China News Service, February 21 (China News Financial Reporter Xie Yiguan) This Spring Festival, the "gold buying craze" strikes again!
"People who buy gold are like going to a big market." "More than 1,000 zodiac dragon gold bars were sold in one day." When people rushed to the gold store, the gold store employees looked at the crowded counter and shouted: "Reception Don’t come”.
Domestic gold prices have risen strongly over the past year. As the gold in their hands continues to appreciate in value, "I didn't know gold was good when I was young, but now I regard it as a treasure" has become a portrayal of many young people.
Data map. Photo by China News Service reporter Lu Ming
Sold out, sold out, out of stock...
"A store of a certain gold brand in my hometown mall usually only requires two employees, who are responsible for sales and assisting with ordering, etc. However, during the Spring Festival holiday, due to the booming business, the number increased to five or six employees."
After Xiaoyu (pseudonym), born in the 1990s, returned to his hometown in Shandong during the Spring Festival, he went to the mall with his friends. "During the Spring Festival, gold stores open a lot of big orders, and many girls come to buy bracelets with a unit price of 10,000 to 30,000."
"My friend and I stayed in the store for about 20 minutes. A customer was looking at a pretty thick bracelet. We had basically made up our minds when we left. There was also a store clerk who answered the phone and arranged for a lucky charm worth RMB 20,000 to RMB 30,000." Xiaoyu recalled.
“Spring Festival brings more gold, and every day brings more gold in the coming year.” Every Lunar New Year is the traditional peak sales season for gold. Data provided by the Taobao platform on the 19th showed that in the past two weeks, the gold category has increased by more than 300% year-on-year. Xiaoyu's friend bought an ancient enamel ring for about 2,000 yuan during the Spring Festival. Many of his colleagues also bought small gold items for themselves before the holiday or during the holidays.
Since this year is the Year of the Dragon, gold jewelry related to dragon elements is even more popular. "There are a lot of people shopping during the Spring Festival. The Little Golden Dragon model is out of stock and has been sold out during the holidays." In a shopping mall in Beijing, a staff member from Chow Tai Fook told a reporter from Sino-Singapore Finance.
As a co-branded model of the Spring Festival Gala, JD.com data shows that the turnover of Chow Tai Fook Little Golden Dragon Transfer Beads increased by 30 times month-on-month, driving the gold jewelry category to increase by 5 times year-on-year.
According to official news, new products for the Year of the Dragon launched by Caibai Jewelry, such as "Huobaolong" and "Little Dragon Duoduo" pure gold jewelry, and "Yuanyuanmanman" auspicious money, are also favored by consumers. During the Spring Festival, the sales of key monitored vegetables increased by 40.9% year-on-year.
A reporter from Sino-Singapore Finance recently visited Caibai Main Store, where bustling crowds crowded multiple gold jewelry counters. In front of the counter of dragon element jewelry, many people were placing orders and making inquiries. While talking, a woman quickly chose a "hug dragon" and paired it with two transport beads. "This is our evergreen model, and the sales are very hot." The staff introduced it to reporters while busy helping customers choose.
The picture shows Caibai Main Store. Photo by China News Network reporter Xie Yiguan
In addition to gold jewelry, investment gold products such as Year of the Dragon gold bars and gold coins are also popular. At Caibai's gold bar sales counter, voices such as "How much does 20 grams cost?" "How much does it cost per gram?" and "How to recycle it?" came and went. Within 5 minutes of the reporter being in front of the counter, a woman directly asked for a 10-gram Year of the Dragon gold bar.
"Year of the Dragon gold bars are no different from ordinary gold bars. The labor costs are more expensive, but they are auspicious and there are many people buying them." a staff member said.
Amid happiness and cheerfulness, this generation of young people still want to bloom. On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the God of Wealth and Yue Lao "collided", which also led to an increase in sales of gold jewelry with peach blossom elements. Tmall Zhou Dasheng's official flagship store shows that in the past two weeks, more than 40,000 pieces of gold peach blossom-related bracelets and transfer beads have been sold. A clerk at a gold store also said recently, "Peach Blossom pendants have been sold out."
Young people set off a "gold rush"
Faced with the crowds of gold shops during the Spring Festival, many people call it a "gold rush". In fact, gold has never been "cool" in China.
