A Complete Analysis of the Development of Shared Power Banks in China: From Inception to Boom, with Unlimited Potential
In today’s world of rapid mobile internet updates and widespread smart devices, shared power banks have long evolved from "emergency charging tools" to essential offline services. They are deeply integrated into people’s travel, consumption, and leisure scenarios. As the birthplace and core market of the global shared power bank industry, China’s development journey is full of opportunities and breakthroughs. From the early days of capital competition to today’s refined operations, every step has been accompanied by leapfrog growth in data. There is still enormous untapped market potential, providing a rare entrepreneurial and development opportunity for partners around the world interested in the shared power bank industry.
I. Embryonic Exploration Period (2014-2017): From "False Demand" to Capital Hotspot, Industry Takes Shape
In 2014, the concept of shared power banks officially emerged. Some domestic enterprises began to explore mobile charging rental service models. At this stage, the industry was still in the "groping" phase: equipment technology was immature, scene layout was scattered, market recognition was extremely low, and it was even labeled as a "false demand" and widely underestimated by the outside world.
It was not until 2017 that, with the prominent battery life bottleneck of smartphones and the surge in the number of mobile internet users, the rigid demand for shared power banks was fully activated. The industry ushered in explosive growth and became a hot track chased by capital. Data shows that in 2017, there were more than 30 financing deals in China’s shared power bank industry, and the number of established enterprises exceeded 300. Leading brands expanded rapidly through direct operation models, and cabinets gradually covered core scenarios such as shopping malls, cinemas, and hotels in first and second-tier cities. The user scale exceeded 100 million for the first time, and the market scale approached the 100 million yuan mark, officially starting the commercialization journey of shared power banks.
The core breakthrough of this stage was "verifying demand" — data proved that the emergency demand for mobile charging is real and has large-scale commercial value, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent sustainable development of the industry.
II. Integration and Shuffling Period (2018-2020): Pattern Restructuring, from Extensive Expansion to Initial Profitability
After the capital boom in 2017, the shared power bank industry entered a period of rational adjustment. The extensive "wild growth" model was gradually eliminated. Tail-end enterprises withdrew from the market one after another due to broken capital chains, insufficient usage frequency, and high operation and maintenance costs, and the industry began to enter the integration and shuffling stage.
During this period, Xiaodian, Laidian, Monster Charging, and Jiedian formed the industry’s first echelon ("Three Dian and One Beast"). They formed differentiated advantages through supply chain optimization, cost control, and scene deepening, and gradually achieved profitability. Key data witnesses the industry’s growth: In 2019, the scale of China’s shared power bank users reached 305 million, the industry penetration rate rose to 31.3%, leading enterprises accelerated the layout of public transportation hubs, convention centers and other scenarios, and began to explore diversified profit models such as advertising and data; In 2020, despite the sharp drop in foot traffic in offline scenarios due to the epidemic, the industry scale still reached 9.57 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 37.9%. Meituan restarted its power bank business, impacting the industry pattern with its traffic advantages and promoting further intensification of industry competition.
The key words of the industry at this stage were "integration and standardization". Eliminating backward production capacity and optimizing scene layout made shared power banks return to the essence of business from a "capital game", and the profit model gradually became clear, pointing out the direction for subsequent large-scale development.
III. Mature Development Period (2021-2025): Refined Operations, Increment Released in Sinking Markets
Starting from 2021, the shared power bank industry entered a mature and stable development stage. The industry focus shifted from "scale expansion" to "refined operations, scene-based deepening and intelligent upgrading". The agent model became the mainstream of the industry, further reducing the cooperation threshold and promoting the market penetration to the whole region.
