"Everything is going up, possibly by 30%!" A store clerk straightforwardly said: "The best deal is to buy before mid-April."

Recently on social media

the topic of home appliance price increases

has kept its momentum

Many netizens said

“Didn’t buy last year—my intestines are green with regret!”

People with the same feeling are far from few: “All appliances are going up in price! It’s most cost-effective to buy before mid-April.” This is the most common line the reporter heard at a home appliance sales venue in Hangzhou.

Although the counters of major brands still hang labels like “anniversary celebration” and “big promotions,” an undercurrent of appliance price hikes triggered by the conflict in the Middle East, an AI chip shortage, and a surging copper price has already appeared in Hangzhou’s terminal retail venues.

The reporter visited local sales venues in Hangzhou and found that although the terminal retail prices have not yet been adjusted across the board, multiple salespeople from various appliance brands clearly said: the price increases will take effect in mid-to-late April, and for some categories, the price hikes could reach 10%-30%.

On-site at the sales venue: “All appliances are going up!”

The reporter visited multiple brand stores as a consumer. Among them, the kitchen appliances segment has the steepest increases, with 10% as the starting point.

At the Gree Electric Appliances counter (Boss?), a salesperson spoke plainly: “Prices will definitely go up in April, and the 10% increase will definitely be there. It’s not just range hoods—every appliance, every brand, is going up. If you’re going to buy, it’s best to do so before mid-April.”

A salesperson at a Fotile range hood store provided a more specific timeline: “The company hasn’t notified us yet, but for around May Day, it should be going up. Raw materials are expensive now—everything is expensive, even a plastic sheet!” Pointing to a newly launched model on display, she said, “If it’s a new model that just went on sale in April or May this year, the increase could reach 30%.”

The white goods segment is also filled with talk of “price hikes.” A salesperson from Midea air conditioners said that on April 17 there will be a promotion at the mall: “Raw materials are all going up, and manufacturers will all raise prices too, but we don’t know the exact timing.” Taking a set of roughly 4,000 yuan for a 2-ton split-wall mounted air conditioner as an example, if prices rise by 10%, it will cost 400 yuan more right away.

By comparison, Gree Electric’s response seems to give consumers a small window to breathe. A Gree salesperson said: “Before April 17, it probably still won’t go up. We need to finish the mall’s 24th anniversary promotion first—if there is an increase, it will likely be after the 17th.”

What is driving this “price hike wave”?

This round of price increases is not the salespeople’s “pressure-to-buy” script, but rather real cost “gray rhinos” that are pushing in.

Affected by multiple factors, including the conflict in the Middle East driving up oil prices and the expansion of AI data centers causing storage chip prices to surge, the prices of raw materials needed by the home appliance industry have all risen. Comparing the data from the end of March 2026 with last year’s average prices:

Copper prices (used the most for air conditioners): rising to 95,195 yuan/ton, up 18.6%;

ABS plastic (appliance outer casings): jumping from 8,000 yuan/ton to 15,500 yuan/ton, with a massive increase of 51.7%;

Chips/Memory: AI data centers are expanding like crazy, swallowing up the prices of the storage chips used in home appliances, and DDR memory prices have multiplied by ten.

“Buy home appliances early”—this old saying seems to be valid again in the spring of 2026.

Even though people may oppose blind trend-following consumption, if there are households with genuine, immediate needs for appliances in the near term, this weekend they may as well go take a look at home appliance sales venues. The current price system is still based on last year’s low-priced inventory, and some malls are holding big promotions.

To ease customer concerns, some large chains have also introduced a “lock in price with buy first, pick up later” strategy. A salesperson at Suning.com’s mall said: “If you’re worried that during activities like 618 the price might be even lower, you can buy at the promotional price in the mall on the day of the April 17 big promotion, but do not pick up the goods yet. If later you find the price is lower, the mall can cover the difference; but if you miss April, once prices rise, you may truly end up paying several hundred or even over a thousand yuan more for a single appliance.”

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