2017Q1 China Wireless Router Market Research Report

With the popularity of WiFi and mobile devices, wireless routers have become a must-have device for every family in the mobile Internet era. At home, you need to use WiFi to watch TV shows, play games, and video chat; in the office, you need to rely on WiFi to use tablets and laptops to work; when you go out, you often look for public WiFi in public places to surf the Internet; it can be said that our lives are now completely inseparable from WiFi. China's household market, especially the number of urban households, is very large, and the competition among various wireless router manufacturers to rush to land is very fierce. Inexpensive and high-quality wireless routers have always been the focus of consumers, but we have found that new changes have occurred. People are increasingly dissatisfied with cheap wireless routers and have turned their attention to faster 11ac wireless routers. New opportunities for change have emerged.

Key Points of this Report

The dynasty's foundation is shaken, and heroes emerge to fight for supremacy

The market structure of a single company dominating the market will gradually be broken, and several wireless router manufacturers with similar attention ratios are rising strongly. They have launched products that subvert the traditional concept of wireless routers, and are constantly attracting the market attention of the dominant company with more innovative designs, more functions, and even more attractive marketing methods.

Routers with faster wireless transmission rates are becoming more popular

150M and 300M wireless routers were still very popular in the first two years. But in 2017, this trend has reversed, and higher-speed wireless routers, especially those using 11ac technology and with a total wireless transmission rate of 1200M, have become mainstream products.

Wireless routers priced above 100 yuan have become the main force

Cheap wireless routers have been gradually abandoned by users. Wireless routers that cost more than 100 yuan have become the main force in users' homes. With more functions and better signals, users don't want to change devices frequently. As long as they can bring more stability, more functions and better Internet experience, users don't care about this little money at all.

1. Overview of China’s Wireless Router Market in Q1 2017

(I) Current Development Status

The struggle among the many heroes under the dominance of one company

In the wireless router market, I believe that the most familiar brand to everyone is TP-LINK. Under the situation of its dominance, the market share of other manufacturers is extremely close, and the competition is fierce. Moreover, these manufacturers have joined forces to continuously impact TP-LNIK's market share, gradually forming a trend of cannibalizing TP-LNIK's market.

Cheap routers are no longer rampant, 11ac officially becomes mainstream

In the past, wireless routers below 100 yuan attracted the most attention from consumers, especially those in the 50-70 yuan range. Everyone wanted to buy high-quality and low-priced products. This year, consumers' awareness and demand for products have increased significantly, and the principle of "you get what you pay for" has been deeply rooted in people's minds. If you want to use a good router, you have to pay the corresponding fee. In addition, 11ac wireless routers have completely replaced 11n wireless routers and become the mainstream product of home wireless routers.

(II) Basic characteristics

Widely used, a must-have for every household

The rapid rise of smart devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, and smart home devices has made it necessary for every household to deploy WiFi networks, and wireless routers have entered thousands of households. In addition to at home, when visiting relatives and friends, the first thing we want to ask is "What's your WiFi password?" Wireless routers are a must-have in every household, and the market is quite broad.

Innovation has begun

Traditional consumers think that "a wireless router is fine as long as it works. If it breaks, they will not feel bad. They can just buy another one." With the favorable policies of Broadband China and speed increase and fee reduction, high-speed fiber broadband has been fully introduced into urban households. Consumers need wireless routers that match high-speed broadband in one step. The popularization of high-speed fiber helps wireless routers speed up.

TP-LINK is still the dominant player but is under great pressure

Although TP-LINK has always been the dominant player, its popularity is decreasing every year. The gap between other manufacturers is very small and the competition is very fierce. A number of wireless routers with unique features such as "new sales model", "optical fiber is a must", and "novel design" have had a significant impact on TP-LINK.

2. Analysis of China’s wireless router market structure in Q1 2017

(I) Brand structure

1. Quarterly brand structure

Eighteen princes conquer TP-LINK

In the wireless router market, TP-LINK still holds a dominant position. If we open any e-commerce website, we can see that most of the top ten wireless router products are occupied by TP-LINK. The 23.4% attention ratio also shows its dominant position in the wireless router market. A group of competitors such as Tenda, Phicomm, Huawei, Xiaomi, Netgear, and Asus all have attention ratios between 7.5% and 6.5%, and the gap is not very large. It is also this echelon that gradually erodes TP-LINK's dominant position, but no manufacturer can replace TP-LINK.

Brand attention ratio of China's wireless router market in Q1 2017

2. Brand change comparison

The hegemony's territory is being eroded and the "middle class" is further expanding

Judging from the attention ratio in the first three months, the attention ratio of TP-LINK, the first place, is decreasing month by month. The lost attention ratio is eaten up by the "middle class" such as Tenda, Phicomm, Huawei, Netgear, Asus, Xiaomi, etc. These five manufacturers have gradually formed a new force, and together with TP-LINK, they have occupied most of the consumer attention.

