China's vibrant consumer market

VTV.vn - According to China's Ministry of Transport, it is expected that up to 2.36 billion passengers will travel to visit relatives or travel during the holiday.

Expected tourism boom during "Golden Week"

In just three days, China will enter the National Day holiday - one of the longest and biggest holidays of the year in this country. The National Day holiday has long been one of the peak occasions of the year for the service and tourism industries in China. And this year, this holiday is even hotter, because it also coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival, creating an 8-day "super golden week".

According to China's Ministry of Transport , up to 2.36 billion passengers are expected to travel to visit relatives or travel during the holiday starting next Wednesday, up about 3% from the same period last year. This wave of travel is expected to create a strong momentum for the tourism market in the country of a billion people.

Travel demand during China's National Day holiday this year is expected to grow explosively, reaching a record high thanks to the extended break. Many Chinese newspapers reported that domestic travel demand during the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays increased by 30% compared to the same period last year, while international travel demand increased by more than 40%. Traffic data also shows that travel demand is expected to increase during this year's holiday. Of which, the railway system alone will transport about 219 million passengers before, during and after the holiday.

According to China Network, this year's holiday travel market has seen growth in both volume and price. As of the end of September, the number of tour bookings has increased by nearly 30%, and the average per capita spending has increased by 20% compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the Ctrip platform also predicted that consumption will increase significantly during this period thanks to the recovering macroeconomic environment.

Not only is China's tourism consumption expanding in scale, it is also shifting towards improving quality, as tourists increasingly seek high-value and in-depth experiences.

A Chinese travel newspaper cited a user survey that showed that during the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays, travelers prioritized experiences over destinations. Travelers are also shifting their travel style from visiting specific cities to focusing more on personal experiences and choosing destinations from a group of similar localities, prioritizing diverse landscapes, convenient transportation, less crowds and lower costs.

The tourism boom will create a driving force for consumption growth. Xinhua News Agency reported that during the month of culture and tourism consumption starting from the end of September, Chinese localities will organize more than 29,000 activities; at the same time, they will issue consumption subsidy vouchers worth a total of more than 480 million yuan to strengthen the connection between tourism and culture with other aspects such as catering, accommodation, retail, etc., to give people a more comprehensive travel experience.

This year's holiday comes as China's domestic consumer market is showing signs of positive recovery.

China's vibrant consumer market

This year’s holiday season comes as China’s domestic consumer market is showing signs of recovery. In the first eight months of the year, retail sales of goods increased by 4.6% year-on-year, while retail sales of services increased by 5.1%. This momentum is expected to help China’s consumer market have a booming holiday season and move towards positive results in the second half of the year.

Ahead of the holiday, China’s consumer market has been bustling, with local governments and businesses stepping up stimulus programs. Demand for gift products and mooncakes has increased sharply, especially those with environmentally friendly packaging and low fat and sugar content. Strong consumption during the festive season has also boosted logistics and express delivery services. In Jiangsu province, the volume of parcels related to mooncakes and other holiday specialties has tripled compared to normal days.

The consumer electronics industry is also showing signs of a steady recovery, thanks to subsidies, discounts and major brands launching new products to boost demand during the holiday shopping season. Sales of many items have increased sharply since the beginning of the year compared to the same period last year.

A female consumer shared: "I came here to buy spare batteries and headphones for use in the dormitory. I heard there is a subsidy program for students."

One male consumer said, "I wanted to look through cameras. In the first half of this year, I bought myself a sports watch, a camera and a lens."

The shop owner commented: "The national subsidy program has helped our sales increase significantly, about 30 to 40%. Every morning, a lot of people gather at the shop to take advantage of the discount coupons. The scene is really impressive. We are now implementing a tax refund program for foreign tourists."

Consumers' cautious trend

In addition to the positive signs, Chinese consumption is also expected to face some challenges from the cautious psychology of consumers. A practical example is that this past summer, although the Chinese tourism industry recorded a record number of passengers, the results were not really as expected. Domestic and international airfares fell sharply compared to the same period last year, while hotel room prices in major cities also decreased. This shows that consumers have become more price-sensitive and are not willing to spend large sums of money on vacation.

Retail sales have also seen similar developments. The South China Morning Post cited a notable example: hairy crabs, a prized gift often given as gifts during the holidays, have seen their prices drop sharply by 15-30% this holiday season due to increased production and weak demand. Businesses have even offered coupons with discounts of up to 70% off the listed price to sell their products. This shows that consumer confidence is still under pressure.

Chinese authorities will continue to implement stimulus measures to encourage spending.

Emerging consumption patterns in China

To continue to strengthen consumer confidence, not only during the holidays but also at the end of the year, Chinese authorities will continue to implement stimulus measures to encourage spending. As for businesses, in addition to attractive discounts, building new and attractive consumption models is also an effective way to attract consumers to open their wallets.

This fall, "emotional economy" is becoming one of the prominent consumer trends in China, associated with young people, most notably Generation Z. This phrase refers to spending activities to express personal emotions, bringing positive spiritual values ​​such as traditional nostalgia or healing negative problems.

This trend is becoming more evident during festivals and cultural events, when sales of products such as milk tea, traditional costumes and toys increase dramatically. Online platform Dewu recorded that sales of Labubu blind box toys increased by more than 1,000% compared to the same period last year. According to China Daily, the "emotional economy" trend could be even stronger during the upcoming holidays, because unlike previous generations, younger consumers increasingly see this as a time for personal experiences, rather than family and community gatherings.

In addition, the holiday consumer experience is also gradually having a presence of technology. This year, many localities and businesses have opened consumer experience centers with the support of robots and artificial intelligence, such as this grocery store in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

"Our robot sales assistant is capable of accurately sorting and picking up various items such as snacks or cultural products. It also interacts well with customers thanks to its multilingual system, supporting Mandarin, Sichuan dialect and English," said Mr. Zeng Hui, Vice President of Galbot Robot Company.

Tourism is no exception. In April, Kunming, Yunnan Province, became the first destination in China to offer drone rentals to tourists via an automated kiosk, for just 40 yuan (about 150,000 VND) for 30 minutes. The service has since spread to many other tourist destinations.

Another service that is also emerging this holiday is an application that transports cars to tourist destinations, allowing tourists to experience the destination by car without having to rent a car.

Mr. Wang Maozhang - Manager of Car Transportation Service for Tourists shared: "Our service now covers over 300 cities, with popular destinations such as Hainan, Sichuan, and Northeast. Car transportation time is usually from 3 to 5 days."

The emergence of new business models and services is expected to create new experiences and convenience and efficiency for residents and tourists, thereby creating greater spending momentum during this year's holiday season.

Source: https://vtv.vn/thi-truong-tieu-dung-soi-dong-tai-trung-quoc-100250929104136746.htm