COVID-19 and subsequent lockdowns affected everyone from frontline staff to top executives. Though China is slowly recovering from the crisis, it is grappling with a new environment where digital tools have replaced traditional business models.

To investigate this shift, McKinsey&Company collaborated with Oxford Economics to analyze over 100 million points-of-sale data on purchase behavior before, during, and after the COVID-19 crisis.

 

The findings of this data were collaborated in a special edition of the China Consumer Report under the title, ‘Understanding Chinese Consumers: Growth Engine of the World.’ The report highlights trends shaping the ‘next normal’ in post-pandemic China.

 

The section, ‘Revving the engine,’ collates latest consumer insights to denote the acceleration of digitization and increasing prudence and health consciousness of Chinese consumers.

 

Consumer confidence boosts retail recovery

The report reveals how Chinese consumers continue to remain among the most optimistic in the world. Their confidence not only helped China recover retail sales in August but also displayed its potential to drive global growth. COVID-19 has reshaped all industries-from travel to luxury. The chapter on ‘Winning the future of grocery retail in China’ advises key players to make significant strategic changes in their retail behavior to keep pace with digital innovations in the sector. The report also looks at the lessons learnt from reopening China’s tourism industry and changing outlook for luxury goods companies.

 

Exploring new growth areas

The section ‘Tuning up for maximum performance’ focuses on the growing digitization across Chinese industries. It explains how right business-to-business strategies can benefit from digitization, and how e-commerce platforms can grow their business. It also explains the importance of omnichannel capabilities in these uncertain times.

 

In its last section ‘Hitting top speed,’ the report identifies new pockets of growth. It reveals the secret to engage with China’s digital savvy consumers who are driving the next wave of consumption growth. It also details ways of achieving growth for consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies through revenue growth management. The report concludes by emphasizing the Chinese economy can drive global growth post pandemic by adopting a focused growth strategy.

Source: fashionatingworld.com