Industry Semi-Annual Report | Summary and Outlook of the Global Electronic Paper Market in the First Half of 2022

According to the (Global ePaper Market Analysis Quarterly Report), in the first half of 2022, global electronic paper module shipments reached 120 million pieces, a year-on-year increase of 25%. In terms of electronic paper machine products, the global shipment of electronic labels in the first half of the year reached 109 million pieces, a year-on-year increase of 28.2%; the global shipment of electronic paper tablets in the first half of the year was nearly 6 million units, of which 520,000 units were shipped in the Chinese market through all channels. 368,000 units were retailed.

Favorable policies, e-paper ushered in a golden development window

At the beginning of this year, the China Industry and Information Technology Work Conference disclosed the key tasks for 2022, e-paper is listed in the forward-looking display industry layout to be strengthened, and it is clear that it is necessary to support key links such as near-eye display devices and optical modules to improve The comfort of the end product.

At the same time, since carbon peaking and carbon neutrality were written into the "Government Work Report", China's solemn commitment to the world "3060 dual carbon goals" has become a hot topic of concern to the whole society, and it is also the "14th Five-Year Plan" period and beyond. The key force of China's high-quality development. Electronic paper products are recognized as one of the excellent solutions under the global "double carbon" goal, which is deeply in line with the design concept of environmental friendliness and environmental sustainability. Since the beginning of this year, all walks of life around the world have been actively adapting to and even hoping to lead the trend of carbon neutrality. More and more consumers in China have begun to understand and practice low-carbon life.

Electronic paper module: H1 global shipments increased by 25%

In the first half of 2022, the global electronic paper module market shipments reached 120 million pieces, an increase of 25% over the same period last year. During the current period, due to a certain degree of shortage of upstream diaphragm supply, the increase in module shipments was limited. In the second half of the year, the supply of diaphragms is sufficient, and module shipments are expected to achieve a greater growth.

Global electronic paper module shipments in the first half of 2022

Data source: RUNTO, unit: 100 million pieces

B-side electronic labels: H1 global shipments increased by 28.2%
The terminal products of electronic paper technology include electronic labels, digital signage, etc. Electronic tags are the most core and main application so far, occupying the vast majority of the volume of electronic paper membranes. In the first half of 2022, the global electronic label shipments reached 109 million pieces, an increase of 28.2% over the same period last year.

Global electronic label shipments in the first half of 2022

Data source: RUNTO, unit: 100 million pieces

The application of electronic labels has covered multiple formats, except in new retail physical stores, fresh supermarkets, supermarket hypermarkets, traditional supermarket chains, boutique stores, convenience stores, jewelry stores, beauty stores, home life stores, 3C electronics stores In addition to its application, it has also penetrated in conference rooms, warehouses, pharmacies, factories and other formats. Overall, the retail format has the highest utilization rate. According to RUNTO research data, in 2021, electronic tags will account for more than 85% of the retail industry. From the perspective of sales in the future, the main application of electronic paper will still be concentrated on electronic paper labels for a long time.

Structure of global electronic label application field in 2021

Data source: RUNTO, unit: %
However, from the perspective of the domestic market, the field of smart retail is still in the initial stage of development, and the demand for electronic paper labels in China only accounts for 2.5% of global shipments. In the future, with the enhancement of the intelligent attributes of newly opened stores and the continuous promotion of the intelligent transformation of traditional stores, it is foreseeable that domestic electronic tags still have broad development space in the smart retail market.

C-end electronic paper tablet: H1 shipped nearly 6 million units worldwide, China accounted for 9%

In the first half of 2022, the global electronic paper tablet market shipped nearly 6 million units, of which China's electronic paper tablet shipments were 520,000 units, accounting for 8.7% of the global market.

It is worth noting that since the beginning of this year, the Chinese market has become the most popular sales area in the world with the most concentrated new product releases. A total of 12 brands have released 18 products. For details, please refer to "2022 is the first year of the outbreak of electronic paper tablets, and Chinese brands take over the dominance".

As a new type of smart tablet product, electronic paper tablet is mainly sold online, and online channel is currently the most important position for major brands. In the first half of this year, the online retail sales of electronic paper tablets in China reached 368,000 units, accounting for 71% of all channels. In particular, online sales in the second quarter reached 211,000 units, an increase of 32.7% from the first quarter.

RUNTO divides electronic paper tablets into three categories: readers, smart office books, and smart study books. As a representative product of electronic paper tablet, the sales volume of readers maintained a steady growth trend. In the second quarter, the online sales volume was 133,000 units, an increase of 19.8% over the first quarter. Smart office is the most promising category of electronic paper tablets, with sales of 75,000 units in the second quarter, a 60% increase from the first quarter.

Monthly sales volume of China's electronic paper tablet online market by category in the first half of 2022

Data source: RUNTO online monitoring data, unit: Taiwan

In the short term, brand manufacturers represented by Huawei provide consumers with the opportunity to experience physical products based on the existing direct sales and franchised offline experience stores. For most other brands, developing offline channels requires extremely high costs. Some brand owners expand offline sales channels by establishing relationships with local governments, schools, enterprises and other social organizations, and will become the offline B-end market in the future. main gripper.

Although the sales of electronic paper tablets in China currently only account for less than 10% of the global total, with the continuous enrichment of electronic paper tablet usage scenarios and the increasing number of companies entering the game, the second half of the year will usher in a greater growth. RUNTO believes that there will still be new brand players entering this market. Under the traction of many brands and products, the overall market size will be greatly pushed to a new level. In the future, in terms of shipping area, electronic paper will be the most potential application product in China and even the world.

2022 Outlook: The global electronic paper industry will reach 24.9 billion US dollars in the whole year
From the supply side, the various links that restrict the production of electronic paper will be gradually opened up, and the production capacity of the module factory has room for several times expansion. From the perspective of demand, under the general trend of new retail, visual health, and carbon neutrality, electronic paper products in multiple scenarios will achieve explosive growth.

RUNTO optimistically predicts that in 2022, global electronic paper module shipments will reach 400 million pieces, a year-on-year increase of 92.7%; global electronic label shipments will reach 380 million pieces, a year-on-year increase of more than 100%; Shipments of cardboard tablets will reach 15 million units, with a growth rate of more than 15%. Among them, shipments in the Chinese market will reach 1.4 million units, accounting for nearly 10% of the global share, with a year-on-year increase of more than 20%.

2021-2025 Global Electronic Paper Industry Scale Forecast

Source of data: RUNTO, unit: USD 100 million

In terms of the size of the market value, according to the data released by RUNTO at the "2022 China International Electronic Paper Industry Summit", the overall market size of the global electronic paper industry will reach US$24.9 billion in 2022, an increase of 120%; by 2025 The annual scale will reach 72.3 billion US dollars, with a compound annual growth rate of 59%.