Zhang Yu

JeniZhang13@163.com

CHINA is cautiously bracing for a robust recovery as certain pockets of domestic consumption, such as groceries and luxury, show resilience. Some key emerging consumer trends are accelerating the digital transformation of China’s new retail ecosystem, accounting firm PwC said in a report Thursday.

The report builds on the survey findings of both the PwC’s Global Consumer Insights Survey 2020 and a pulse survey conducted after the COVID-19 outbreak.

While the Chinese government has highlighted domestic consumption as the most critical driver for economic growth, many Chinese consumers surveyed still expect to spend the same or more in the next few months in the aftermath of the health crisis.

Lower-tier cities have become a growth driver for domestic consumption. Faster dispensable income growth and stronger purchasing power are propelling spending in lower-tier markets, said the report.

“COVID-19 has greatly altered consumer behavior in China, both online and offline. The new retail transformation will continue on an even broader scale, with an accelerated pace in digitalization, proliferation in e-commerce, and consumer tech adoption,” said Jennifer Ye, PwC China’s consumer markets leader.

In the post-COVID-19 era, the shift to online-based consumption is inexorable. According to the report, apart from food items, Chinese consumers are more actively using online channels to shop for non-food merchandise even after the lockdown period.

The pandemic has also opened up new hotspots of online-based consumption including online education, remote office, e-sports and other stay-at-home activities, the report said.

China’s retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of consumption growth, expanded in August for the first time this year. The total retail sales of consumer goods in August reached 3.36 trillion yuan (US$497.1 billion), rising 0.5 percent year on year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.