From "Traveling in China" to "Shopping in China"... How the Spring Festival Is Reshaping Global Consumption Patterns

China Media Group

As the Spring Festival (Lunar New Year) injects vitality into China's consumer market, holiday spending is showing a clear shift from being centered on "traveling in China" to expanding into "shopping in China."

During the first four days of the Spring Festival holiday, duty-free sales on Hainan Island reached 970 million yuan (about 190 billion won), up 15.8% from a year earlier. Global companies are also stepping up marketing to capture holiday consumption demand. The Greater China CEO of global food company Nestle said, "The Spring Festival is one of the peak consumption seasons of the year and a time when we can see the potential of China's domestic market," adding, "Through localization strategies, we are responding to consumers' higher quality expectations."

This year marks the start of China's 15th Five-Year Plan, and the nine-day Spring Festival holiday is being evaluated as a period when both consumption and tourism are activated simultaneously. Industry insiders are using consumption patterns during this period to gauge the trajectory of China's economic recovery.

Nine government bodies, including According to China's Ministry of Commerce, jointly launched a special campaign titled "2026 New Year Shopping" and rolled out policies to boost holiday consumption. The program focuses on everyday spending across "food, accommodation, transportation, travel, shopping, and cultural activities," and is accompanied by measures such as multilingual guidance for foreign tourists, traditional culture experience programs, and improved payment convenience.

These efforts are accompanied by policies to expand trade-in programs, promote inbound consumption, and strengthen financial support. A total of 62.5 billion yuan in subsidies was injected to support the replacement of used products during the Spring Festival, and some companies reported that financial benefits and promotional campaigns led to increased in-store customer traffic.

Actual consumption indicators also showed an upward trend. During the first four days of the Spring Festival holiday, the average daily sales of major retail and restaurant companies rose 8.6% from the same period a year earlier. In 78 key commercial districts monitored by the Ministry of Commerce, both visitor numbers and sales increased by 4.5% and 4.8%, respectively.

The convergence of tourism and consumption is also evident. According to data from travel platforms, bookings for flights to China around the Spring Festival surged by more than 400% year-on-year. In Shanghai, the average daily number of inbound and outbound passengers during the holiday reached about 113,000.

Foreign tourists are also increasingly participating in consumption. The number of tax refund stores for outbound travelers has risen to about 13,000, and some outlets offered additional discounts. In January 2026, according to customs at the capital airport, overseas travelers filed 7,966 tax refund applications totaling about 125 million yuan (about 25 billion won), up 469.8% and 43.7%, respectively, from a year earlier.

Amid China's broader opening and tariff cuts, inflows of global products into the Chinese market and the overseas expansion of Chinese goods and services are both accelerating. The European business division of logistics company JD recently announced that it is operating same-day and next-day delivery services in major cities in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, France, and other markets.

Overseas media are also paying close attention to these consumption trends. Some outlets have assessed that Spring Festival spending could become a catalyst for stimulating global consumption, trade, and the services industry.