In the past two years, I have spent almost 500 yuan borrowing a shared power bank
Recently, 31 year old Xiao Zhou discovered while browsing through orders that in the past, he borrowed a power bank for one or two yuan per hour without hesitation. He never checked the billing time when borrowing it, just swipe and take it. But now, casually scanning a power bank on the street costs three or four yuan per hour. If it exceeds one minute, it will be charged as one hour, and the total bill will be enough to buy several power banks.
When going out, once the phone enters the "low battery" mode, it is inevitable to fall into "battery anxiety". Shared power banks have become an emergency choice for many citizens. However, consumers frequently trample on the pit during the use, making the shared charging treasure a major disaster area for most people to complain about "lightning protection".
Black Cat has filed as many as 26000 complaints about "shared power banks". Screenshot of Black Cat Complaint
The latest research report from iResearch Consulting shows that in 2023, the scale of the shared power bank industry will exceed 12.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25.7%, and is expected to exceed 40 billion yuan by 2029. It can be seen that shared power banks still have broad market potential.
So, why are young people unwilling to pay for shared power banks? Which link went wrong? Is sharing power banks still a good business?
Renting expensive, difficult to return, slow charging
Shared power banks have become a 'hot potato'
"The emergency response of the shared rechargeable phone is an emergency response, which is really too expensive. It would be better to be more friendly to the people." Recently, Chao News reporters found in their interviews that the public's roast about the shared rechargeable phone mainly focused on the price.
In the commercial districts and bustling small shops of Hangzhou, shared power bank machines from brands such as Monster, Meituan, and Jiedian stand quietly, and the prices of these power banks have quietly risen to 3-6 yuan/hour. Same brand, different locations, prices are twice as high. In some scenic spots with high foot traffic, even up to 8-10 yuan/hour, it makes renters hesitate.
In addition to the price increase, easy borrowing, difficult repayment, and slow charging have also caused users to complain endlessly. Citizen Xiaochen spat at the reporter. Last weekend, she was having dinner with friends at the mall when her phone's battery was running low. She immediately scanned a power bank, but the charging speed was as slow as a snail. After finishing her meal, she only charged 10% of the battery and ran for more than ten hours to return it. It was either full or broken, and it took over an hour to find a vacant spot.
After posting his experience on social media, Xiao Chen found that many people have similar troubles. Some even ran 20 kilometers just to find a rental spot. I really can't pay it back, I can only buy it. Some people have bought more than one power bank, which is enough to set up a stall. Now shared power banks are no longer serving consumers, but 'punishing' consumers! "Xiao Chen couldn't help but laugh and cry.
Is it a coincidence that there is a charging station just a few meters away, but they are all full? An industry insider told a reporter from Tide News that this is a business trick. Once borrowed, they immediately replenish the warehouse, making it impossible for you to repay and forcing you to buy out.
However, when a reporter from Tide News consulted a leading shared power bank brand on behalf of a consumer, customer service stated that consumers can promptly contact customer service to verify and handle any order issues. If it is indeed impossible to return the power bank, you can contact customer service to apply for a 24-hour suspension of billing, and then return the power bank when convenient.
Was it 'backstabbing' or 'shearing wool'
Shared power banks have become chain assassins
At present, the shared power bank industry is in the stage of scale expansion, lacking a unified fee standard. Platforms, agents, merchants, and consumers have formed a hierarchical and downward "wool pulling" chain. Not only are consumers being "backstabbed" by shared power banks, but as the industry gradually expands, the situation of agents and merchants in it is also not satisfactory.
At present, the operation mode of the shared power bank industry is mainly divided into two categories: direct operation and agency. In the direct sales mode, the platform directly contacts merchants for free advertising and distributes profits to merchants; In the agency mode, when the agent purchases equipment, the platform will distribute the profits, and the agent will then place the goods in the merchant's store to distribute the profits to the store.
However, some platforms may engage in order theft by secretly taking out consumers' orders in the background, making it impossible for agents and merchants to see the order, thereby reducing profit sharing.
