Mar 31, 2020

Chinese Shoppers Can Go Out Again. Online Buys Show They Won’t.

Daniela Wei, Bloomberg News

SHANGHAI, CHINA - MARCH 31: Commuters in protective masks look at their smartphones while riding a subway train during evening peak on March 31, 2020 in Shanghai, China. Health authorities of China said the country has passed the peak of the COVID-19 epidemic on March 12. As of today, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has infected more than 800,000 people and killed over 39,000 globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on March 11. (Photo by Yves Dean/Getty Images) , Photographer: Yves Dean/Getty Images

(Bloomberg) -- China’s consumers are shopping online again. But their purchases are signaling that they plan to stay indoors for the foreseeable future, dashing hopes for a spending recovery as the nation contemplates its post-virus world.

Lunch boxes saw 120 times more searches in the last 30 days as the virus pushes people to prepare their own food even after returning to the office, according to March 26 data from Index.1688, which collects information from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s shopping sites.

Portable tableware, foldable spoons and work clothing also surged in popularity while items typically given as gifts or used for travel and outdoor activities haven’t shown signs of recovery.

Yoga mats and hula hoops for home exercise also climbed in demand, a bad sign for gyms waiting for the return of patrons.

The data undermines predictions of a V-shaped recovery in the world’s biggest consumer market that has suffered more than 80,000 infections and 3,000 deaths from Covid-19. While big operators like Starbucks Corp. and Yum China Holding Inc. have been reopening outlets, they are facing a public that is preferring to stay home after work and continue with social distancing, even though China’s number of new infections has officially fallen to zero.

China’s experience may prove an important indicator for how the rest of the world recovers. Even after outbreaks are contained, lingering fear is likely to change consumer behavior for longer than expected.

“Consumers are still cautious about going out and many of those venues are not yet back to full working mode,” said Jason Yu, Shanghai-based general manager of Kantar Worldpanel. Items for a return to work, such as instant coffee, hair and skin-care products, are recovering ahead of the market, he said.

Other products to post a spike in searches include contact-less thermometers, suits and stationary, according to Index.1688.

A report by JD.com Inc.’s research center also shows work-related consumption speeding ahead of other categories. China’s second-largest e-commerce company sold five times more lunch boxes in late February than a month earlier, while powerbanks, office equipment and stationery are also high up the list.

“Consumption of staples is clearly outshining discretionary or luxury goods in what is still very much a lukewarm and uneven recovery,” Ned Salter, head of global research at Fidelity International, said in a statement. “We need to see more consumer confidence to sustain the improvement and that will depend on how well China deals now with imported cases to contain the virus fully.”

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Retailers in China have been cautious in their forecasts since the virus emerged.

Yum China, which operates KFC and Pizza Hut in the country, has said the second quarter will be “challenging” and patience is needed. Anta Sports, the country’s biggest sportswear maker, forecasts the first six months of 2020 will be “tough throughout”.

About 60% of listed restaurant operators in China are at risk of running out of cash within six months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and company reports.

With the food and beverage industry reeling, local governments are trying to boost consumption by urging officials to dine out in restaurants and shop in malls. Vouchers are being given out by cities including Hangzhou and Nanjing as well as shopping platforms Meituan Dianping and Suning.com Co. to spur spending.

While China’s new infection numbers have plunged, the pandemic is widening globally with cases worldwide now topping 786,000 and more than 37,800 dead. Chinese factories are experiencing a second shockwave as western clients cancel orders en masse.

Luiz Chen, a 31-year-old auditor in Guangzhou, recently bought moisturizing masks and a new dress before returning to the office but said she won’t be treating herself to anything expensive after her employer froze bonuses for the past two months.

“I’m scared to get a salary cut or even lose the job,” said Chen. “Economic crisis seems not far away. How can I have the good mood to buy buy buy?”