. Insight 3: The user base of the smart home industry is further expanding, with concepts such as elderly and pet care and care for people with disabilities continuing to rise, leading to a more diverse competition landscape and a shift in home experience from "sense of security" to "sense of well-being." Insight 4: Long-term thinking becomes the core highlight of upgrading integrated function home appliances. Insight 5: Unified connection methods drive devices entering a new era of innovation. Insight 6: The demand for smart home appliances shifts from functional satisfaction to emotional dependency. Insight 7: The concept of the fourth generation of residences promotes multidisciplinary integration in various aspects such as smart home appliances, architecture, energy, environment, gardening, art, feng shui, and philosophy. Insight 8: Leading companies in the industry are improving their product line layout and expanding into more refined market categories. Insight 9: Multiple risks such as tax compliance, exchange rate fluctuations, changes in international trade policies, and intensified local market competition bring more uncertainty to home appliance manufacturers going global.The important engine driving its continuous growth; for companies focusing on emerging smart home categories, the European and American markets are the key fortresses that support their overall profits and drive business growth. By 2025, the complex tax systems and constantly changing tax regulations in various countries require home furnishing manufacturers to possess high levels of professional capabilities and business acumen. Changes in international trade policies may lead to increased product costs and restricted market access. These risk factors bring more uncertainty to home furnishing manufacturers as they expand internationally.Insight Ten: Smart home manufacturers are further increasing their focus on privacy and security issues, to build a more secure and reliable smart living environment. With the continuous development of large models, smart home devices such as cameras, robot vacuum cleaners, and others can more deeply integrate into family life, recording and analyzing users' habits, family layout, and environmental information. This has raised user concerns about privacy and security to new heights. Manufacturers should pay more attention to encryption algorithms and protocols, improve various permission management functions, adopt more diversified identity verification methods, and establish relevant emergency response mechanisms to deal with large-scale privacy breaches. Governments and regulatory agencies should also establish strict laws and regulations to clarify privacy and data security standards in the smart home industry.