The national consumer market has resumed growth, and the index of accommodation and residents' services and business activities has rebounded to the boom range.
Consumption is "a good start". Who has contributed the most?
The latest consumption data recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics has aroused widespread concern.
In the first quarter of this year, the total retail sales of consumer goods nationwide was 10,522.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 33.9%, and an average growth of 4.2% in the two years.
Among them, among the retail sales of commodities above designated size, 18 commodity categories all grew at a rate of over 10% year-on-year.
Earlier, relevant monitoring by the Ministry of Commerce also showed that the national consumer market continued to maintain a recovery growth trend in March, the business activity index of the service industry increased significantly from the previous month, and the business activity index of the accommodation and resident service industries had rebounded to the boom range.
It can be said that in the first year of the "14th Five-Year Plan", consumption took the lead in making a "good start."
So, which products and services are more popular with consumers this year?
What are the new characteristics and new trends in the Chinese consumer market?
Back on track, "compensatory" consumption heats up
"From the perspective of the consumer market during the Ching Ming Festival, the sales of some commodities such as flowers and green plants, clothing, shoes and hats, gold and silver jewelry, etc., have increased significantly due to the spring season change and discount promotions. For example, the sales of some products such as Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Chongqing have increased significantly. Enterprise sales increased by 77%, 55%, 45% and 40% year-on-year. The sales of flowers in some flower markets have doubled, and the sales of domestic brand services of some commercial enterprises have increased by 4-50% year-on-year; some e-commerce platforms gold and silver The average daily sales of jewellery has increased by more than 20% year-on-year.” As for the performance of the consumer market during the first short and long holiday after the Spring Festival, Gao Feng, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, gave an eye-catching set of figures.
For Chinese consumers, with the overall planning of epidemic prevention and control and the deepening of economic and social development, production and life are accelerating to return to the right track, and some consumption plans delayed by the epidemic are being put on the agenda again.
Fast-moving consumer goods are favored.
Wu Xingzhao works in a bank in Beijing.
During the Spring Festival this year, he actively responded to the government's call and took the initiative to stay in Beijing for the New Year.
In the past few days, he simply settled the accounts and found that the consumption level this year has not decreased, but has increased a lot.
"I didn't return home during the New Year, but I can't treat myself badly. I have to buy what I should buy. I have to buy clothes and food! In addition, the unit has also issued subsidies, so my willingness to consume has not decreased but increased." Say.
Upgrading and upgrading of durable consumer goods speeds up.
Lin Jiaan is a university teacher in Nanjing.
Since the beginning of this year, he has purchased many furniture including air conditioners, washing machines, and water heaters through various methods, and at the same time has carried out a "full upgrade" of his digital products such as laptops, keyboards, and headphones.
"Now that the epidemic prevention and control is stable, and all work is back on track, I have implemented all the purchase plans that were delayed before."
Whether the demand is heating up or not, those on the supply side will feel more deeply.
Master Liu and his wife from Dezhou, Shandong are engaged in interior decoration in Tianjin.
Their daily work is to paste wallpapers and wall coverings for each other's walls and roofs according to customer needs.
"After the Spring Festival, my couple was so busy! It is often that the work of the previous family is not finished, and the next or even the next customer's phone calls come in, urging us to go there quickly." Master Liu said laughingly.
Demands are diversified, service quality has become a hot spot
In addition to the "compensatory rebound" in total consumption itself, the consumption structure also presents many new features:
——The popularity of health management has increased greatly.
On April 14, according to the "2021 Healthy Fat Loss Consumption Trend Report" released by the Jingdong Big Data Research Institute, the keyword search volume for "weight loss and fat loss" reached nearly 10 million times in March, and the search volume for the "low sugar" keyword Over 10 times the same period last year, this year's hot "cordless skipping" search volume also increased by as much as 640% year-on-year.
Reflected in orders, dark chocolate, low-sugar cakes, barley oatmeal cakes, probiotics, muscle powder, sports knee pads, ski equipment, smart wearable devices with health monitoring functions, etc., have become the most eye-catching products on the JD platform.
From the perspective of the sales structure of related products, Shanghai, Beijing, and Tianjin tend to "shut up", while Fujian, Zhejiang, Chongqing and other places focus on "stretching their legs."
"Now the passenger flow has basically returned to the level before the epidemic. At the same time, the consumer investment of customers is also increasing. More and more people are starting to buy private lessons, and everyone is more willing to spend money on protecting their bodies." A gym in Guangzhou Tan Jie, the person in charge of said.
