Domestic supermarket and convenience store sales of commercial refrigerators in 2023 amounted to 894000 units, decreasing by 1.0% compared to previous year. Down from last year when it was at its low, orders of commercial refrigerators in supermarket and convenience store dropped further.
Product trend: Food freezers are leading and remaining relatively flat
There are food freezers in the shapes of island freezers, ice cream show case, etc., for other sub-division of uses. They are employed for numerous purposes and have some good points regarding prices, installation, etc. They are the mainstream products of supermarket and convenience store commercial refrigerators with the output ratio of about 40% in 2023.
The sales of functional beverage brands have also risen, driving a modest increase in beverage cooler for convenience store; The size of remote display fridge has dropped due to the slowdown in opening large supermarkets, with sales occupying 6.8% in 2023. The unit price of remote display fridge products is high, occupying 27.6% of domestic sales.
Structural trend: chest freezers are in the dominant position and the ratio keeps rising
In terms of product structure, vertical refrigerators have some strengths like small footprint, easy access, and customer-attracting power. Vertical refrigerators also have strengths of energy saving, noise reduction, etc., and have been widely used in convenience stores and supermarkets. In 2023, the ratio of vertical refrigerators was 59.4%, up by 2%.
On the other hand, chest freezers and service cabinets are primarily utilized in hypermarkets and have relatively stable demand. In recent years, with supermarket opening slowing down, the proportion has kept falling.
Refrigerant trend: R290 is common and the proportion keeps rising
R290, a natural refrigerant, boasts the benefits of environmental protection, high energy efficiency, and low cost, and is extensively used in commercial refrigerators. R290 currently occupies the leading status in the convenience store scenario use of supermarkets. The proportion of R290 used in convenience store refrigerators in supermarkets reached 63.0% in 2023, and the market usage ratio continues to rise.
Meanwhile, some enterprises are actively experimenting with other green refrigerants like R448A, but the ratio is extremely low.
Installation trend: Plug in commercial refrigerators have a definite advantage
Plug in are simple to install, the products have a lot of variety types, and have a greater application. Moreover, they excel on cost, life, etc. Plug in commercial refrigerators had commercial refrigerators in the space of supermarkets and convenience stores since the early stages. Currently, as of 2023, the market share of plug in commercial refrigerators is 93.2%, which is also growing.
Remote commercial refrigerators have the advantages of low noise, high efficiency, and willful design. They are used most commonly in medium-sized and large-sized supermarkets and first-class chain convenience stores, and the proportion of remote commercial refrigerators has fallen steadily in the past few years.
