2016-03-16

China Consumer Slowdown

China's top 50 retailers saw sales fall 6 percent at the start of the year, and sales of basic goods from noodles to detergent grew just 1.8 percent at the end of last year, down from over 9 percent just three years ago, according to Kantar Worldpanel data.

The weak sales of even cheap household goods underlines the challenge for China, desperate to get its 1.4 billion people to spend and give some fresh impetus to the economy.

"Maybe before, if I wanted something I'd just go and buy it. Now I only buy things I really need," said Yang Shunjie, 28, a Shanghai-based client manager at a state-owned firm, who earns between 10,000-15,000 yuan ($1,500-$2,300) a month. He said he also shops more online where prices are cheaper and will wait for end-of-season discounts to buy new clothes.
Reuters: As China's consumers tighten belts, retailers cut jobs, offer discounts

Hence why Chinese consumer stocks have been crushed along with everything else.

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