Like Singles Day, Chinese New Year is an essential event in Western brands’ calendars. It is an annual ritual of family reunification and indulgence, a climax of festivity and pro-consumption policies. It is the largest consumption time in China, both online and offline, and the scale of consumption during this period has also increased year by year. Data shows that retail revenue during the Chinese New Year period from 2011 to 2019 is on the rise. More specifically, retail revenue during the Spring Festival period in 2011 was 405 billion RMB, and the retail revenue in 2019 was 1.005 trillion RMB.
Shopping for festive goods has long been a tradition in China, not only for family celebrations, but also for gifts sent to relatives and friends. Nowadays, imported goods are no longer exclusive to residents in first-and second-tier cities, owing to the rise in the disposable income of people in third-to fifth-tier cities, along with convenient and efficient e-commerce channels. Candies and chocolates are among the most popular types of imported goods in third-and fourth-tier cities and are still considered as best gift ideas. People in smaller cities and towns are eager to celebrate the Spring Festival by purchasing imported goods, and have greater access to various kinds of special purchases due to the rising e-commerce penetration rate in these lower-tier areas. The overall sales of imported goods during this year Spring Festival have increased 2.3 times year-on-year.
Beverages is another category which has been on the rise. Sales of beverages are always at their peak during the two-week Spring festival. Tmall has already announced their numbers and it shows a growth of 198% since the beginning of January 2020. 76.5% of the online customers are aged between 18 to 39, with the group aged 30 to 34 being the largest group within that at 26%. Tmall observed a rise in imported products, implying consumers are prone to step up their festive celebrations with boutique and high-end wine and spirits. On the other hand, JD reported 215% year-on-year increase solely on fresh products, and that’s before the coronavirus outbreak. After the outbreak the increase reached 400%, according to the platform.
Spring Festival is only one of the numerous holidays and shopping occasions in China. If you would like to learn more on how to enter the Chinese market and boost your sales through cross-border e-commerce, feel free to contact us at info@brand.house