Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2025-09-22 Origin: Site
The domestic beauty device market has clearly gone through four development stages, with the classification of radiofrequency (RF) beauty devices as Class III medical devices in 2022 marking a "watershed" that reshaped the industry’s destiny.
In the introduction phase (around 2013), the market was dominated by overseas brands. International players like Clarisonic, FOREO, and Tripollar entered China via cross-border shopping and daigou (proxy purchasing) channels, while local enterprises mostly tested the waters as OEMs, with low industry awareness.
The growth phase starting in 2015 saw capital flock to the medical aesthetics track. Overseas brands such as Hitachi accelerated their foray into official e-commerce channels, while domestic brands like Kingdom and Notime entered the market with basic product categories, ushering in the initial trend of "adapting professional salon technology for home use."
During the expansion phase around 2020, the boom in at-home demand and the dividend of live-streaming e-commerce enabled domestic brands to rise to the top with cost-effectiveness and high-conversion marketing, forming a differentiated competition pattern with foreign brands.
The current beauty device market exhibits the characteristics of "slowing overall growth and intensifying structural differentiation." According to Magic Mirror Insights, in 2024, sales of beauty devices on major e-commerce platforms reached 9.858 billion yuan (≈1.36 billion USD) with 19.123 million units sold. While maintaining scale, growth momentum has weakened significantly, closely tied to market wait-and-see sentiment during the policy transition period.
The channel side shows a distinct trend of "volume growth with stable revenue." To clear inventory, some brands without RF certification have adopted a combination of "live-streaming sales + platform subsidies + price cuts," driving short-term sales growth but pressuring the overall market average price.
In contrast, leading brands with Class III certification have maintained steady revenue growth thanks to compliance endorsements, confirming that consumer decisions are shifting from "blind following" to "trust first."
Differentiation across technology tracks is even more pronounced. RF technology has become a "must-compete track" with a 202% sales growth, as its deep anti-aging efficacy precisely matches core market demand. Microcurrent technology, meanwhile, has achieved explosive 737% growth due to its "instant firming effect + low usage threshold."
Together, these two technologies are driving the market from "generalized functions" to "specialized technology." In terms of competition, leading brands occupy 40.2% of the market through "price tiering + efficacy differentiation" strategies, leaving nearly 60% of the market untapped.
Changes on the consumer side provide clear guidance for market growth. The 21–35 age group has emerged as the core consumer base, with their "early anti-aging" demand driving market trends. This group has a TGI index of nearly 850, showing high sensitivity to early aging issues such as skin laxity and fine lines. They have boosted functional beauty devices (e.g., RF, microcurrent) into hot-selling categories while demanding higher safety and convenience.
The regional market presents a pattern of "core leadership + in-depth expansion." Guangdong (including the Pearl River Delta), with its mature beauty supply chain, cutting-edge consumption concepts, and high e-commerce penetration, has become the core high-consumption region for beauty devices. Sichuan and Shandong, leveraging their large populations and provincial capital consumption upgrading momentum, are driving demand to third-tier and lower-tier markets. Zhejiang and Fujian, supported by strong economic strength and sophisticated skincare awareness, maintain consumption resilience for high-quality beauty devices—non-first-tier markets are becoming new engines of industry growth.
The future growth of the beauty device industry will rely on the synergistic advancement of technological innovation, deeper compliance, and experience optimization.
In technology, "efficacy visualization" will become the competitive focus. Brands need to use data-driven and intelligent means to make anti-aging effects perceivable and verifiable. Simultaneously, breakthroughs in core technologies such as RF and microcurrent are needed to address skin-feel pain points and enhance user experience.
Compliance will continue to deepen. As the policy transition period ends, uncertified RF products will gradually exit the market, and the value of compliance certification will become more prominent—not only as a "ticket" for market access but also as an "endorsement" of consumer trust. This trend will drive further industry concentration, with leading brands possessing R&D capabilities and compliance strength capturing a larger market share.
Refined consumer market operations are inevitable. Brands need to build more targeted product matrices based on the needs of different age groups and regions: entry-level markets focusing on "cost-effectiveness + basic functions," and high-end markets emphasizing "technological barriers + brand value." Meanwhile, channel penetration and consumer education in sinking markets will be key to unlocking growth potential, and "content seeding + scenario-based marketing" remains an effective way to reach young consumers.
