Luxury sellers are waiting for buyers after lifting of restrictions in China
2023.01.26 14:23
Luxury sellers are waiting for buyers after lifting of restrictions in China
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – This month, China is expected to lift travel restrictions, which is expected to boost demand in the global luxury retail market. However, many customers see more reasons to shop locally for high-end goods on the tax-free island of Hainan.
On Wednesday, thousands of tourists in Sanya, Hainan, packed the CDF Mall, a duty-free shopping center, to buy cosmetics and handbags while they were away for the Lunar New Year’s holiday.
Yu Shunxiao, a student who claimed to have previously patronized Harrods in London, stated:
“The UK is quite far, and it’s hard to buy tickets.” We can arrive and depart whenever we want in Sanya.”
Beijing ended a long-standing requirement that all travelers entering the country immediately go into quarantine at a hotel following their arrival at the beginning of January as part of a broader national relaxation of COVID-19 prevention policies.
Chinese residents have rushed to travel abroad as a result. The day after the announcement of the policy change, international flight ticket purchases surged by more than 210 percent on Trip.com, a well-known website for ticket booking.
While the post-pandemic frenzy in the United States and Europe slows down, luxury brands and retailers are hoping that a coming boom in Chinese outbound tourism will boost sales in 2023.
Even though consumers can now travel freely, some experts contend that a growing portion of China’s luxury spending will remain within the borders of the country.
According to Jonathan Yan, a consultant at Roland Berger in Shanghai, the three years of closed borders have made Chinese consumers more accustomed to purchasing luxury goods from abroad in China.
Yan stated:
“A portion of luxury shoppers will return to their pre-COVID overseas consumption.”
However, I believe that the majority of brands will also rely on the local luxury market.
