Why did you choose the power bank industry? What do you think of the current development trends and competition in this industry?

The ***Xiang power bank industry has gradually formed a four-part pattern of street power, incoming power, small power, and monster charging. But in fact, issues such as the safety and profit model of ***Xiang Power Bank have not been solved. Li Yi, chief researcher of the Internet Research Center of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said that the current power bank of Xinxiang is just a transitional period. The development of future technology may make the standby time of mobile phones longer, and the demand for power banks of Xinxiang will gradually decrease. ***Xiang power bank is only a segment of the ***share economy, and survival is also relatively difficult.

In 2017, the size of China's exclusive power bank market was 90 million yuan, and it is expected to grow nearly three times by 2020.

In 2017, China's exclusive power bank industry developed rapidly. The market size is close to the 100 million yuan mark. According to the statistics of the "Market Prospects and Investment Planning Analysis Report of China's Enjoyable Power Bank Industry" released by the Qianzhan Industry Research Institute, as of 2017, the market size of China's most accessible power bank has reached 90 million yuan. It is expected that the size of China's exclusive power bank market will exceed 100 million yuan in 2018, reaching 150 million yuan. With the expansion of equipment density in first- and second-tier cities and the establishment of sinking channels, it is expected that the number of users in the entire industry will continue to rise in the future. In addition, as the market matures, the revenue model will develop in diversified directions such as advertising and data, and the future market potential is optimistic. It is expected that the size of China's exclusive power bank market will exceed 300 million yuan in 2020, reaching 330 million yuan.

China's largest power bank market size statistics and growth forecast from 2017 to 2020

Data source: Compiled by Qianzhan Industry Research Institute

Deposit refunded Mao Ni

The power bank industry, which has gone through a reshuffle period, has gradually stabilized. However, issues such as patent disputes, "fake demand", and profit models still hinder the development of the industry. Among them, the deposit issue during the rental process of ***Xiang Power Bank has received the most attention.

During an investigation, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily found that some of the most popular power banks had problems with refunding deposits. Incoming calls will automatically convert the customer's deposit into a balance, and the order fee will be deducted in real time. After a Beijing Business Daily reporter tried to recharge a 100 yuan deposit, the fee prompt column on the caller applet page showed that the deposit was 100 yuan. After the power bank is returned, it will be refunded to the caller account and is expected to arrive within 0-5 working days. However, in most cases, the deposit account and the balance account are not connected, and consumers need to pay a deposit before they can use it. However, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily found that after the order was completed, the caller automatically converted the consumer's deposit into a balance. If the consumer does not choose to return the balance and the balance is less than 100 yuan, and the consumer wants to rent for the second time, he needs to top up another 10 yuan as a deposit before he can continue to use it. At this time, the 100 yuan in the balance account was converted into a deposit.

Regarding this phenomenon, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily investigated street electronics and small electronics. When users apply for a deposit withdrawal, the deposit will not be converted into a balance, but the order fee will be automatically deducted from the deposit. , refund the remaining amount to the user. However, the rules of Jiedian Mini Program show that after withdrawal, refunds may be received in multiple installments, which are expected to arrive within 1-5 working days.

In contrast, Monster Charging can enable automatic refund of the deposit, which can be automatically refunded after the power bank is returned and payment is completed, and cash can be withdrawn at any time. The deposit for Monster Recharge is 99 yuan, and the withdrawal period is 0-5 working days.

After using three different power banks, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily found that the deposit for monster charging was refunded on the same day, while the deposit for incoming calls and street power was refunded the next day. A customer admitted to reporters that because he recharged so many brands of power banks, he often couldn't remember which brand's account had the deposit unrefunded.

In this regard, an industry insider who wished to remain anonymous pointed out that the practice of making phone calls can increase the company's revenue and help improve the company's financial data, but it is also possible to obtain financing through good data.

The traffic monetization cycle is short

Regarding the above issues, a person in charge of the ***Xiang power bank industry who did not want to be named told a Beijing Business Daily reporter that ***Xiang power bank There are two ways to make money, one is rental income, and the other is traffic monetization advertising income, etc. "Look specifically at the circulation efficiency of the power bank. One power bank is used by seven or eight people a day. Each person earns 2 yuan, which is very efficient."

