Foreign tourists have shifted from “buying specialties by checking in” to “buying good things for daily life”
There are new things in the suitcase of "Buy in China" (new window)
As my country continues to optimize its visa-free entry and departure tax rebate policies and enriches tourism products, "travel to China" and "shopping in China" are becoming more and more popular, and many foreign tourists come to China to "discover China" and "recommend China." According to statistics from the National Immigration Administration, in the first half of this year, 22.914 million foreigners entered the country, a year-on-year increase of 20.4%, showing a rapid growth trend.
"Today's tourists, especially the younger generation and in-depth travelers, are more inclined to products of the 'life aesthetics' category. They are no longer satisfied with the proof of 'I have been here', but want 'I took the lifestyle here with me.'" said Dou Junjie, a front-line practitioner in inbound tourism.
Reporters recently visited stores in multiple business districts in Beijing and Shanghai and found that foreign customer flow has become an important increase in sales for many domestic brand stores. The consumption logic has also shifted from "buying specialties by punching in" to "buying good things for daily life". In addition to traditional silks, teas, and souvenirs, diverse categories such as sportswear, beauty and skin care, and smart hardware are quickly taking their place, and new products have been added to the "shopping list" of foreign tourists when they "shopping in China."
Foreign tourists come to China to buy goods with a "grass planting list"
Dou Junjie shared a case that impressed him with reporters. In a recent Dubai tour, a middle-aged tourist took out a notebook before the end of the trip. On it, he carefully recorded more than a dozen Chinese brands he had "planted" on social media, and asked the tour guide to help confirm which ones could be purchased at the airport duty-free shop and which ones must be purchased at the city counters.
Taking a closer look at the categories, from White Elephant instant noodles, bee flower conditioner, to Huawei's smart wearable devices... all reflect the increasingly diversified consumption preferences of foreign tourists for travel souvenirs.
Behind these micro-scenarios are the profound structural changes that are taking place in "buying in China". In the past, the shopping lists of inbound tourists were highly homogeneous - Great Wall pattern T-shirts, silks, and antique ornaments, which were essentially vouchers for "visiting here." Now, foreign tourists are more inclined to buy products that can be integrated into daily life. Objects that combine practicality and oriental aesthetics, such as shoes, bags, and clothing, have become new favorites. "Foreign tourists coming to China to shop are changing from 'buying symbols' to 'buying life.'" Dou Junjie said.
While consumer preferences are diversified, social media has become a new entrance to traffic for new domestic products. On overseas social platforms, a large number of ordinary consumers' real experience content has formed a spontaneous word-of-mouth communication effect. A number of local designer brands have become popular online, and their offline stores in China have also become check-in points for Internet celebrities.
At the first store of "PANE Shoes" in North China in Sanlitun, Beijing, the store clerk said that the store ushered in the peak shopping period for foreign tourists in April and May. During certain periods, the proportion of foreign customers has exceeded that of domestic consumers, and many customers will help relatives and friends to purchase on their behalf.
On Huaihai Middle Road in Shanghai, there was a long queue at the door of the flagship store of "Songs under the Mountain", half of which were foreign tourists. The clerk said that many people came here specifically because of the online reputation. Some people bought for themselves, while others took away several bags at once to give to relatives and friends.
This change is the inevitable result of decades of upgrading and accumulation of Chinese manufacturing and Chinese brands. In the past, China's manufacturing industry was dominated by OEM, and products were hidden behind overseas brands; now, a number of domestic brands continue to iterate in R&D, design, and supply chain efficiency, and have paved the way for global user awareness through cross-border e-commerce and overseas content platforms.
Hong Tao, director of the Sustainable Business and Innovation Working Committee of the China Association for Trade in Services and director of the Institute of Business Economics at Beijing Technology and Business University, said: "This is essentially an offline on-site experience link in the globalization process of domestic brands, forming a complete link of 'online planting - offline weeding - return to China for repurchase'."
