FLASH SURVEY REPORT: Chinese Consumer Sentiment in the Age of Coronavirus

“I want to go somewhere and relax”

We can all relate to this impulse, a common response in CLA’s online survey of Chinese consumer sentiment, which measures reactions to the coronavirus outbreak in China.

CLA surveyed 1,097 consumers in China, across more than 30 cities, during the week of March 2, 2020. All respondents had taken at least one overseas trip in the past 12 months.

Here are a few of the top-line themes from this research:

• 86% of Chinese consumers are planning to adjust their spending in 2020.
• Self-care, stress management & healthy living will be prevailing themes in 2020.
• Fitness and exercise will increase: both within and outside of home. (Nintendo Ring, anyone?)
• WeChat will remain the dominant social platform, and online work and education platforms are expected to continue to outperform.
• Healthy living, wellness and distance learning industries are expected to continue to increase, while luxury handbags, apparel and entertainment industries are likely to decrease moving forward.
• E-Commerce will continue to expand as a result of the coronavirus – both within China and via cross-border e-commerce.
• Travel themes of relaxation and discovering new destinations will most resonate with Chinese consumers after the coronavirus.

There is obviously a tremendous amount of information to unpack in the survey and our subsequent statistics but the story is clearly not all bad and, as with most major global events, there is an upside even when the news is unsettling.