"Liaowang" published an article: Can "Hainan Purchase" replace overseas purchases
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 17th. The 42nd issue of "Liaowang" News Weekly, which will be published on October 19th, published an article entitled "Can "Hainan Purchase" Replace Overseas Purchases".
The summary is as follows:
During the National Day, a piece of news about "Hainan Islands Tax-free 5-day sales of 500 million yuan" rushed into hot searches.
Netizens exclaimed: "Buy a mobile phone and earn back the money for round-trip air tickets. It's a good deal!"
According to statistics, Haikou Customs has supervised a total of 1.04 billion yuan of duty-free shopping on Hainan’s outlying islands, 146,800 passengers, and 998.9 thousand pieces of goods during the eight days of the "Double Festival", an increase of 148.7%, 43.9%, and 97.2% respectively.
A reporter from "Liaowang" Newsweek saw in the duty-free shops in Haikou, Sanya and other places that compared with a few months ago, the business of duty-free shops can be described as a buzzer.
Every store is crowded with people, and every cashier counter is lined up. Luxury stores such as Gucci and Prada need to be restricted to the store.
In the context of repeated overseas epidemics, outbound travel continues to freeze, Hainan has opened a window and has become the first choice of high-end consumer groups. Tax-free shopping has effectively guided the return of overseas consumption.
"Hainan purchase" guides overseas consumption to return
The unusual popularity of duty-free shopping on outlying islands during the Golden Week in Hainan is inseparable from the favorable policies of the "Overall Plan for the Construction of Hainan Free Trade Port" announced in June this year.
From July 1, Hainan’s outlying island’s duty-free shopping quota has been increased from 30,000 yuan per person per year to 100,000 yuan, the 8,000 yuan tax-free limit for a single product has been cancelled, and 7 categories of products including mobile phones and tablets have been added. 12 pieces increased to 30 pieces.
"The new policy has a very big impact on guiding the return of overseas consumption." According to Gao Xujiang, executive director and general manager of CDFG Sanya Duty Free Shop Co., Ltd.
According to expert analysis, there are three reasons for the popularity of Hainan's duty-free consumption: First, the domestic consumption level has increased, and the consumption structure has extended from basic food, lodging and transportation to more advanced skin care products, luxury goods and spiritual consumption.
Second, during the holiday season, tax-free shopping discounts and preferential efforts have been increased, and Hainan's tax-free commodity prices have a significant advantage.
Third, outbound travel has been blocked due to the epidemic, and the usual shopping channels for duty-free goods have been blocked.
Shi Wenping, deputy general manager of CDFG Sanya Inner Duty Free Shop Co., Ltd., said that due to the impact of the epidemic, outbound tourists have turned to domestic travel on a large scale. As the situation of domestic epidemic prevention and control continues to improve, Sanya tourism is expected to continue. Hot.
There are many challenges behind the popularity
"Hainan Shopping" is becoming the new name card of the Free Trade Port, but reporters visited the duty-free shops in Haikou, Sanya, Qionghai and other places and found that behind the hot duty-free shopping in Hainan, some problems and shortcomings were also exposed.
First, the comfort of shopping experience needs to be improved.
In Sanya International Duty Free City, some luxury brands such as Gucci have long queues at the door, and consumers need to move slowly for about an hour before they can enter the store for consumption.
"It takes an hour to start in the queue, which is too time-consuming." said Zhang Lei, a tourist from Hebei.
Many tourists reported that the service quality of Hainan duty-free shop counter service personnel is uneven.
Second, some products have incomplete brands, insufficient varieties, and high prices.
"The popular lipstick numbers and watch styles are simply not available." said Zhang Xiaohan, a tourist from Chengdu.
The reporter saw in the Haikou Riyue Square Duty Free Shop and Qionghai Boao Duty Free Shop that there are limited brands of watches, bags, and beauty products in the special section, and some popular products are generally out of stock.
Third, the tax exemption policy for islanders not leaving the island has not yet been implemented.
In the perfume and cosmetics section of the duty-free shop, Chen Jingyu, a local resident from Hainan, told reporters that he was a local but had to leave the island to buy duty-free goods, and did not feel the "islander dividend" brought by the free trade port.
Seize the opportunity of consumption return
Experts believe that there is still much room for my country to attract overseas consumption back.
Interviewed industry insiders and experts suggest: Pay attention to the construction of the consumption environment; introduce competition to break monopoly; expand tax-free varieties, do a good job in supply-side reform; do a good job in international brand docking and management.
At the same time, intensify the structural reforms on the supply side of Hainan, make further efforts in the consumption and supply of tax-free shopping, medical care, international education, culture, media and sports, expand market access, increase the supply of high-quality goods and services, and improve Meeting domestic demand is an important starting point and end point for the development of Hainan’s service industry. It actively supports the return of overseas travel and shopping consumption, the return of medical and beauty consumption, and the return of international education consumption, and fosters and expands several hundred billion-scale consumer markets for goods and services. China has formed a new development pattern of "dual cycle".
(From reporters: Liu Changlin, Chen Ziwei, Xia Tian)