Tag: Consumer Behavior

China, Its Economy Stumbling, Signals Only Cautious Support

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Faced with weak consumer spending, persistently high youth unemployment and a tumbling stock market, China’s ruling Politburo signaled the need for stronger fiscal support and directed authorities to do more to tackle joblessness. In a broadly worded statement issued on Thursday after its annual midyear review of the economy, China’s Communist Party leadership urged the government to pursue “more proactive” tax and spending policies, and increase employment support. Politburo statements rarely detail specific policy measures, instead setting the broad direction for government action. Even by those standards, however, the statement…

Why Young People in China Are Buying Feelings

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new video loaded: Why Young People in China Are Buying Feelings transcript Back transcript Why Young People in China Are Buying Feelings Young people in China are increasingly anxious about the future and spending on feel-good experiences and products that provide “emotional value.” A companion hiker and cosplayer show what it’s like to be part of this booming consumer market. Visitors to a theme park in central China are lining up for selfies with this cosplayer. While this hiker is paid to guide and carry visitors up one of the…

China’s Spending Slowdown Deepens as Households Tighten Their Belts

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China’s consumer spending slowdown deepened in May as retail sales unexpectedly fell from a year earlier, in the latest sign that the country’s housing market crash has left millions of families reluctant to spend. Retail sales dropped 0.6 percent in May from the same month a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday. It was the first year-over-year decline since December 2022, when a wave of coronavirus infections swept the country and kept consumers at home after Beijing abruptly dismantled its stringent “Covid zero” restrictions. Last month’s…

Plastic Spoons, Umbrellas, Violins: A Guide to What Americans Buy From China

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ITEM Pct. from China Importsfrom China in millions 1 Baby carriages 97% $380 2 Artificial plants 96% $991 3 Umbrellas 96% $491 4 Filing cabinets 96% $88 5 Vacuum flasks 96% $1,634 6 Fireworks 95% $465 7 Children’s picture books 93% $505 8 Portable lighting 91% $901 9 Combs 91% $367 10 Travel kits 90% $42 ITEM Pct. from China Importsfrom China in millions 1 Telephones 42% $50,085 2 Computers 26% $35,473 3 Electric batteries 58% $17,022 4 Other toys 76% $13,463 5 Motor vehicles; parts and accessories 11% $9,059…

China Lifts Punishing Tariffs on Australian Wine

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In a sign of easing tensions between Australia and China, China said Thursday it will lift the tariffs it placed on Australian wine more than three years ago. The tariffs, which were first imposed in 2020 amid a nasty diplomatic spat between Australia and China, had all but vaporized the country’s biggest overseas market, worth 1.2 billion Australian dollars or around $800 million at its peak. Australian winemakers faced desperate hardship and were stuck with a surfeit of big-bodied red wines. The decision to lift the tariffs was announced by…

After China Evergrande, Real Estate Crisis ‘Has Not Touched Bottom’

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The unwavering belief of Chinese home buyers that real estate was a can’t-lose investment propelled the country’s property sector to become the backbone of its economy. But over the last two years, as firms crumbled under the weight of massive debts and sales of new homes plunged, Chinese consumers have demonstrated an equally unshakable belief: Real estate has become a losing investment. This sharp loss of faith in property, the main store of wealth for many Chinese families, is a growing problem for Chinese policymakers who are pulling out all…

Apple Will Discount iPhones by $70 in China Starting Thursday

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Ever bought a discounted new phone from Apple? For most people, the answer is no. That’s because Apple doesn’t really do discounts. But in China, Apple is slashing the price of some of its latest iPhones by $70 amid worries that Chinese consumers have cooled on the brand. That would save a buyer about 6 to 8 percent, based on prices on Apple’s China website. It has also knocked $112 off the price of some MacBook Air laptops. The sale will start on Thursday and run through Sunday. Cutting prices…

A New Law Supercharged Electric Car Manufacturing, but Not Sales

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President Biden’s signature climate law has stimulated a surge of investment in electric vehicle production across the country, including tens of billions of dollars on battery plants across the South and new assembly lines near the Great Lakes. Based on early evidence, it is succeeding at a goal that economists have long considered difficult and costly: using the power of government to rapidly grow a new industry. That growth could prove crucial for the other side of the electric vehicle equation: enticing more consumers to buy them. That’s because Mr.…

China’s Economy Grew More Than Expected Over the Summer

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China’s economy grew more than expected over the summer, as the government offset some of the harm from a real estate crisis by pouring money into infrastructure construction projects, like building rail lines. Data released on Wednesday showed that gross domestic product grew from July through September compared with the prior three months. Industrial production of everything from chemicals to steel began to stabilize as the government built more roads, sewage lines and other public works. China’s economy, the world’s second largest, has struggled since the spring, as housing sales…

In China Businesses Cut Prices as Consumers Spend Less

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To understand today’s penny-pinching Chinese consumers, behold the vicious price war playing out among the country’s coffee store giants. Luckin Coffee, a popular Chinese chain, rose to prominence and opened 10,800 stores by successfully undercutting Starbucks’s prices. But now, Cotti Coffee, an upstart rival started by the same two people who founded Luckin, is undercutting Luckin’s prices. Cotti has opened stores near Luckin shops, and it is charging — in some cases — 1 yuan, or 15 cents, less than its rival for the same drink. Earlier this year, Cotti…