Next generation of consumers, appliances

"However, today, we may share experiences with a particular product, and perhaps a WeChat picture can be your best promotion," said Liu Yumo, who was trying out a microwave oven at the showcase.

Liu said she saw the microwave on a weibo post from her friend, who said the oven was the best she had used. Then Liu asked the price and brand of the product.

"I am really going to buy this, it's compact, effective and quiet," Liu said on the comment she circulated with the picture of the oven on her weibo account.

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The oven costs about 3,500 yuan, almost 10 times what Liu spent on her current microwave.

A survey by PwC found that consumers are giving more feedback than ever. More than 90 percent of the 900 China-based respondents and 55 percent of the approximately 15,000 global respondents provided either positive or negative comments about their experiences with a product or brand on social media.

"They know what they want, and they do not need the brands to promote some fancy concepts or ideas - they just pop up and try the products, pay or leave," says Wu Zheng, a salesman at the AWE fair.

This new generation of consumers is more challenging because they are very detail-oriented and quite specific about their needs.

"From display to function introductions and showroom experience, every step should make a consumer happy instead of confused," says Wu.

Diversity of channels

Yu Liangxing, an analyst with AVC, said e-commerce has become a major force in expanding sales channels.

"We found out that chain stores, department stores and hypermarkets are taking less shares in electronic appliances sales channels, while speciality stores, neighborhood stores and e-commerce platforms are expanding fast," Yu said.

By last December, 10.3 percent of television sets were sold on online shopping platforms in China, and the figure for refrigerators and washing machines was close to 10 percent, Yu said.