Chinese brands rely on solid product strength to win global market recognition
Different from purchasing souvenirs, "good experience" is a keyword that is mentioned repeatedly when the foreign tourists interviewed talk about consumption during travel.
At the Sanlitun ANTA store, a couple from Switzerland purchased a pair of sneakers after careful selection. "We had no shopping plan, but the design of this store happened to be the style I like. The quality is good and the price is cheap." The tourist said that he didn't even pay attention to the brand when he bought the pair of shoes.
Ivan, a Russian tourist wearing a light green Xtep sports short-sleeved shirt, was equally excited to share his shopping experience with reporters. "It feels great. There are so many product categories in China that it's easy to stop shopping and lose control of your shopping desire." Ivan said that he bought the short-sleeved shirt while visiting the Olympic Park two days ago. The experience of wearing it far exceeded his expectations.
Hong Tao believes that the current core driving force for attracting foreign tourists to spend is the triple combination of "policy facilitation + product hard power + cultural uniqueness". The hard power of my country's products has gone beyond simple price advantages and has become a key factor in determining long-term consumption willingness and word-of-mouth communication.
When the main reason for the final decision to place an order is "the style is suitable and the quality is very good," this just shows that Chinese brands rely on their solid product capabilities to win the recognition of consumers in the global market.
There is still room for improvement in supporting services
The changes on the product side are obvious to all, and the matching service experience has become a key part. In recent years, my country has continued to optimize policies such as departure tax rebates and actively create an inbound tourism-friendly environment. However, according to feedback from interviewees, the policy dividends have not yet been fully released, and the implementation links still need to be improved.
At the duty-free counter of a fast-moving consumer goods store in Beijing, the reporter noticed that although the store was equipped with self-service equipment, for more than an hour, almost every tourist applying for a tax refund completed the relevant procedures with the assistance of a clerk, relying heavily on manual assistance.
Ivan also admitted to reporters that although there is a tax refund machine, he does not yet fully understand the specific method of receiving the tax refund and the length of the process. At the same time, he also hopes that more products and stores can handle tax refunds.
Dou Junjie believes that the dividends of the current departure tax refund policy have not yet been fully released. Some tax refund outlets have problems such as long queue times, cumbersome procedures, and inconsistent execution procedures at different airports, which has brought obvious inconvenience to tourists with tight itineraries and large purchases.
At the same time, many tourists have doubts about the guarantee of authenticity. For example, Dou Junjie said that some high-priced categories such as silk, tea, and specialty handicrafts still have imitations, and there is an urgent need for a more authoritative authenticity traceability and certification system. There is still a gap in the current international logistics services for large specialty commodities such as furniture and art. Many tourists have to give up their favorite products because they are worried that the safety and convenience of cross-border transportation of large commodities cannot be guaranteed.
In addition, some specialty shopping places are still in the stage of simply displaying goods, and there is insufficient exploration and display of the intangible cultural heritage crafts and local cultural stories behind the goods. This has weakened the cultural depth of the shopping experience to a certain extent and also restricted the space for upgrading the quality of inbound tourism consumption.
The "15th Five-Year Plan for Expanding Consumption" specifically makes arrangements for expanding inbound consumption, proposing to optimize the inbound consumption environment and create a "Buy in China" brand. In the next step, it is necessary to optimize the facilitation measures for departure tax refund, increase departure tax refund stores, and actively promote the "buy now and refund now" service.
Yang Jinsong, a researcher at the China Tourism Academy, said that upgrading the "shopping in China" experience requires not only efforts on the product side, but also refinement on the service side. China can make good use of the narrative of yearning for a better life, build technology and national fashion brands, inject comprehensive factors such as manufacturing and technological advantages into branded products, and create more experiential products with high unit prices, shareability, and tax refunds.
Securities Times reporters Guo Bohao Jiang Dan Tang Ying
Source: People's Daily
