{"id":12922,"date":"2023-09-01T06:30:55","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T06:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=12922"},"modified":"2025-04-23T09:06:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T09:06:14","slug":"how-should-businesses-respond-to-the-cautiously-optimistic-chinese-consumer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/how-should-businesses-respond-to-the-cautiously-optimistic-chinese-consumer\/","title":{"rendered":"How should businesses respond to the \u201ccautiously optimistic\u201d Chinese consumer?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite shaky economic figures, analysts and consumers alike remain \u201ccautiously optimistic\u201d about the potential for the consumer market to strengthen China\u2019s post-Covid economy, writes Qing Na<\/strong> from Dao Insights<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Although\u00a0lower than the expected growth forecast between 6.7% and 7% in Q2, China\u2019s 6.3% annual growth rate in April to June suggests that the world\u2019s second-largest economy is continuing to heal. Nevertheless, a consensus appears to have been reached amongst economists: post-Covid momentum is faltering. The question of whether consumption can be further boosted will be key if China is to follow the trajectory of hitting its 5% full-year growth target.<\/p>\n

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Analysts from institutions including Huatai Securities, China Minsheng Bank and Zhixin Investment Research Institute believe that these figures could represent a \u201chigh point\u201d for consumption figures due to holidays such as the May Day holiday, Dragon Boat Festival and 618 (China\u2019s second-largest mid-year online shopping festival<\/a>) driving consumption.<\/p>\n

Much like the pattern of economic recovery, domestic consumer demand shows a bittersweet picture. Total retail sales of consumer goods in the country reached RMB 22.75 trillion (\u00a32.47 trillion) in the first half of 2023, a year-on-year increase of 8.2%. This is reported to have contributed to 77.2% of the overall economic growth, with officials touting the efficacy of the country\u2019s economic stimulus.<\/p>\n