Executive Summary

Spring Festival, or the “Chinese New Year,” is a major spending period in China — and in recent years more and more spending, gifting and sending money has gone digital. Online retailers are tapping into this trend by stepping up holiday promotions to grab a bigger slice of the Spring Festival pie. In this update to our recent Chinese New Year Preview report, we review the latest promotions offered on major marketplace websites.

• Chinese e-commerce platforms, such as Tmall, JD.com and Suning, are heavily promoting various traditional and non-traditional goods — many starting far in advance to tap into consumer spending early.
• Retail and food service sales during the Lunar New Year more than doubled since 2011, from ¥405 billion to ¥926 billion in 2018.
• We expect total retail and food-service sales in this year’s holiday season to hit ¥1 trillion.