2024 Smart Lock Installation EXPOSED – Hidden Fees That Could Drain Your Wallet

Shocking Drop: Smart Lock Prices Plunge 25% in Just Three Years, 2024 Report Reveals

On March 24th, the China National Federation of Furniture and Decoration Industry released the “2024 Home Service smart lock Industry Insight Report” (hereinafter referred to as the “Report”). The report shows that from 2021 to 2024, the average unit price of smart locks has dropped from 102 yuan to 77 yuan, a decrease of 25 yuan.

As the last and final step before the use of smart locks, after-sales service may be facing a situation of “mismatch between status and value”. On the one hand, neither consumers nor industry professionals deny that the installation quality has a significant impact on the user experience of smart locks, and some even describe the importance of installation with the phrase “three parts product, seven parts installation”; on the other hand, the installation fee is continuously decreasing, making it seem as if installation is unnecessary.

A large number of low-end smart lock products are flooding the market, leading to an unbalanced industry structure. In recent years, the market share of low-priced smart door locks has been rising continuously, with the proportion of products below 1000 yuan expanding year by year. Data shows that in 2024, the retail volume share of traditional e-commerce smart door locks below 1000 yuan has already exceeded 60%, and smart door locks below 500 yuan have become the largest price segment in the market, with a retail volume share reaching 26% in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 100%.

This smart lock phenomenon not only reflects the market’s over-reliance on low-end products, but also exposes serious structural problems in the industry. When a large number of low-end smart lock products flood the market, the survival space for medium and high-end products will be severely squeezed. At the same time, due to the lack of core technological innovation and differentiated competitive advantages in low-end products, enterprises will fall into homogenized competition, making it difficult to achieve revenue growth through the enhancement of product value-added. The industry’s technological research and innovation, as well as its healthy and sustainable development, will also be constrained as a result.

To avoid internal competition and seek a sustainable path forward, the industry association is actively promoting three key directions. On December 26, 2024, during the Sixth Session of the Second Council of the Locking Branch of the China Hardware Products Association and the 31st National smart Lock Industry Information Exchange Conference, Zhang Dongli, Director-General of the China Hardware Products Association, stated that internal competition has become a widespread challenge for industry enterprises. This issue, he explained, stems from the excessive influx of companies into the market, leading to severe overcapacity and increasingly homogenized products — factors that have significantly intensified internal competition.

In response to this situation, the smart lock industry must shift its mindset, foster collaboration, and take proactive measures. It should embrace innovation, make firm decisions to reduce excess production capacity, pursue differentiated development strategies, and aim for reasonable profit margins. At the same time, the industry must reject ineffective competition, break free from the current predicament, and work toward establishing a healthy and orderly market environment.

The national smart lock industry standards initiated by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology have been reviewed and approved and are about to be promulgated. The introduction of new standards will provide a basis for production and manufacturing, further regulate the industry, and promote healthy and high-quality development. The implementation of national subsidy policies has brought benefits to the smart door lock industry, reduced the cost of consumers to purchase medium and high-end smart door locks, enabling more consumers to afford high-quality products, and effectively stimulating the demand for medium and high-end markets.

Data shows that in the fourth quarter of 2024, the scale of traditional e-commerce smart door locks priced at 2000 yuan and above is growing positively, with the retail volume of products priced between 2000-2499 yuan increasing by 32%, the retail volume of products priced between 2500-2999 yuan increasing by 4%, and the retail volume of products priced 3000 yuan and above increasing by 38%. The national subsidy policy in 2025 will continue the framework of 2024 and further optimize and upgrade the scope and standards, which will further increase the participation of smart door lock enterprises and effectively promote the development of the medium and high-end market in 2025.

Enterprises are called upon to collaborate and break free from the cycle of internal competition in pursuit of long-term prosperity. Overcoming the current challenges requires not only external support but, more importantly, the united efforts of China’s smart door lock industry to align thinking and build a shared consensus. By focusing on technological innovation, differentiated development, consumer education, market expansion, and long-term strategic planning, the industry can shift from a model of “increased volume but declining value” to one where both volume and value grow hand in hand.

Take technological innovation as the core driving force for industry upgrading. Enterprises should increase their research and development budget in core technology fields, focus on cutting-edge technologies such as biometrics and AI intelligence, enhance the technical barriers and added value of products, and stimulate consumers’ purchase desire through product innovation.

Actively participate in the formulation of industry standards, promote technical standardization, and lay a foundation for high-quality development of the industry. Break the homogeneous dilemma through differentiated competition. Enterprises should choose to develop targeted products in niche markets based on their own strengths, create differentiated selling points, provide innovative value-added services to enhance user experience and brand loyalty. Through brand building, creating a unique brand image and user cognition, shaping brand value.

Stimulate consumer demand through market education. Through publicity and educational activities, help consumers understand the technical advantages and usage value of smart door locks, improve consumers’ value recognition of high-end products, and fully stimulate their demand for high-end products. Launch more innovative and practical products to meet consumers’ higher requirements for safety, convenience, and intelligence. Explore new markets to find new growth engines. Expand overseas markets, focus on the international market, and participate in global competition through high-quality products and services. Integrate into the smart home ecosystem, cooperate with smart home platforms, create an interconnected product ecosystem, and enhance user stickiness.

Create sustainable development through long-termism. Through continuous brand investment and user operation, build long-term competitiveness. Carry out long-term planning in core technology fields to lay a foundation for future market competition. Against the background of the internal competition dilemma in the smart door lock industry, AVIC Cloud Network will provide accurate market analysis and trend prediction with its professional data insight capabilities, providing strong data support for the industry to formulate scientific and reasonable norms and standards. Work together with the China Hardware Products Association and various enterprises to promote the establishment of a healthy and orderly market order, and achieve sustainable development of the industry.