After isolation, comfort in food and shopping
AS night fell, a hotpot restaurant in Hefei, the capital of east China’s Anhui Province, was bustling with masked diners queuing for feasting.
“We have restored dine-in service since March 18 and saw increasing customers these days,” said Zhang Huaiyu, a waiter. “Those who come later may have to wait for over two hours as the restaurant is full by around 6:30pm.”
The Ministry of Commerce said on March 28 that the resumption rate of large chain supermarkets and convenience stores had reached 99.5 percent and 95.4 percent, with volume surpassing the levels recorded in the same period last year.
In addition, 95.8 percent of shopping malls and 80 percent of catering industries had resumed work as of March 27.
As the epidemic recedes and work and production resumption gains momentum, Chinese consumers’ buying appetite inhibited by the epidemic rebounds.
“I craved hotpot when I was stuck at home, and finally I can order it,” said Sun Jie, who came early with her family.
Zhang Huaiyu noticed that diners coming these days always ordered more meat and ate longer compared with before the epidemic.
Xu Jin, manager of a barbecue restaurant in Hefei, was impressed by consumers’ healthy appetite even before resuming work.
“Many customers called to ask when we would resume business,” said Xu. “People have been cooped up at home for a long time and yearn for food like hotpot, milk tea and barbecue.”
To ensure safety, restaurants carry out strict virus prevention measures such as scanning health codes and measuring body temperatures. According to a survey by the Jiangsu provincial consumer rights protection committee in early March, about 90 percent of the 21,192 respondent chose shopping as compensation as the epidemic levels off.
Dining out, shopping in malls, watching movies, singing in KTVs and traveling are the most preferred.
“Many shopping plans were shelved due to the outbreak, and finally, I can satisfy my craving,” said Sun Jie, who spent more than 1,000 yuan (US$140.96) buying clothes in the shopping mall after enjoying a hotpot feast.
Besides boosting consumption offline, the recovery of logistics also drives the boom of online shopping.
During the days around International Women’s Day on March 8, sales on Tmall were far more than the previous year, with sales of more than 20,000 brands surging over 100 percent according to ecommerce giant Alibaba.
Regions across the nation also rolled out favorable measures to spur consumption. Many cities encouraged government officials to take the lead in consumption and launched voucher programs to stimulate spending.
Nanjing, capital of eastern Jiangsu Province, has announced more than 300 million yuan of vouchers.
“People are willing to shop as the epidemic wanes, but it still needs time for the market to recover and prosper,” said Zheng Lanxiang, a professor at the economics school of Anhui University. “The country needs to further create a safer consumption environment and increase residents’ income to improve their spending power.”
(Xinhua)