——Entertainment consumption is booming.
Tian Hao, who works for a magazine in Wuhan, said that the idea of wanting to go out has become stronger now.
Since the beginning of this year, almost every holiday will gather with friends. Everyone chooses to watch movies, sing, etc. There are more entertainment methods than before.
In this process, the consumption level of him and his friends has also improved, and the tolerance for entertainment service expenses has increased.
"Sometimes, even if the price is high, as long as it is fun and can bring everyone's spiritual joy, it is worth it!" Tian Hao said.
Similar to Tian Hao, Henan girl Yan Wenya often gathers with friends recently, and staying in a homestay has become the norm during leisure time.
In Yan Wenya's view, whether it is a holiday or two days on a weekend, you must make yourself happy and relaxed physically and mentally.
Only by combining work and rest can you work better. It is necessary to increase some expenditure in this area.
-"Experience" has become a key word.
"As of now, the bulk of my consumption has been mainly concentrated in catering and tourism. Especially I bought the airline's "Fly Free" ticket, so taking advantage of the better and better situation of epidemic prevention and control, I went to Macau, Beijing, etc. Travel locally and experience different customs!" said Yang Liu, who works in finance at a company in Shenzhen.
According to data from the Data Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, during the Ching Ming Festival holiday in 2021, 102 million domestic tourists traveled across the country, an increase of 144.6% year-on-year and a return to 94.5% of the same period in 2019.
Among them, museums, libraries, art galleries, cultural centers, etc. received more visitors, and exhibitions, plays, poetry sessions, concerts, stage plays, etc. gradually returned to normal.
According to many forecasts, the upcoming "May 1st" holiday, service consumption will usher in this year's climax.
Each shows its magical powers to promote consumption "potential" to "dividend"
On April 13, the General Office of the Ministry of Commerce issued the "Notice on Organizing the 2021 "Time-honored Carnival", focusing on traditional festivals, key events, and important exhibitions to help time-honored brands tell new stories, embrace new opportunities, and rejuvenate. New vitality to better meet the people’s growing needs for a better life.
This is undoubtedly another powerful measure to promote consumption.
At the local level, various localities have also taken measures to promote the release of consumption potential and seize business opportunities for consumption recovery.
For example, Shanxi Province issued the "Shanxi Province's 2021 Action Plan to Promote the Quality and Efficiency of the Service Industry", which will issue 400 million yuan of digital consumer vouchers through payment platforms, focusing on expanding consumption in areas such as retail, catering, and accommodation; Sichuan launched Leshan Mabian Special activities such as the Tea Picking Festival, the First Home Decoration Festival in Meishan, and the "Spring Happy Shopping" in Lizhou District, Guangyuan, will explore the potential and vitality of festival consumption; Guizhou Province will build a "One Code Guizhou" e-commerce platform, during the "Online New Year Festival" in 2021 More than 40,000 products have been launched, and the cumulative sales have reached 330 million yuan...
According to Lin Jiang, a senior analyst at JD Big Data Research Institute, in 2021, as the epidemic prevention and control situation improves and the effects of macro-control policies are further released, China's economy will continue to maintain a stable recovery as a whole, thereby driving consumer confidence and consumption. Willing to continue to recover.
"Currently, new consumption trends can be understood from two aspects. One is new consumption growth points and trends, and the other is new consumption formats and patterns." Lin Jiang analyzed that as residents' income and consumption levels continue to increase, new consumption areas Harmony habits are gradually emerging, and service consumption such as culture and entertainment, health care, education and training is becoming a new consumption hotspot, and the proportion of service consumption in consumption expenditure exceeds commodity consumption.
At the same time, as the application of digital technology accelerates, innovations in new consumer formats and models such as live e-commerce and community e-commerce are emerging one after another. The digital transformation and transformation of offline consumption scenes are also accelerating, and online and offline integration is accelerating.
Hao Ying, a professor at the School of Economics and Business Administration of Beijing Normal University, said that on the one hand, strong consumer demand will place higher demands on the supply side, stimulate the supply of higher-quality goods and services, and provide impetus and support for sustained economic recovery and growth; On the one hand, the rise of high-quality supply to a certain level will also create new demand, promote the continuous improvement and expansion of consumption, especially in the service sector, and guide the new consumption model to accelerate the nurturing and growth.
Hao Ying suggested that in the next step, we should continue to focus on the "two-way force" on the supply side and the demand side, further expand the import of service trade, further increase the income level of residents, improve the social security system, and continue to relieve residents of their worries about expanding consumption.