China Lighting Brand Impression: Philips, Opple and NVC Rank Top Three

LEDinside, the green energy division of a global market research organization, and AVANTI, a professional consumer research company, jointly launched the second round of the China Lighting Product Consumer Behavior Survey in May 2014. The results showed that Philips ranks first in lighting product brand impression, while Opple and NVC are the best-performing local brands. The survey also showed that LED lamp usage has significantly increased compared to 2013, rising from 24% to 40%.

The China Lighting Product Consumer Behavior Survey aims to understand consumers' current awareness of lighting products and their purchasing habits, and to identify the key factors influencing consumer decisions. The survey covers 18 major cities across seven regions of the country, with a sample size of 30,000. The survey shows that the current Chinese lighting market has a relatively high degree of brand concentration and limitation, mainly focused on several international major brands (Philips, Panasonic, Osram, TCL, Samsung, etc.) and traditional Chinese local brands (Opple, NVC, Foshan Lighting, etc.). Among them, Philips has the most outstanding market performance, with both brand impression and awareness accounting for more than 50%, ranking first in market share and consumer attractiveness. In addition, traditional lighting brands such as Opple and NVC also have good brand performance due to their deep involvement in the lighting industry and a specialized approach. However, consumer brand loyalty is not high and there is significant mobility. Coupled with the large market share and rapid growth of the Chinese lighting market, lighting manufacturers can still effectively enhance their brand awareness by increasing brand promotion efforts and image building.

In terms of lighting awareness, energy-saving lamps are still the mainstream in the market, but with the gradual increase in the penetration rate of LED lamps in home lighting, compared with 2013, consumers' recognition and awareness of LEDs in 2014 have greatly improved, and the usage rate has also increased from 24% to 40%, showing its future market potential. In addition, in 2014, the price range of LED lamps most frequently purchased by consumers also rose from 11-20 yuan in 2013 to 21-50 yuan.

　　Regarding the purchasing channels for lighting products, compared with 2013, consumer acceptance of online platforms rose significantly in 2014, with attractive prices and the ability to read detailed product information and specifications more intuitively on websites being the main factors that draw consumers to purchase lighting products through online channels. Currently, the proportion of LED lamps purchased through online platforms has reached 35%, while traditional offline purchasing channels show a declining trend. Among mainstream online platforms, Taobao/Tmall and JD.com are the mainstream choices for consumers purchasing LED lamps. In addition, online platforms have the most significant advertising and promotion effects.

　　Therefore, e-commerce is the future development trend. Effectively utilizing online platforms to promote lighting products not only adds sales channels for sellers, but also provides promotion channels for brand publicity and product display. To introduce e-commerce sales, one should first understand the purchasing behavior and consumption decisions of users, then select the appropriate platform according to needs, and then leverage the platform's advantages for effective product promotion. The better future development direction for selling lighting products is to leverage the respective advantages of both online and offline sales models. For example, the favorable prices of online platforms and the greater convenience for consumers to read product information and specifications; the transportation safety guarantees of offline platforms, as well as the convenience and ubiquity of physical stores.