2023 revenge consumption is really coming!

People are moving around, and the New Year atmosphere is back. This Spring Festival, China is surrounded by the atmosphere of revenge consumption. People have a broader awareness of family reunion during the Spring Festival, which has led to a major change in consumer consumption. This article analyzes the 2023 Spring Festival consumption in detail. Let's take a look.

Recently, consumption data during the Spring Festival of the Year of the Rabbit has attracted widespread attention and is seen by many as the first wave of "revenge consumption" in 2023.

In addition to the reappearance of the population mobility spectacle caused by the total number of passengers migrating over 200 million during the Spring Festival, the most obvious thing is the booming film market. Films such as "The Wandering Earth 2", "Unknown", "Man Jiang Hong", and "Exchange Lives" had a good start. The box office during the Spring Festival exceeded 6.7 billion, adding some vitality to the immersed market.

At the same time, tourist attractions were "overcrowded", and the Douyin topic #春节景点爆爆了 became a hot search. The number of domestic tourists exceeded 300 million, a year-on-year increase of 23%. The recovery of the tourism economy has driven the growth of industries such as catering, accommodation, and retail, and there has been a phenomenon of non-stop consumption during the Spring Festival.

And those users who choose to stay at home are not idle either. According to the "2023 Spring Festival Holiday Consumption Trends" released by JD.com, with the expansion of JD.com's "Spring Festival Delivery" cities, in addition to the diversification of product categories, the transaction volume of life services during the Spring Festival increased by 302% year-on-year, and the transaction volume of Rabbit Year themed jewelry, mobile communications, home appliances and medical care also achieved a significant increase.

01

People are moving around, and the New Year atmosphere is back. This Spring Festival, China is surrounded by the atmosphere of revenge consumption. In addition to the common consumption items of the public during the Spring Festival every year, fireworks and firecrackers are regarded as one of the phenomena of revenge consumption in 2023.

1. Use "fireworks" to pursue a pleasant experience and satisfy people's sense of ritual during the Spring Festival

Originally, fireworks were used to drive away the Nian monster or to welcome the new year, but because of their festive nature, they have now developed into a symbol of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, and have evolved into a highly folk custom that marks the arrival of the New Year.

Although setting off fireworks has certain safety risks, it still cannot stop the public's enthusiasm. This year's Spring Festival setting off firecrackers is not only a folk activity of "saying goodbye to the old year", but also a way for people to release emotions and create romance, satisfying the public's expectation of a sense of ritual during the New Year and creating a full atmosphere.

In the atmosphere of the Spring Festival, a popular type of fireworks was born - the Gatlin fireworks . This type of fireworks is widely popular because of its long spray range and cool firing effects. Its price has also risen sharply. Some netizens said that the price of the Gatlin camp in their county has risen due to supply and demand, from 60 yuan/piece to 150 yuan/piece.

Even so, Gatlin fireworks are still in short supply, and purchase information is everywhere. Users who have purchased them have started a passion to post pictures online. Various styles of fireworks scenes such as showing affection, wealth, and creating joy have emerged, making many people envious.

On Xiaohongshu alone, there are more than 20,000 notes about Gatling, and more than 4.2 million notes about fireworks. This may be the great changes in my hometown. The only thing that remains unchanged may be the New Year atmosphere in the splendor of fireworks.

2. Pre-prepared meals are growing rapidly, and family banquet tables have undergone new changes

If fireworks are an indispensable sense of ritual for the public to celebrate the Chinese New Year, then eating is the indispensable highlight of the Spring Festival. As a rigid demand, the "food" category still deserves more attention and in-depth exploration.

For more people, the dishes on the family dinner table may remain basically unchanged, but the cooking methods have changed quietly.

According to JD.com's "2023 Spring Festival Holiday Consumption Trends" data, the transaction volume of pre-prepared meals increased by more than 6 times year-on-year, becoming the mainstream choice for many consumers.

Dishes that represent the flavor of the Chinese New Year, such as Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, Pork Stomach and Chicken, and Pickled Fish, have become popular in the pre-prepared food market due to their complex production processes and careful selection of ingredients. According to sales data from JD.com's New Year Festival, on the eve of the Spring Festival, pre-prepared dishes such as Fish Maw Chicken and Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, which represent auspicious dishes, were hot-selling, bringing new cooking methods to the dishes on the tables of Spring Festival gatherings and family banquets.

