Overseas shopping is booming under the long holiday economy, and the growth rate of import consumption in rural areas exceeds that of first- and second-tier cities

Holiday consumption is an important window for observing the vitality of China's economy. During the National Day Golden Week this year, 551 million domestic tourists traveled nationwide, recovering 70.1% of the same period before the epidemic . With outbound travel still restricted, overseas shopping consumption continues to be hot.

The overseas epidemic has prevented people from traveling abroad, but more and more people are "going shopping online" at home to buy global products. Data shows that from October 1 to 7 this year , the transaction volume of imported goods on Tmall International increased by more than 50 % year-on-year, among which imported health products, pet products, food and beverages, digital appliances and other categories grew the fastest.

New imported consumption is accelerating its universalization and becoming a new driving force for China's domestic demand growth. The central and western regions and the sinking markets have shown great potential.

From the perspective of consumption in different regions, from October 1 to 7, the transaction volume of imported goods purchased by consumers in central and western China through Tmall International increased by more than 40% year-on-year, among which Guangxi, Jiangxi, Shanxi, Hunan and Anhui saw the largest increase. Rural consumption upgrades accelerated, with the growth rate of import consumption in tier-4 and tier-5 cities and rural areas higher than that in tier-1 and tier-2 cities, and the growth rate in townships and rural areas was 55% year-on-year.

(Overseas shopping continues to be hot under the long holiday economy)

Whether traveling on vacation or resting at home with family and pets, "beauty" is the eternal theme of life. Tmall International Golden Week data shows that imported cosmetics travel sets increased by 9 times year-on-year, imported sunscreen increased by more than 80 % year-on-year , and home beauty instrument sales increased by 160% year -on-year. At the same time, cat and dog snacks increased by more than 100% year-on-year, pet smart devices increased by 261% year-on-year , and pet beauty products increased by 253% year-on-year .

National products from popular outbound travel destinations and niche countries are still popular for overseas shopping. Products from countries within a 4-hour flight circle such as Japan, Thailand, South Korea, and Malaysia occupy most of the shopping carts; products from niche tourist countries such as Icelandic skin care essence, Moroccan shampoo-free hair mask, and Danish health products are growing fastest.

The perfect development of new cross-border e-commerce business models and the abundant supply of imported goods not only save the Chinese from waiting in long queues at offline duty-free shops, but also allow Chinese people to shop online at overseas department stores, trendy brand stores, second-hand stores and other outbound shopping landmarks.

Take Japanese second-hand stores as an example. At the end of last year, many second-hand stores that are must-visit when traveling abroad began to enter Tmall International at an accelerated pace. BRAND OFF, a nearly 30-year-old second-hand store that is a must-visit for tourists to Japan, and RECLO, a Japanese online second-hand luxury store, are all here. During the National Day Golden Week this year, the sales of popular LV, Hermes, CELINE, and Fendi brands in RECLO stores increased by more than 40% month-on-month , and the Garden Party series of Hermes, which is suitable for autumn and winter travel, was sold out. The sales of high-end luxury bags, mainly Hermes, in Brandoff stores increased significantly.

(Tmall Global BRAND OFF overseas flagship store live broadcast to Chinese consumers in Japan during the National Day holiday)

In fact, with the continuous improvement of infrastructure such as transportation networks, logistics, and information technology, cross-border e-commerce continues to extend and expand downward, the consumption potential of the sinking market is further released, becoming a new force for consumption upgrading.

Since Alibaba set a five-year US$200 billion import plan at the first CIIE in 2018, Tmall Global has continued to attract overseas brands to enter China. In the past year, an average of more than 400 new overseas brands have settled in each month . Currently, there are more than 29,000 overseas brands from 87 countries and regions in the world settled in Tmall Global, covering more than 5,800 categories, of which more than 80% of the brands are entering China for the first time.

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