The industry growth in this stage showed multiple bright spots, with particularly impressive core data:
Continuous expansion of market scale: The industry market scale was about 9.86 billion yuan in 2021, grew to 18.63 billion yuan in 2023, and exceeded 23.74 billion yuan in 2025. The compound annual growth rate from 2021 to 2025 reached 24.7%, showing strong development resilience;
Steady growth of user base: As of June 2025, the scale of China’s shared power bank users reached 382 million, accounting for 35.6% of the total number of mobile internet users, an increase of nearly 78% compared with 215 million in 2021. Among them, users aged 18-35 accounted for more than 65%, and high-frequency users (using ≥5 times a month) accounted for 62%;
Continuous deepening of scene penetration: Three major matrices have been formed: urban life scenarios represented by business districts, transportation hubs and scenic spots; consumption scenarios dominated by catering, entertainment and shopping mall shopping; and public service scenarios centered on hospitals and government service centers. The proportion of high-quality locations (daily orders ≥10) increased from 31% in 2021 to 52% in 2025;
Sinking markets become the core engine: The penetration rate of shared power bank locations in first and second-tier cities is close to 85%, and the market is tending to be saturated, while the penetration rate in third and fourth-tier cities and county-level markets is only about 32%. In 2025, the delivery volume in sinking markets increased by 28% year-on-year, with more than 1.2 million new locations, driving the revenue growth rate of regional markets to 19%;
Technological and operational upgrading: Fast charging technology has become the mainstream, replacing more than 90% of slow charging equipment in the market, the equipment failure rate has dropped to 2.1%, and the operation and maintenance efficiency has increased by more than 30%; At the same time, intelligent management systems have become popular, realizing one-stop management of advertising delivery, revenue statistics and equipment monitoring, and the level of industry standardization has been significantly improved.
In addition, the industry competition pattern has become stable, forming a "one super and many strong" situation. In 2025, Monster Charging led with a 36% GMV share, followed by Zhumang Technology, Xiaodian, Meituan, etc. The market share of the top five brands reached 96.6%, and the industry concentration continued to increase, providing partners with a more stable market environment.
IV. Future Outlook (After 2026): Potential Continues to Be Released, Cooperation for Win-Win Is Timely
According to forecasts from authoritative industry reports, the growth momentum of China’s shared power bank industry will continue. The market scale will steadily exceed 25 billion yuan in 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of more than 10%. The overall scale is expected to exceed 40 billion yuan by 2030, with huge market potential. The core growth drivers mainly come from three aspects:
1. Enormous Incremental Space in Sinking Markets
At present, the penetration rate of shared power banks in third and fourth-tier cities and county-level markets is only 32%, far lower than 85% in first and second-tier cities. With the improvement of residents’ consumption capacity and the increase in outdoor leisure frequency in sinking markets, the demand for mobile charging will continue to be released. It is expected that in the next 3-5 years, sinking markets will become the core pillar of industry growth, with more than 5 million new locations, driving the continuous growth of the industry scale.
2. Continuous Strengthening of Rigid Demand, Stable User Payment Willingness
In 2026, the penetration rate of 5G mobile phones in China will exceed 90%, and large-screen, high-performance smart devices will be fully popularized. The average daily power consumption of devices is more than 35% higher than that in the 4G era, and the problem of power anxiety in outdoor scenarios is becoming more and more common. Data shows that users’ willingness to pay for shared power banks remains above 70%. Even if the industry pricing tends to be stable, the proportion of high-frequency users is still increasing. The rigid demand attribute provides long-term support for industry growth. At the same time, the average replacement cycle of Chinese users has exceeded 36 months, and hundreds of millions of users use old mobile phones with battery health below 80%, which further strengthens the emergency rigid demand status of shared power banks.
3. Expansion of Diversified Profit Models, Continuous Improvement of Commercial Value
At present, the shared power bank industry has formed a diversified profit matrix of "rental income + advertising monetization + derivative income", among which the profit margin of advertising monetization exceeds 80%, becoming a high-profit growth point of the industry. In the future, with the upgrading of cabinet screens and the popularization of the Internet of Things technology, models such as precise advertising delivery and cross-industry cooperation will become more mature. At the same time, the sale of derivative products and value-added services will continue to expand, bringing more profit space for partners.
V. Conclusion: Seize Industry Dividends and Embrace the 100-Billion Market Together
From the concept inception in 2014 to the scale breakthrough in 2025, China’s shared power bank industry has completed the transformation from "false demand" to "rigid demand service" and from "capital scuffle" to "standardization and maturity" in more than ten years, becoming one of the most resilient and potential tracks in the sharing economy field.
At present, China’s shared power bank market is still in the key stage of "incremental expansion". The huge gap in sinking markets, the continuous release of user rigid demand, and the continuous innovation of profit models all provide unprecedented entrepreneurial opportunities for global partners. Data does not lie. From a user base of 382 million to a market scale of 25 billion yuan, from a 32% penetration rate in sinking markets to a future 100-billion-level market expectation, every set of data proves that the potential of the shared power bank market is far from being tapped, and now is the best time to enter the market.
Relying on years of industry experience, we provide customized products, intelligent management systems and comprehensive operation support tailored to the Chinese market, helping every partner accurately seize industry dividends, easily build a shared power bank business, and achieve stable profitability and long-term development in this market full of potential.