In Mr. Bingfa's opinion, the reason for this phenomenon is that the public has realized that New Year's Eve dinners and gatherings should gather an atmosphere and happiness, and people should not be confined to the kitchen. Therefore, pre-prepared meals that are more convenient to cook and taste decent have become the choice of many consumers.

3. When giving gifts during the Spring Festival, nothing is better than giving health

Eating is the highlight of people's life during the Spring Festival, and giving gifts when visiting relatives and friends is also indispensable. Unlike the luxurious and expensive gifts in the past, people have gradually realized the importance of health in the past three years, and have chosen to give healthy gifts to relatives and friends during this year's Spring Festival.

Among the categories with increased transaction volume during the Spring Festival in 2023, healthcare ranks among the top 3. According to the data released by JD.com, products such as amino acid oral liquid, health wine and protein powder showed different degrees of growth during the Spring Festival, among which amino acid oral liquid increased by 215% year-on-year.

It can be seen that many people choose to give health to consumers during this Spring Festival, and paying attention to health has become a common choice of the public.

4. Tourist attractions are packed with people, and tourism is popular during the Chinese New Year.

In addition, another obvious feature this year is that more and more people choose to travel during the Spring Festival. On platforms such as Xiaohongshu, Douyin, and Weibo, there are many reports about tourist attractions being overcrowded.

Judging from the data released by third-party platforms, tourism consumption has begun to pick up. On January 27, Alipay announced the 2023 Spring Festival observation. From January 19 to January 25, 2023, tourism consumption has doubled. The small-town economy brought about by population migration, family travel, shopping, cross-border travel, and slow live broadcasts of scenic spots have all become popular.

02

From the aspects of Spring Festival consumption, cooking methods, gift-giving preferences and entertainment choices, it can be seen that this year's Spring Festival consumption has shown more obvious characteristics:

1. Transformation from material consumption to spiritual consumption

The popularity of Gatling fireworks, the booming Spring Festival tourism, and the continued warming of the film market all prove that the direction of consumer consumption has changed, from material consumption to spiritual consumption, making spiritual consumption products the center of consumption during the Year of the Rabbit Spring Festival. This explains why scenic spots are crowded during the Spring Festival and box office revenue at theaters has exceeded 6.7 billion.

2. There are more ways to celebrate the New Year

Unlike the traditional family reunion, many people choose to travel during the Spring Festival this year. This phenomenon is caused by the fact that the idea of ​​spending the New Year with the family is deeply rooted in people's minds. Celebrating the New Year is not only about going back to your hometown to reunite with your family, but also about various ways of celebrating the New Year.

3. The direction of gift giving has changed from value attributes to health attributes

At the same time, for the Spring Festival gift-giving that Chinese people pay attention to, there is a phenomenon of "integration of tradition and fashion, and synchronization of consumption and gift-giving". For a period of time, the value attribute of Spring Festival gift-giving was regarded as the degree of importance attached to people. In the post-epidemic era, gift-giving combines fashion, folk customs and market consumption tendencies, making health products with health attributes the choice of many people.

Final Thoughts

The lively Spring Festival brings everyone closer to their family and creates a deeper connection between each family and the "economy". Some people believe that there is no revenge consumption during the Spring Festival, but that people have a broader understanding of the Spring Festival and the awareness of family reunion during the Spring Festival, which has led to a major change in consumers' consumption tendencies.

Some people also believe that the hot consumption data during the Spring Festival is revenge consumption and evidence of economic recovery, because users dare to spend money only if they have money in their wallets. At the same time, they believe that the "grand occasion" of consumption during the Spring Festival is just the starting point. In the near future, there will be long queues in street milk tea shops again, and the barbecue restaurants and roadside stalls in the streets and alleys will become lively again at night, igniting the city's atmosphere of fireworks and making people feel extremely happy.

In Mr. Bingfa's opinion, behind the cold consumption data lies various scenes of people's specific lives, which can make people more intuitively feel the enthusiasm for consumption and the vitality of society. It can also allow brands to glimpse future consumption trends and seek broader development space for their own development.

Author: Mr. Bingfa

Source: WeChat public account "Marketing Art of War (ID: lanhaiyingxiao)"