Malaysia’s hanging neck fans are selling like hotcakes—small home appliance exports are still a blue ocean
April 21, 2025 16:56 Shanghai
NoahWise Insight
Cross-Border InsightsGlobal Overview|Home FurnishingsCategory
Source: NoahWise Insight-Cross-Border Insights Global Overview-Home Products Category Sales Revenue in March 2025
2025 Apr.
Malaysia’s halterneck fans are selling like hotcakes
small appliances
Still an export
blue ocean
This earphone-like thing on people’s necks on the streets of Malaysia is sweeping across young consumers.
New fashion item - halter neck fan.
Already used in a fan
saturation
In tropical countries, the "hanging neck fan" can still become a hot item. The reason is that
Growth of young consumer groups
and
Expansion of the middle class
, some consumers are gradually switching from traditional ordinary fans to having
Intelligent remote control, low noise, portable and beautiful
The fan direction has been upgraded. This portable fan that looks like headphones has become a social tool for young people in the interactive communication of social media such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
The wind is blowing overseas
Small appliances are still available
new blue ocean
From the successful case of hanging neck fans, we can glimpse the new blue ocean of small home appliance exports. This article will provide an in-depth explanation based on systematic analysis of data and real cases.
Small household appliances go overseas to meet all living beings
, to help enterprises gain insights
different regions
of
Segmentation
Market dynamics.
01
Selling coffee is worse than selling coffee machines
Selling coffee machines is worse than selling coffee machine accessories
The coffee consumption market in the United States has always been very hot. Coffee is a daily life for Americans, and home coffee machines are a necessity for Americans. However, for Chinese people with a completely different eating environment, researching coffee beans is not their strong point.
What really has explosive market power is not the coffee beans themselves.
It’s coffee machines and related accessories.
American consumers are highly dependent on coffee, and home coffee machines have become standard equipment in almost every American household. But the coffee machine because
High brand loyalty and long replacement cycle
, once purchased, it will accompany consumers for many years.
And the coffee machine
Consumables and accessories
But there are often more frequent needs. Accessories such as coffee filters, cleaning pills, descalers, coffee filters, etc. often need to be replaced. The characteristics of high viscosity, high repurchase and high profit make these products
"Edge accessories"
It has become a super item for sellers to really make money in the American market.
In fact, this trend is also directly reflected in the platform’s March data. exist
Amazon Platform
The overall sales revenue of small home appliances reached
$450 million
, a month-on-month increase of
16%，
The market share occupied by coffee machine accessories continues to rise, even surpassing the complete machine category, and already accounts for approximately
50%
sales share of small home appliances.
High profits and repeat purchases
Big market for gadgets
For Chinese sellers and brands, this means:
Accessories category’s profits and repeat purchases are both high
: "Coffee machine accessories" products are highly consumable, have higher profit margins, and the user's purchase cycle frequency is also higher. Such products have simple after-sales service and lower return and exchange rates, making them an ideal strategic layout direction.
Big market for gadgets and strong brand stickiness
: After gaining user trust through coffee machine accessories, you can further establish brand identity, drive widespread sales of coffee machine mainframes and other peripheral smart home small appliances, and gradually precipitate the brand ecology.
It can be seen from this that even if it is a category that you are not good at,
"Accessories Economy"
It can also bring you unexpected market dividends.
02
Is Lazada a dark horse in Southeast Asia?
Sold out in Malaysia
Southeast Asia in March
Small appliances Category sales data display
Vietnam: Sales revenue was US$430 million, a year-on-year decrease of 6.8%
Malaysia: Sales revenue of US$250 million, a year-on-year increase of 60%
Indonesia: Sales revenue of US$220 million, a year-on-year increase of 27%
Thailand: Sales revenue was US$400 million, a year-on-year decrease of 69%
Singapore: Sales revenue was US$140 million, a year-on-year decrease of 70%
Vietnam Thailand Singapore
Showing decline
After the Vietnamese market has experienced a cross-border small household appliance boom in the past few years, some traditional household small household appliances (such as rice cookers and electric fans) have entered the market.
market saturation
stage, vietnam
local brand
Gradually rising strongly, the products are closer to the local needs of Vietnam, reducing the competitive advantage of imported brands.
Singaporean consumers
Pickiness and quality sensitivity towards high-end brands continue to rise
, competition among international brands and products that dominate the market has intensified, and cross-border sellers with insufficient localization operations have further lost share.
because
Economic fluctuations, inflationary pressure
As a result, Thai consumers are cautious about non-essential consumption, resulting in a significant decline in sales of small home appliances.
Malaysia Indonesia
Huge potential
Malaysia
The purchasing power of middle-class users continues to rise
, with increased demands for quality of life and personalized products, according to March
Lazada platform
In terms of sales in Malaysia, the small household appliances category is still the leader
Vacuum cleaners, hair styling appliances and fans
, accounting for 30%, 27%, and 7% respectively.
Source: NoahWise Insight
Source: NoahWise Insight-Cross-Border Insights
Among the subcategories of vacuum cleaners with the largest proportion,
canned vacuum cleaner
The growth rate is huge and the potential is huge.
Hair styling equipment
In Malaysia, it is especially popular among young people, urban white-collar workers and female users. Sales revenue is growing rapidly.
hair straightener
It is popular because it is more suitable for Southeast Asian girls’ hair types.
"Appearance Economy"
It may become a new password for overseas travel. The popularity of hanging neck fans is also due to its appearance that resembles headphones. It has become a new trendy item for young people on the basis of relieving the heat. It is in the fan list.
Top ranking
Similar handheld mini fans are also available in the context of an almost saturated fan market.
sudden rise
。
Source: NoahWise Insight-Cross-Border Insights
Lazada platform
in malaysia
1.66 times
The terrifying growth rate has gradually reversed the status quo of Shopee as the dominant player in Southeast Asia. It is actively grabbing the Southeast Asian market. In some
Subcategories
With the rapid rise in the market, cross-border merchants engaged in small home appliances must take advantage of the opportunities arising from the rise of this market, actively deploy advantageous categories on the Lazada platform, and optimize supply chain and brand operations to achieve rapid business growth.
We have witnessed the explosion of "hanging neck fans" in the almost saturated fan market, discussed the business experience of selling coffee machine accessories far more profitable than selling coffee, and also seen how the Lazada platform has overtaken Southeast Asia - behind every successful overseas case, there is a wonderful interpretation of a cross-border story.
There is no shortage of competition in the overseas market. The key lies in whether you can keenly capture
Differentiation
new needs, seize
Segmentation
blue ocean opportunities, starting from
subtle device
set off, borrow
The power of numerical intelligence
, find the trend
The power of numerical intelligence
, find the trend
"Book"
, to discover the market
"road".
About NWi
Since 2023, NWi (NoahWise Insight) has expanded into overseas data services. We now cover major global e-commerce platforms including Amazon, Lazada, Shopee, and TikTok, tracking full-category market sales performance across nearly 30 country sites in Europe, the Americas, and Southeast Asia. We help brands deeply understand domestic and overseas market differences, identify growth opportunities in each market, and plan global expansion.
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