(Yicai Global) Oct. 26 -- Chinese white goods makers are anticipating strong sales during the Double 11 online shopping bonanza next month, when vendors will offer substantial discounts to drum up sales after a lackluster year. New products and growth in rural markets are expected to be highlights of the season.

“Spending in this year’s Double 11 shopping bonanza is expected to be even better than in previous years, but competition will also be more fierce,” Ye Danpeng, chief marketing officer of Robam Appliances, a leading kitchen appliance supplier, told Yicai Global.

“Pre-sales for the Double 11 festival, which falls on Nov. 11 each year, have started, and sales of major home appliances are on the rise,” said Peng Xiandong, general manager of the large home appliance division at China Market Monitor, a subsidiary of Germany’s Growth From Knowledge.

New products such as air ventilators, 75-to-98-inch large-screen TVs, clothes dryers and large-capacity refrigerators should do particularly well in this year’s Double 11 gala, Nuremburg-based Growth From Knowledge said.

The fourth quarter is a key period for China’s home appliance makers to boost sales in order to meet their performance targets this year after a difficult first nine months due to the impact of outbreaks of Covid-19.

“Robam Appliances has lined up a full range of products for the Double 11 shopping festival and is particularly confident about its latest offerings such as dishwashers. It will have a presence on e-commerce platforms, live sales studios, e-retailers, and other online and offline channels,” Ye said.

Supor will focus on promoting new products including its all-in-one cookers that can steam, bake, stew, fry and so much more, the company insider said.

Sales of kitchen appliances and bathroom water heaters could jump 4 percent in this year’s gala from last year’s, and color TV sales may climb 1.9 percent, as more new products come on the market, according to All View Cloud Data Technology.

Large appliances should do well this festival, with sales of washing machines and refrigerators climbing 7.5 percent and 5.8 percent respectively from the year before, Growth From Knowledge said. While sales of air conditioners and TVs may fall.

Meanwhile, villages, towns and small cities are expected to become important markets for white goods vendors, as companies extend their sales channels to smaller places, a company insider at home appliance giant Supor told Yicai Global.

Retailer Suning has been able to improve its installation and after-sales services in remote areas by setting up more service outlets, hiring more staff and increasing the size of its transport fleet, said Dai Fengjun, general manager of the Guangzhou region at the retail giant.

Large-capacity refrigerators, washing machines and other new devices have great potential in undeveloped cities, he added.

To solidify their market positions, industry leaders such as Haier, Midea Group and Supor have all set up special business departments to promote sales of home appliances in small city and township markets, Yicai Global has learned.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor