Chinese luxury spending braced for year-long recovery

New data from global consultancy Bain & Company suggests personal luxury purchases in China will return to pre-pandemic levels between the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023.

Why it matters

China’s luxury spenders were a nigh-on essential part of the sector’s consumer base, making up as much as a third of spending both at home and abroad prior to COVID-19. A recovery in spending is not only essential to foreign luxury brands, but also to China’s own economy.

What’s happening

• Reported by the South China Morning Post, Bain forecasts China’s domestic luxury market to slow from 2021’s 36% growth to “low-double digit”.
• Omicron has caused a drag on expected growth, with sporadic lockdowns and labour issues hampering Q1 spending.
• Bain expects Chinese consumers to continue buying primarily in China as it does not expect international travel to return this year.

Sourced from South China Morning Post. [Image: Unsplash]