Spring Festival shopping trends show China’s consumption upgrades

2019-02-05
CGTN

Chinese people are shopping to prepare for the holiday and the annual tradition of gift-giving during the Spring Festival, and this year’s purchases demonstrate the consumption upgrades in the country.

Big data from e-commerce platform Tmall show that food and beverages are still the most popular choices for holiday shopping. Analysts say that is partly due to the growth of consumption.

“People are now having much more income, so people have more money to spend on food-related business, and the second reason is the upgrading consumption. That could be the result from increasing income,” said Chen Jiahe, chief strategist from Cinda Securities in Shanghai.

Tmall data also show that healthcare products are leading the way this year. Searches for low-fat and sugar-free items are up 50 and 30 percent respectively.

Besides, data also show that people are buying traditional New Year goods such as food and apparel. Gaming, travel and outdoor products are also enjoying their fastest growth this year.

A Tmall report shows that the younger generation likes to buy electronic games during the holiday while people over 30 years old prefer healthy activities, such as going to the sauna, getting a massage or going to tea houses.

JD.com reports that Shanghai, Liaoning and Beijing rank first in buying food, while people in Yunnan, Henan and Ningxia favor cosmetic products. Jiangxi, Guangxi and Hunan buy the most apparel, while people in Qinghai, Guangdong and Fujian prefer electronics.

Shoppers are not only buying domestically. Imports jumped 64 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, people are not buying just for themselves — food and snacks for cats are the fastest growing categories of imports in Jilin, Yunnan and Shandong provinces, while in Guangxi, dog-related products top the list.