Tianjin's surging consumer trend shows vast potential of Chinese market

TIANJIN, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- At a newly opened indoor parent-child amusement park in north China's Tianjin Municipality, children find themselves immersed in interactive AR games, role-playing on the stage, and tailored doll making.

NEOBIO, a popular chain brand, launched the new park in a bustling commercial shopping mall in downtown Tianjin in mid-July.

"We received more than 5,000 customers in the first four days of its opening," said Chai Shen, head of the amusement park, noting that a parent-child consumption boom is expected during the summer vacation.

Tianjin is known as one of China's international consumption center cities. The other four are Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, and Guangzhou.

As China's economy continues to recover, Tianjin's consumption performance reveals the immense potential of the country's mega market.

On May 27, a shopping complex was opened in Tianjin, reconstructed from four old buildings, with an investment of 2 billion yuan (approximately 280.48 million U.S. dollars). Featuring four different consumption themes including parent-kid, fashion, exhibition and night economy, the shopping complex quickly became a hot spot for consumers, welcoming 276,000 visitors within the first two days of opening.

"Don nino," an Italian ice cream brand, opened its first store there in Tianjin. It has been flooded with over 10,000 orders over the past two months.

The spacious rooftop area of one building of the complex has been transformed into a hub comprised of restaurants and bars. It offers guests the chance to savor delicious food and wine and enjoy the stunning night view of Tianjin's Haihe River, along with its iconic landmarks and skyline.

Yang Hongchang moved his indoor bar to the rooftop and found that the monthly revenue grew rapidly with an increasing number of consumers.

Data shows that 12 large shopping centers are set to open in Tianjin this year. Sun Jiannan, director of the Tianjin Commission of Commerce, said that focusing on the fostering and building of the international consumption center city, Tianjin will hold multi-field, multi-level, and diversified consumption promotion activities throughout the year.

Thanks to the implementation of various consumer promotion policies, the total retail sales of consumer goods in Tianjin increased by 8.9 percent year on year from January to May 2023.

Apart from Tianjin, various measures have been introduced to promote consumption across the country -- Hainan Province has issued 20 million yuan tax-free shopping vouchers; Shanghai initiated a summer consumption carnival; and Anhui Province plans to launch about 1,500 consumption promotion activities in the third quarter of this year.

China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major gauge of the country's consumption strength, continued to expand in the first half of this year, reaching 22.76 trillion yuan, up 8.2 percent year on year, according to China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

"In general, the consumption potential has been gradually released in the first half of the year, and consumption maintains a good momentum of recovery, giving a boost to the country's economic growth and people's living standards," NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui told a press conference.

"As the society and economy fully resumed normal operations, the economy is recovering, consumption scenarios are expanding, policies to promote consumption are taking effect, spending by residents is steadily growing, and market retail sales are accelerating," Fu said.

Bai Ming, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce, emphasized that it is necessary to continue to enhance consumers' willingness to spend by creating more consumption channels and vibrant hotspots. As consumption promotion policies continue to take effect, consumption's impact on the economy is expected to further flourish.