Covid-19 hinders CNY spending

The weeks prior to the Chinese New Year (CNY), which are usually a spending spree period for local shops to generate extra revenue, will be affected by the ongoing pandemic, with business greatly hamstrung, especially small-and-medium enterprises.
Mr. Leung, the owner of a Macau ginseng and dried seafood shop established in 1995, told the Times yesterday that revenue for this year’s Spring Festival had dropped around 50%, as compared to last year’s CNY.
“The drop was predominantly driven by the decreased number of our mainland clients,” said Leung, adding that 60% of the shop’s customers were local residents, whilst the remaining 40% were mainland tourists.
According to a report published earlier by TDM, some locals have cut down the budget for their traditional grocery shopping for this year’s CNY, owing to the financial uncertainties brought about by the pandemic.
In addition, some shop owners said they are mounting their last promotions during the Chinese New Year and would shut down their businesses afterward, as they have already been crippled by the pandemic.
However, in Leung’s case, he noticed local customers have not scaled down their budgets, but rather, bought in smaller quantities than in previous years.
Leung speculated that most of them decided not to return to their hometowns in China during this year’s festival. Hence, they no longer need to buy dried seafood in bulk, to serve as CNY gifts for their relatives back home.