Is China‘s consumption accelerating Japaneseization?

Since the beginning of this year, the growth rate of monthly total retail sales of social consumption has slowed down, and people‘s overall willingness to consume is not strong enough, which seems to confirm the downturn of the consumer market, and some people even shouted the voice of consumption downgrade again.

If per capita GDP and population aging are used as metrics, it is not difficult to find that Chinese current per capita GDP is roughly equivalent to Japan‘s level in 1985. while the degree of population aging is comparable to Japan’s in the early 1990s. 

Considering that per capita GDP is related to the economic foundation of residents’ consumption, and the demographic structure behind the aging of the population can reflect people’s consumption ability and habits, it is not difficult to draw the conclusion that Chinese residents;’ consumption is generally close to Japan’s third consumption era.

It is worth noting that, similar to the external impact of the 3.11 earthquake in Japan, the occurrence of the new crown epidemic seems to be subtly changing the consumption pattern in Chinese. More and more consumers’ moods have changed, and they have become more rational in their consumption decisions.