appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Sarah Dai

Online sales of physical goods surged 36.3 per cent year-on-year during the Labour Day holiday in China, helping to drive the recovery of the country’s retail scene which has been suffering from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, China’s Ministry of Commerce said at a briefing on Friday.
“The epidemic has given rise to increasing interest in new types of consumption such as online grocery shopping, online education and telemedicine,” said vice-minister for commerce Wang Bingnan at the briefing.
Live-streaming, in particular, has become a “hot trend” in e-commerce, according to Wang. The number of live-streamed online sales campaigns doubled during the five-day national holiday that ended on Tuesday, with some events recording sales of as much as 140 million yuan (US$19.8 million), Wang said.
He added that the volume of sales from live-streams over the holiday this year was 4.7 times of that from the same period last year.
The online shopping boom comes amid Beijing’s efforts to reverse dampened consumer sentiment and revive the world’s second largest economy, which showed its first contraction in nearly three decades in the first quarter of this year.


Offline retailers have been hit particularly hard by the outbreak, with shopping malls and stores closed and most consumers staying home after coronavirus lockdowns were imposed across the country from late January.
Online retailers, on the other hand, have been among the few beneficiaries of the pandemic, seeing a surge in activity amid a strong move from offline to online activity because of the lockdowns.
China extended the annual Labour Day holiday starting May 1 from the original three days to five this year to boost consumption, with many cities announcing plans to distribute digital coupons worth millions of yuan for use in shopping malls and restaurants.
Shanghai shopping festival sees US$2.2 billion of sales in first 24 hours
But observers have been sceptical that consumers would be in the mood to splurge with more uncertainty ahead. Total retail sales of consumer goods fell by 20.5 per cent year-on-year nominally in the first two months of the year, according to a research note by Hong Kong-based Fung Business Intelligence.
And a recent survey of 28,000 people suggests the effects of the pandemic on consumer sentiment may be long-lasting: more than half of Chinese households surveyed said they planned to increase their savings and cut back on spending even after the outbreak is contained.


Still, with the strong online sales over the long weekend, Wang said he expects e-commerce to “play a vital role” in alleviating the impact of the pandemic and drive the recovery of China’s retail sector.
Over the Labour Day holiday, automobile sales in Shanghai, Chongqing, and Zhejiang increased by 49.6 per cent, 28.5 per cent and 8.8 per cent respectively year-on-year, Wang said, citing figures from key companies. He added that sales of home appliances on some e-commerce platforms doubled year-on-year.
“To sustain their business, department stores and shopping malls have to accelerate the ongoing diversification of sales channels, including going online,” Fung Business Intelligence analysts said in the research note.
However, they added that “while large brands and merchants are well prepared to seize new opportunities provided by department stores and malls, small and medium merchants may not have the resources and technological know-how to set up and manage their online stores.”



Hong Kong’s Peninsula Hotels sees ‘bleisure’ boom after pandemic curbs, CEO says

US could require US$15,000 bonds for some tourist, business visas

China’s Shenzhen, Guangzhou airports hit record highs, surpass pre-Covid passenger levels

Landmark US Chinatown survived Covid, anti-Asian violence – but tariffs pose new threat

Coronavirus pandemic

E-commerce, live-streaming help drive recovery in China’s retail scene amid coronavirus slump

Zhang Qin, an overseas returnee, introduces eggs via live-streaming on an e-commerce platform she founded in Huitang Village of Huitang County, central China's Hunan Province, March 13, 2020. Photo: Xinhua

That Mulberry Iris handbag is now 18 per cent cheaper in China, with UK luxury retailer focusing on Asia while pandemic dents global tourism

A Mulberry store inside the IAPM Shopping Mall in the old French Concession in Shanghai. China is seen as the main source of growth opportunity for luxury retailers. Photo: Shutterstock Images

Covid-19 crisis alters make-up of digital consumption

A man wears a face mask as he reaches for a bag in a Mulberry store in a shopping mall in Singapore on April 3, 2020, as the government imposed tighter restrictions to combat the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP)

How soon will economies recover from the coronavirus pandemic? Look to China for answers

Workers on the floor of Galanz factory in Foshan, China, on February 18. Industrial production saw a V-shaped recovery after lockdown restrictions were eased. Photo: EPA-EFE

People wearing protective masks walk in a shopping district in Beijing, China, March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

A man wearing a face mask amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic walks past a closed shop in Beijing on April 5, 2020. (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP)

LUOYANG, HENAN, CHINA - 2014/09/30: A large area of new apartment blocks have been built around the Luoyang Longmen High Speed Railway Station, which was once rural farmland. According to the housing index issued in Sept, the average price of a new residential in China has continuously decreased for the fifth straight month. Many middle sized cities have cancelled the limit policy and the government is considering modifying the mortgage lending measures for first-home buyers to stimulate the market. (Photo by Zhang Peng/LightRocket via Getty Images)

China’s beleaguered hotels use live-streaming, steep discounts to tempt Labour Day holiday travellers wary of coronavirus

Aerial view of the Atlantis Hotel in Sanya, in south China’s Hainan. The resort recently turned to live-streaming to attract bookings. Photo: Xinhua

How China’s delivery services platforms are evolving, from smart lockers to ‘semi-finished’ meals

Delivery platforms in China have had to deal with changing conditions and consumer needs during the Covid-19 outbreak. Illustration: SCMP

A delivery worker wearing a face mask is seen at a blocked residential area after the lockdown was lifted in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province and China's epicentre of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, April 13, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song

A food delivery rider takes shelter under a bridge while heavy downpour during the Movement Control Order, limiting the activities of people in Malaysia as a preventive measure against the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, in Kuala Lumpur on April 6, 2020. (Photo by Mohd RASFAN / AFP)

China’s car dealers embraced live streaming to connect with consumers during coronavirus lockdown

In this file photo from 2019 a sales representative waits for customers in a luxury car showroom in Beijing. China’s auto industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus. Photo: AFP

People walk near the showrooms of Chinese and foreign car dealerships in Beijing. China’s auto industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus. Photo: Reuters

Tech

Business

China Business

Coronavirus

Economy

China Economy

Economic Impact


Online sales of physical goods surged 36.3 per cent year-on-year during the Labour Day holiday in China
Total retail sales of consumer goods fell by 20.5 per cent year-on-year nominally in the first two months of the year



Online sales on e-commerce platforms surged, with live-streamed sales events doing especially well, despite dampened consumer sentiment due to the coronavirus pandemic, China’s Ministry of Commerce said.