As the world's largest gold consumer, the Chinese people's love for gold is "inherited in their genes." Even if you sneered at the "Chinese aunts" who were buying gold when you were a teenager, when you reach a certain age, you will automatically unlock your love for gold and go through the process of "questioning golders, understanding golders, and becoming golders".
Over the years, Ke Ke (pseudonym) has stocked up on many types of gold bracelets and bracelets. When she raised her hand, she saw "tens of thousands of gold bracelets colliding."
During the Spring Festival this year, she spent another 18,000 yuan to buy a coiled bracelet. "Many brands have this kind of bracelet, but it was out of stock. When I went to the gold store to buy it, there was only the last one left. It looks great! It smells so good!"
In order to pique people's hearts, today's gold jewelry is also innovating. It not only incorporates various trendy cultural symbols, but also creates co-branded models. Some "Internet celebrity" models are often out of stock.
However, contemporary young people who talk about "making money" buy gold not only because they have discovered the ornamental value of gold jewelry, but also because of its value-added potential.
Therefore, they buy lucky cards for the New Year, lucky beads for birthdays, small golden beans when they are unhappy, and the "three golds" when they get married. The "gold diggers" look at the golden ornaments in the jewelry box and enjoy the pleasure of consumption while also gaining a lot of money. Investment satisfaction.
In addition, today's gold jewelry also entrusts people with longing for good luck. Lucky beads that mean "good fortune", lucky cards that "full of blessings", and lucky bags that "attract wealth and good luck" have become the favorites of many young people.
"JD.com 11.11 Jewelry Consumption Observation" shows that young consumers aged 26-35 account for 56% of the transaction volume and have become the "new force" in jewelry consumption. They prefer exquisite and small gold jewelry. At the same time, young people are very fond of jewelry with the meaning of blessing luck, and luck beads with the concept of "transport" are very popular.
Since this year's Spring Festival holiday overlaps with Valentine's Day in the West, many gold stores have increased gold discounts and launched large-scale "derogation" activities. In addition, some cities have issued consumer coupons, and people's enthusiasm for buying gold has been even higher. "Take the year-end bonus to buy gold. The main goal is to make money this year and spend it this year."
A certain gold store launched a "derogation" activity, and consumers were shopping for goods. Photo by Zuo Yuqing
What is the future trend of gold price?
Consumers' love for gold has driven gold consumption to continue to rise. Data released by the China Gold Association shows that in 2023, national gold consumption will exceed 1,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 8.78%. Among them, gold jewelry was 706.48 tons, a year-on-year increase of 7.97%; gold bars and gold coins were 299.60 tons, a year-on-year increase of 15.70%.
Even though the domestic gold price is at a high level during the Spring Festival, and the quotations of many brands of pure gold jewelry exceed 620 yuan per gram, consumer enthusiasm remains unchanged.
However, reporters have noticed that the international gold price has fluctuated and fallen recently. It once fell below 2,000 US dollars per ounce a few days ago, which has caused some people to have concerns. Out of concerns about future gold prices, many gold holders chose to cash out during the Spring Festival.
In this regard, Wang Youxin, a senior researcher at the Bank of China Research Institute, told Sino-Singapore Finance reporters that the decline in international gold prices during the Spring Festival is mainly related to the U.S. inflation situation and expected changes in the Federal Reserve's monetary policy.
“The latest U.S. inflation data shows that U.S. inflation pressure remains stubborn, with consumer and producer price increases exceeding market expectations. This has significantly cooled market expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in March, and U.S. bond yields and the U.S. dollar index have risen again. The international gold price is priced in U.S. dollars, and as the U.S. dollar strengthens, the international gold price adjusts accordingly."
Regarding some people's concerns that domestic gold prices will fall back, Wang Youxin believes that although domestic gold prices are also affected by international gold prices, due to the recent Spring Festival, domestic gold demand and sales have increased significantly, and strong consumer demand has offset the impact of the rebound of the US dollar on domestic prices. The impact of gold prices.
"Looking at the outlook for gold prices, there are both supporting factors and inhibiting factors." Wang Youxin believes that the fall in expectations of the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut will continue to have a negative impact on international gold prices in the short term. However, as the growth pressure of major economies such as Europe and the United States continues to increase, As the time for monetary policy adjustment approaches, the safe-haven properties of gold will become more prominent, and gold prices are expected to fluctuate higher.
Are you buying gold this Spring Festival? (over)