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Chinese consumers’ online shopping activities surge on back of Lunar New Year holiday demand, Alibaba report says
- Sales of nianhuo, Lunar New Year specialities, rose 30 per cent on Alibaba shopping platforms Tmall and Taobao during the period from January 1 to 16
- Alibaba’s preliminary Lunar New Year holiday sales figures reflect a much-needed confidence boost for domestic consumer spending
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Online shopping across mainland China is expected to record significant growth during this Lunar New Year holiday, according to a report by Alibaba Group Holding, as Beijing bets on domestic consumption to help revive the economy after lifting most Covid-19 restrictions last month.
Sales of nianhuo – Lunar New Year specialities that include gift boxes and alcoholic drinks – have already surged 30 per cent year on year on both Tmall and Taobao Marketplace, Alibaba’s two main Chinese online retail platforms, during the period from January 1 to 16, according to a report released by the e-commerce giant on Thursday.
Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post, said it expected sales to rise further over the next few days. Its latest finding was based on data generated from more than 10 apps under the group, including e-commerce, logistics, travel and map services.
“There are still some differences, but we can see people’s lives are getting back to normal,” Li Yingtao, research director focused on consumer goods industries at Beijing-based market research firm Analysys, said of the online shopping data.
Ahead of family reunions during the Lunar New Year break from January 21, small cities such as Yiwu in eastern Zhejiang province, Puning in southern Guangdong province, Kunshan in eastern Jiangsu province and Jinjiang in southeastern Fujian province received the highest amount of holiday goods bought online by consumers in large metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai, according to the Alibaba report.
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