Chinese consumers on the hunt for low prices, local brands on Singles’ Day shopping festival as economy shows signs of turning a corner

In recent years, 48-year-old government employee Shen Ling, from eastern Jiangsu province, has been no different to most of mainland China’s roughly 900-million-strong online contingent of consumers who looked forward to hefty discounts on Singles’ Day, the world’s largest shopping festival.

Shen typically spent tens of thousands of yuan on promotions during this retail extravaganza, thanks to her “iron rice bowl” – referring to an occupation with guaranteed security in Chinese. Shen’s circumstances, however, have changed after her annual salary was cut by about a quarter since 2021, as local governments across the country grappled with a debt crisis amid rising spending and a slump in land sales and tax revenue.

“I’m controlling the purchase of expensive or big-ticket items as much as possible this year,” she said. “For example, I don’t want to upgrade my Huawei smartphone. I’ve also changed my cosmetic products from Estee Lauder to domestic brands.”

Those conservative choices reflect the mood of Chinese consumers in this year’s Singles’ Day festival, as they continue to tighten their purse strings in spite of signs that the country’s economic recovery has regained momentum and Beijing’s forecast of “around 5 per cent growth” this year.

China’s economy rose by 1.3 per cent in the third quarter from the previous three months, and by 4.9 per cent year on year, with officials suggesting that 4.4 per cent year-on-year growth this fourth quarter will be enough to achieve the nation’s full-year target.

Still, the world’s second-largest economy has yet to secure a solid rebound amid an ailing property sector and weak domestic consumption.