Mr. Wu, an agent of a certain platform, told reporters that agents face high costs in the shared power bank industry, including purchasing possible refurbished equipment, bearing maintenance costs beyond the warranty period, paying high sharing and point purchase fees, and possible fines for violations.
These cost pressures have resulted in many agents having meager profits or even losses.
The main source of income for agents comes from merchants, but the profit sharing is also high. Usually, at least half of the income needs to be split, sometimes even up to 70% -80%. "Mr. Wu told a reporter from Tide News that he has represented 60 cabinet machines, but has found more than once that the platform is suspected of" stealing orders ". The reason is that a friend rented a power bank in the store, but he found that there was no record of the order in the backend. It was not until more than ten minutes later when he complained to customer service that the order reappeared in the backend.
A reporter from Tide News, as a franchise agent, learned from a sales manager of a leading shared power bank brand that the platform has a total of 6 small cabinet machines and 12 large cabinet machines, all starting at 30 units, with prices of 18000 yuan and 34350 yuan respectively. The minimum profit for first level agents is 90%, and purchasing 200 units at once can enjoy a first-year profit of 96%.
When asked why prices are becoming increasingly expensive, the sales manager said that the pricing is determined by the agents themselves, whether it is based on half an hour or an hour. He also revealed that agents can modify the merchant's backend, but the data provided by the platform to the agent's backend is 100% authentic.
Can we still make money from the rental business of shared power banks?
In August of this year, iResearch released the "2024 China Shared Power Bank Industry Research Report", which showed that women make up the majority of shared power bank users in China, and young people are the mainstream consumer group, mainly concentrated in first tier and new first tier cities.
In 2023, the most frequently used brands by young consumers will mainly include Monster, Meituan, Jiedian, Xiaodian, SouDian, and LaiDian. These brands have external manufacturers and their own manufacturers on the production side, such as SouDian having its own factory, while Monster Power Bank is commissioned to be manufactured by Xiaomi.
Shared power bank industry chain. Image source: iResearch Consulting
The report shows that since its inception in 2016, the shared power bank industry has gone through the initial period of mode exploration, rapid explosion, and pattern formation. At present, with the tightening of capital, enhancing one's own hematopoietic ability is the key to ensuring stable development and healthy operation of shared power bank enterprises.
Is sharing power banks still a good business?
At present, the business models of shared power banks on the market mainly include user payment, advertising promotion, and data analysis. By charging users rental fees, brands can obtain stable rental income, while utilizing advertising spaces on power banks to bring additional advertising revenue to the brand. In addition, by using mobile phones and analyzing user usage data, the brand provides precise marketing and promotion services to its partners.
Don't look down on a one or two dollar business. Some people rely on this one or two dollar business to make a fortune every day, "an industry insider told a reporter from Tide News. Shared power banks are high-frequency small-scale businesses that mainly rely on quantity to win. This is similar to the early days of shared bicycles. The specific amount of profit or loss depends on the number of installations you have, as well as the quantity and quality of the points you occupy." If you occupy a good position, it is still a good trend
Mr. Cheng, an agent of another shared power bank brand, admitted that in order to make money from the rental business of shared power banks, it ultimately depends on the channels. In the early days of the rise of the power bank service industry, points with good traffic were already occupied, and platform direct sales preferred to take good points themselves. The remaining difficult points were left to agents to do. For enterprises, in addition to earning money from your equipment first, they also need to take a certain percentage of commission every month. Agents who can do it are ultimately in the minority
However, according to data analysis by iResearch Consulting, the coverage of the shared power bank industry has reached 4.04 million points in 2023, accounting for 19.1% of all potential effective points in the country, a year-on-year increase of 31.8%. Throughout the year, the penetration rate of point locations in first and second tier cities has reached 44.7%, but the penetration rate of point locations in third tier and below cities is 22.2%. In the future, the sinking market will be the main source of point incremental growth.
Image source: iResearch Consulting
According to data analysis from the Forward looking Industry Research Institute, based on historical changes in user numbers, the number of shared power bank users in China is expected to further increase in the future. According to the growth rate, it is estimated that by 2026, the number of shared power bank users in China will reach 610 million. Since 2023, the industry revenue of giant players sharing power banks has also experienced a rebound and growth.