On March 23 this year, Jumeiyou won the Jiedian, which has a strategic investment of 300 million yuan, announced that the number of users has exceeded 60 million, accounting for 80% of the market share. As early as November 2017, Jiedian announced that it had achieved profitability in multiple cities. Since then, many players such as Xiaodian have also announced that they have basically achieved profitability.

According to analysis by industry insiders, according to the actual cost calculation based on the "rent + depreciation" model, the average payback period for the mobile power bank industry is less than 4 months, which is far lower than previous market expectations. Judgment.

Some investment institutions have calculated that the frequency of use of a small cabinet-type power bank is about 0.8-1 times per day, and each rental time is about 2 hours. Calculated at 1 yuan/hour, one The monthly turnover of a small cabinet with 12 power banks is about 570-720 yuan.

In terms of cost, small cabinet-type power banks basically do not need to pay rent when they are settled in shopping malls. The monthly labor maintenance and depreciation cost is about 20 yuan per unit. It can be calculated from this that the monthly profit of a small cabinet machine is about 500-700 yuan.

Some media have previously quoted industry insiders as saying, "A large cabinet-mounted power bank requires a monthly site fee of 1,500 yuan. Through rental income, the cabinet-mounted power bank model can pay back its investment in 4 months." , the monthly profit is 1,380 yuan, and the annual cost profit rate can reach up to 85%.

Since the advertising fee of a single advertising machine in large supermarkets in first-tier cities exceeds 1,000-2,000 yuan/month, it is also That is to say, the payback period of a large cabinet-type portable power bank is about 3 months." It can be seen that the cost recovery period of the power bank industry is very short.

The profit model is questionable

Although the business of enjoying power banks was once in the limelight, due to its current technology, deposits and many other problems, industry insiders are not optimistic about this field. The outlook has been divided. While many players were eliminated, new players did not enter.

It is understood that Meituan-Dianping was still promoting the exclusive charging business in August last year. Two months later, the project, which was still in the trial operation stage, was announced to be out of operation. LeDian was established in January 2015 and was the first merchant to enter the market. However, the fierce competition could not withstand the cruelty of the capital market. It announced the suspension of operations in October 2017 and became the first ** to be exposed to go bankrupt. *Enjoy power bank company.

Industry insiders believe that ***Xiang power bank is not strictly necessary, but plays more of an emergency role. There are many ways for users to solve their charging needs. ***Xiang power bank is not in the user's possession. Use the only solution in the scenario. Moreover, the cost of the mobile power bank itself is not high. Before the emergence of the mobile power bank, its popularity among users was already very high.

From an investment perspective, the investment community has lost enthusiasm for the most popular power bank, and no new players have entered. From a technical point of view, battery technology has not yet reached long-term standby, but future technology development may allow mobile phones to last longer, a few days or even a week, and the current power bank is just a transitional period. From the market point of view, ***Xiang power bank is only a segment of the ***Xiao economy, and survival is relatively difficult. "***Xiang power bank is actually a pseudo demand, and the number of actual users using it is not as many as expected. Moreover, there are many ways to meet this demand."

In addition, with ***Xiang Just like bicycles, the deposit itself for enjoying the power bank also has certain risks. Zhang Yu, a lawyer at Beijing Huatai Law Firm, pointed out that in accordance with Article 11 of the Commercial Bank Law, no unit or individual may engage in commercial banking business such as taking deposits from the public without approval from the banking regulatory agency of the State Council. According to Article 176 of the Criminal Law, "illegal absorption of public deposits or disguised absorption of public deposits, disrupting financial order" also constitutes a crime. A large number of users voluntarily deposit their own funds on the platform or enterprises temporarily or periodically, which has caused many hidden dangers. If the deposit cannot be returned on time for a long time, it can be considered as an "illegal or disguised" act of absorbing public deposits, and the criminal liability of the enterprise, platform and its principal persons will be investigated.