Lessons from China's Recovery Post-COVID-19: Consumer Goods and Service Sector Analysis

March 2021

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has left a profound impact on China’s consumer goods and service sectors. China was the first major economy to recover to pre-pandemic levels; Euromonitor International’s analysts on the ground in China deliver insights into the recovery stories and lessons one year from lockdown on eight industries. These insights on consumer behaviour changes and industry trends might also follow in other regions that are stepping into recovery.

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This report comes in PPT.

Key findings

Repatriated spending and cautious consumption

Economic instability changes consumer spending behaviour in a more profound and complicated way. Repatriated luxury expenditure from the young affluent class is surprisingly resilient, but mass consumers were looking for short-term budget targets not directly related to health and hygiene, when making no compromise for hard hygiene products, ie disinfectants. Corporates need to be aware of consumers’ shopping prioritisation and opportunities in expenditure flow (shift to domestic market) amid and post-COVID-19.

Consumer interest in health and hygiene heightened and remains

Consumer awareness of emotional and physical wellbeing has been heightened by the pandemic and will stay. Despite cautious spending likely to linger for mass consumers, holistic health, home hygiene and internal happiness are nevertheless long-term shifts and should be the focus of corporates’ recovery and innovation strategy. NPDs that focus on strengthening immunity, creating a hygienic and comfortable home, as well as happiness enhancement solutions have proven valid in China.

Digital agility key to corporates

Corporates need to rethink about going digital and grow agilely. Strengthening e-commerce to achieve channel diversification is merely one aspect of building digital agility in the post-COVID-19 era - boundless engagement with consumers through a mix of omnichannel marketing tactics and digital solutions that redefine offline business are even more crucial to shape agility and grow resilience in the face of disruptive incidents such as the pandemic. Corporates should also be ready for organisational restructure to facilitate agility.

Scope
Key findings
Multiple industries in China show distinct signs of recovery
Digital transformation leads the way for retailing recovery
High uptake of livestreaming amid COVID-19 pandemic
Physical store reshapes its role in response to changing consumer behaviour
BPC market rejuvenated as normality returned
Digital strategy is vitally important for BPC players
Skin health becomes one of the prime focus of skin care products
China’s consumer appliances market saw remarkable recovery since Q2…
…but the recovery pace of construction outstripped offline retailing
Health and connectivity are the focal points of new product launches
Consumer health saw contrasting growth patterns in the recovery phase
Immunity positioning widens to broader health concerns
Expanding in online marketplace as immediate response to offline slump
Resumed offline channels in Q2 help home products begin recovery
Virtual in-store experience a must to close the service gap for online space
Hygiene-driven innovation gains traction
Consumers are trading down in laundry detergents and hand dishwashing
Brands are rolling out more budget-friendly products via e-commerce
Categories featuring strong disinfectant effects post robust growth
Domestic luxury consumption was boosted due to travel restrictions
Undiluted consumer confidence leads the recovery
E-commerce becomes new battleground for luxury brands
Domestic travel leads the short-term recovery
Pre-paid products help the industry to survive through its darkest hour
Hygienic safety approach to sustain revitalisation post-pandemic
Key findings

Retailing

Retail is the sale of new and used goods to consumers from a business for personal or household consumption from retail outlets, kiosks, market stalls, vending, direct selling and e-commerce. Retail is the aggregation of Retail Offline and Retail E-Commerce. Excludes specialist retailers of motor vehicles, motorcycles, vehicle parts. Also excludes fuel sales, foodservice sales, rental transactions, and wholesale sales (e.g. Cash and Carry). Sales value excluding or including VAT/Sales Tax. Retail also excludes the informal retail sector. Informal retailing is retail trade which is not declared to the tax authorities. Informal retailing encompasses (a) sales generated by unregistered and unlicensed retailers, i.e. retailers operating illegally, and (b) any proportion of sales generated by a registered and licensed retailer that is not declared to the tax authorities. Unregistered and unlicensed retailers operate predominantly (although not exclusively) as street hawkers or operate open market stalls, as these channels are harder for the authorities to monitor than permanent outlets. Activities in the illegal market, which is usually understood to refer to trade in illegal, counterfeit or stolen merchandise, are included within our definition of informal retailing. Activities in the “grey market”, which is usually understood to refer to trade in legal merchandise that is sold through unauthorized channels – for example cigarettes bought legally in another country, legally imported, but sold at lower prices than in authorized channels – will be included as informal retailing if no tax is paid on sale by the retailer. However if the retailer pays tax – for example on cigarettes bought legally in another country but sold at a lower price than standard – the sale is included within formal retail.

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