Changes have appeared in the purchases made by people during this year's Spring Festival: green farm products such as free-range chicken and pig, and imported steak and red wine are favored; the internet has played a bigger role in festival culture with people all busy grabbing "red envelopes" online; and sales of gift packages and high-end cigarettes and wine have cooled down substantially.

Green consumption, online consumption, mass consumption, and individualized consumption have become the main trends of this spring festival, and China has entered a new normal in the pattern of consumption.

Green consumption is the superstar of this year. Growing incomes have led to a leap in healthy eating and safe food. Free-range chicken and pigs are the hottest goods on the market, and many farmers have decided to keep such produce for their own use instead of selling it.

Many people have chosen to make their purchases online. From new clothes to electrical appliances and from local specialties to overseas brand products, people have a much wider choice online. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2014, China's online retail sales had year-on-year growth of 49.7 percent and the business of the express delivery industry increased by 51.9 percent.

There has been a return to mass consumption this year. In Spring Festival, most people bring gifts to relatives and friends. Consequently, many expensive gift packages are produced for the purpose. Over the last two years, along with the campaign against extravagance, people have tended to buy less expensive gifts and there has been a return to mass spending on lower-priced items. In supermarkets and malls, cost-effective and high quality goods are most favored and gift packages are less popular.

At the same time, individualized consumption is a new bright spot and spending on culture has grown substantially. According to statistics, from February 19 to February 23 (the first five days of the first lunar month), China’s box office takings reached 1.5 billion yuan, 36 percent up from the same period last year.

These changes have presented more consumption demand to the market and enterprises have launched all sorts of sales activities in response, making the Spring Festival market even more prosperous.