By Zhang Shasha

If peoples memory of how they celebrated the Chinese New Year could be compiled into a book， the chapters for 2020 and 2021 would present a striking contrast.

In 2020， people stayed at home to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. But this year， they remained at their places of work to minimize the risk of resurgence of infections from large-scale migration and consolidate epidemic control.

For Wang Yu， a programmer with a Beijingbased Internet company， this Spring Festival on February 12 was the first time in 29 years since his birth that he stayed in another place instead of his hometown in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in north China.

Since 2015， when he started to work， Wang would save part of his annual bonus to gift hongbaos， the traditional red envelopes with cash， to his parents and grandparents when he returned home for the celebrations. “This year I couldnt be with them， so I decided to send them other presents to express my love and how much I missed them，” he told Beijing Review.

According to Zhu Xiaoliang， Director of the Department of Consumption Promotion， Ministry of Commerce （MOFCOM）， the Spring Festival is the most significant period of the year， marking the high season of consumption. “This year has heralded new changes and features in the market，” Zhu said at a press conference on February 10.

Stay-put new year

Wang bought a TV set for his grandmother since watching TV is her favorite pastime and her old one had problems. “I wanted my grandparents to enjoy the New Year Eve gala on state broadcaster CCTV on a bigger screen，” he said. As for his parents， he got them a gas water heater， something his mother had been longing for for a long time. He made the purchases on e-commerce platform JD.com.

Zhu said buying new year goods online had become a trend. Specialty food from peoples hometowns did a roaring trade. From the end of January to February 10， online sales had surpassed 700 billion yuan （$108.3 billion） and orders delivered to non-buyer recipients increased 50 percent year on year. Two-way delivery of local specialties has become a new fashion this year， Zhu said.

Wangs mother bought a sheep from a pasturing area in Inner Mongolia and sent him the meat to share with his friends and colleagues who， like him， did not go back home.

This year， logistics companies remained open for business during the festival period， a change from the previous years when they closed for a welcome break. According to the State Post Bureau， they delivered 660 million parcels from February 11 to 16， a 260-percent growth year on year. Most of the parcels contained special food from all over the country.

As over 100 million people did not head back home this year， there was new consumption demand.

According to a report by online payment service Alipay， the stay-put festival stoked cloud interaction， entertainment and consumption. More than 260 million people sent online greetings， resulting in a 270-percent increase in the number of online red envelopes sent. Shortdistance trips became a new trend while the stayat-home economy—consumption from home， and pet economy， splurging on pets as people spent more time with them being at home， also gained momentum.

Duan Ran， a 28-year-old product manager with a training institution in Beijing， spent her first Spring Festival in Beijing. Previously， she would go back to her parents place in Shandong Province in east China one or two days earlier to help them with the traditional spring cleaning， but this time， being newly married， she did the cleaning in her Beijing home instead.

She hired a cleaner from Ziroom， a rental service provider also offering housekeeping and maintenance. “It cost 150 yuan （$23.2） and all the cleaning was done in three hours， which was so convenient，” Duan said.

The stay-put new year has also boosted home services like housekeeping， beauty treatments like manicure， and massages， fueling consumption.

The catering industry blossomed after a long winter. According to industry associations and delivery service platforms， 87 percent of catering enterprises remained open during the Spring Festival and their sales leaped 261 percent year on year.

Catering companies expanded their menu and launched new products such as semi-cooked food and single-person servings. Both online and offline catering grew.

According to statistics， the shopping malls in 10 large cities including Beijing and Shanghai saw their number of visitors increase 200 percent year on year and recovered almost 86 percent of the traffic flow in 2019. MOFCOM said sales of major retail and catering enterprises hit 821 billion yuan （$127.1 billion） during the seven-day holiday from February 11 to 17， growing 28.7 percent year on year.

Spending stimulus

This year， Valentines Day， February 14， fell during the holiday. Duan and her husband went to one of the largest flower markets in Beijing to buy roses， only to find that they were sold out. The couple failed to get movie tickets as well， and even the restaurants they went to were full.

The first one they went to told them they would have to wait for about 90 minutes to get a table； the second one said they would have to wait even longer， nearly three hours. To add to their sorrow， they couldnt find a parking spot around the shopping mall either. So they had to go back home and cook for themselves.

“I hadnt realized that buying flowers or watching a film or dining at a restaurant had become such a sought-after thing this year，” a disconsolate Duan told Beijing Review.

The two coinciding festivals boosted the consumption of jewelry， makeup products， flowers and similar gifts， becoming a robust growth driver for consumption during the lunar new year celebrations. According to MOFCOM， sales of jewelry， clothing， digital products and home appliances increased 160 percent， 107 percent， 39 percent and 29.9 percent， respectively， over last year.

To encourage consumption， some cities such as Beijing， Shenzhen in south China， and Suzhou in the east distributed digital money among residents. Beijing gave 10 million yuan （$1.55 million） of digital currency to registered residents via lottery in virtual red envelopes worth 200 yuan （$31） each. The lucky winners could spend the e-money from February 10 to 17 in select online or brick-and-mortar shops selling clothing and shoes， cinemas and restaurants.

Consumption coupons including the digital currency have become another consumer spending driver since the recovery from the epidemic. The Spring Festival has set a strong precedent for the coming months in 2021.

“Despite difficulties and challenges， the consumption market in 2021 has multiple positive factors in general， especially with the policies to expand domestic demand and stimulate spending，” Zhu said. “Also， supply is getting more in line with demand. So this year， the market will rise.” BR