The recovery starts from China with revenge shopping
China seems to have overcome the crisis linked to COVID-19, thanks to infections sharply down and a system capable of getting back up quickly. To certify the health of the Asian giant are the hard numbers: after a +2.3% at the end of 2020, China’s GDP recorded in Q1 of 2021 a growth of 18.2% on an annual basis, driven above all by industrial production and internal consumption, thanks to the phenomenon called revenge shopping.
What is revenge shopping and what does it have to do with China
Between the end of 2020 and the beginning of this year, Chinese retail has experienced an unprecedented wave of revenge shopping, fuelled by an explosion of purchases after the period of crisis, with the public returning to shop more frequently and for higher values than in the recent past.
After the stringent restrictions of the past year and the impossibility of travelling abroad, Chinese consumers have focused on the local market, buying a lot in city stores while still continuing to buy online.
From this shopping rush with long queues in front of the most popular stores, have benefited mainly European and American luxury brands, from clothing to cosmetics, from design to food.
Why the Chinese recovery must be closely followed
The trend outlined by consumption in Beijing, Shanghai and other large shopping districts of the Asian giant could herald a similar phenomenon also in Europe, and the gradual reopening of stores with the easing of restrictions on circulation planned in the spring are promising glimpses of recovery.
If in China the explosion of domestic retail (+75.8% between January and March) is also due to the possibility of freely experiencing the Chinese New Year (1 February 2021) with a positive trend that is expected to continue throughout the year, in the rest of the world the recovery is barely perceptible.
An opportunity for export to the East
That’s why the growth of the Chinese market is a great opportunity for the Made in Italy eager to find fertile ground for its quality products and a curious and keen audience that wants to return to purchase and rediscover the enthusiasm after fifteen decidedly complicated months.
Prada has already announced that in 2020 sales in the country of the Great Wall exceeded those of 2019, with revenues from the lovers’ feast day (25 August 2020) which set the new daily record for the Italian label.
The entire foreign luxury sector has recorded a steep rise of 10% in the last year, reflecting the attractiveness of historic brands and Italian products, recognized and appreciated for their quality, style, history and symbolic value.
A road map for exporting to China
Of course, facing and overcoming the challenges of the most important Asian market is not simple. What is needed are transversal and integrated skills ranging from consulting support to the feasibility study, the definition of the go-to-market strategy, the optimization of the necessary technological tools, the development of a local marketing plan and content creation. Retex can take care of all this and make concrete the opportunities offered by Chinese retail to Italian brands.