Changes in brand attention distribution ratio in China’s wireless router market in Q1 2017

(II) Product Structure

1. Price segment structure

Routers gradually say goodbye to cheap ones, and attention surges as they cost more than 100 yuan

In the past, wireless routers priced below 100 yuan accounted for half of the attention. Now, wireless routers priced below 100 yuan account for 38.1% of the attention, and the price range of 100-200 yuan has grown rapidly, with a total of 39.8% of the attention, surpassing the attention of routers priced below 100 yuan. In the past, routers that only needed to be able to access the Internet wirelessly have gradually lost their market share. Consumers not only want wireless routers with strong signals and good stability, but also want wireless routers with more functions.

Distribution of product attention ratios in different price segments in China’s wireless router market in Q1 2017

2. 11ac reverses and becomes the leader, 11n only has a small market share

The vigorous popularization of 11ac wireless routers in recent years has finally paid off. The "eternal" 11n wireless router has now been dethroned by the 11ac wireless router. And the 11ac wireless router has a 78.6% attention rate, far ahead of the 11n wireless router's 21.4% attention rate. The popularity of 11ac wireless routers indicates that high-speed wireless transmission WiFi has become popular in households, and high-speed WiFi can bring more possibilities for home wireless entertainment.

Image Captions

(III) Regional structure

Developed provinces and densely populated provinces have high demand for wireless routers

In developed and densely populated provinces, broadband operators have made large investments in infrastructure, and there is a strong demand for wireless routers in households. Driven by policies such as Broadband China and Optical Network Cities, broadband construction is underway across the country, providing a favorable environment for wireless routers. Among them, Beijing and Guangdong are far ahead of other provinces and cities, with attention rates of 14.8% and 13.6% respectively. The two wealthy provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang follow closely behind. Shandong, Henan, Sichuan and other provinces are densely populated, with relatively good broadband infrastructure and a large demand for wireless routers. In remote areas and areas with harsh natural environments, due to the lack of broadband infrastructure, the demand for wireless routers is not very large.

The proportion of attention paid to China's wireless router market in different provinces in Q1 2017

3. Analysis of mainstream manufacturers

(I) Brand Trend Comparison

Uncontrollable warlords

Among mainstream brands, TP-LINK's popularity continues to decline. The top seven include both established wireless router manufacturers and Internet companies such as Xiaomi. Moreover, Tenda and Phicomm, two manufacturers, have strong products and also conduct cross-border cooperation activities, such as "0 yuan purchase", cooperation with travel companies, beauty companies, and broadband operators, etc., which often provide very favorable products. Enthusiasts mainly focus on products of the two brands NETGEAR and ASUS, which have super performance and many ways to play. It can be said that the entire market is in a state of blooming and contending, and TP-LINK is "Alexander".

Comparison of the popularity of mainstream wireless router brands in China in Q1 2017

(II) Product structure comparison

Products around 100 yuan or more top the list of cheap routers

From the top ten products, we can see that only the classic model TL-WR842N of TP-LINK is priced below 100 yuan, while the other products with a high attention ratio are all priced over 100 yuan. The number one Phicomm K2 has greatly increased its attention thanks to the support of the "0 yuan purchase" event. In addition, except for TL-WR842N and TL-WR886N, the rest of the products use 11ac wireless technology. Wireless routers with faster wireless transmission have attracted more attention from consumers.

Ranking of the top ten most popular wireless router products in China in Q1 2017

4. Forecast of China’s wireless router market trends in 2017

(I) Analysis of influencing factors

1. Favorable factors

Broadband speed upgrade: old routers cannot meet high-speed broadband needs

Domestic high-speed broadband construction is in full swing, and operators are constantly increasing speeds and reducing fees. In some cities, home broadband has started at 50M, and 100M and 200M broadband are increasingly entering households, and even gigabit broadband has begun to support processing. In the face of high-speed broadband networks, old wireless routers cannot allow users to enjoy high-speed Internet access on mobile terminals and will be eliminated. High-speed wireless routers that can support fiber-optic broadband have ushered in a good opportunity for "change of dynasty".

2. Disadvantages

The slow development of wireless receiving terminals affects the popularization of high-speed wireless routers

The transmission rate of wireless routers is getting faster and faster, but the transmission rate of wireless network cards on mobile phones and computers still cannot reach the limit of some routers. As a result, consumers will choose products with consistent performance instead of higher-speed wireless routers. The bottleneck at the receiving end will directly affect the product positioning of the wireless router's transmission rate.

(II) Market trend forecast

11n wireless routers are completely out of favor

Whether it is 300M, 450M or 600M wireless transmission rate, 11n wireless router will be completely defeated by 11ac. Single frequency band, strong interference and low transmission rate are the original sins of 11n wireless router. Under high-speed broadband, it can no longer compare with the more excellent 11ac wireless router and will lose its popularity in 2017.

Wireless mesh network products still need to be tested in the domestic market

Wireless mesh network is a new technology and product in foreign countries. Netgear, Asus, Google, Linksys, TP-LINK, UBNT and other major manufacturers have launched this product. However, the structure of foreign rooms is different from that in China (there are more wooden structures in foreign countries, and wireless signals are easy to penetrate; domestic masonry and concrete structures are mainly used, and the attenuation through walls is strong). The product price is relatively high and will focus on the high-end market. In wealthy areas, large apartments, flats, villas and other large rooms are large, and users are willing to pay corresponding money to solve the problem of wireless network experience. I believe they will be the main force of wireless mesh network product consumption.