China’s refrigeration industry entered 2026 with a mixed outlook: refrigerators weakening at home, freezers accelerating, and exports delivering the strongest momentum.

At a major industry conference, manufacturers and regulators aligned on a clear message — long‑term competitiveness must come from technology, quality, user experience and disciplined pricing, not another round of margin‑eroding promotions.

Domestic Refrigerator Sales Lose Steam
Retail performance in the first half of the year highlights a cooling domestic market:
Domestic refrigerator sales — ¥62.4 billion (down 7.2%)
Volume — 18.91 million units (down 4.0%)
The decline reflects softer replacement demand, tighter household budgets and a market still digesting previous promotional cycles.

Freezers Remain the Domestic Growth Engine
Freezers continue to outperform the wider refrigeration category:
Domestic freezer sales — ¥6.5 billion (up 10.1%)
Volume — 5.39 million units (up 13.8%)
Growth is driven by evolving food‑storage habits, rural consumption and the category’s strong value‑for‑money positioning.

Exports: The Sector’s Powerhouse
Export performance is the standout story of 2026:
Refrigerator exports — volume up 14.3%, value up 12.8%
Freezer exports — volume up 19.8%, value up 16.7%
Demand strengthened in Russia, Poland, Germany and the UK, while shipments to the US declined amid trade conditions.
The association expects refrigerator export value to exceed US$8 billion in 2026, reinforcing China’s global manufacturing weight.

Industry Priorities: Compete Smarter, Not Cheaper
The China Household Electrical Appliances Association urged manufacturers to pivot away from destructive price competition and focus on:
Technology upgrades and premiumisation
Quality, reliability and brand strength
Compliance with new energy‑efficiency standards effective 1 June 2026
Product innovation that supports higher‑value sales
Supply‑chain collaboration across compressors, components and materials
Digital transformation, AI adoption and intelligent manufacturing
Overseas expansion without repeating low‑price “internal competition” in export markets

Noise Standards: From Decibels to User Annoyance
A major conference theme was refrigerator sound quality, with consumer complaints rising between 2021 and 2025.
The industry working group is moving beyond simple decibel readings toward perceived annoyance, using a new subjective test method:
Five‑level annoyance score
Semi‑anechoic recordings
10 general evaluators + 5 professionals
Four‑second sound samples
Pearson‑correlation checks for evaluator consistency
The long‑term goal is a full lifecycle sound database for refrigerators and components, enabling objective measurements that better reflect real‑world user irritation.

Bottom Line
China’s refrigeration sector is balancing weaker domestic refrigerator sales, strong freezer demand, and robust export growth. The industry’s forward strategy centres on energy efficiency, product quality, AI‑enabled manufacturing, better user experience — including quieter appliances — and more disciplined competition rather than price cuts alone.