Chinese consumers, it seems, have accepted the new economic reality and adjusted accordingly. A survey of 1,000 consumers in 12 cities, conducted in April by BCG’s China Center for Consumer and Customer Insight, shows that the number of people who believe the economy will improve remains the same as last year. But general consumer sentiment and levels of security are on the upswing.
As a result, the intention to spend has recovered significantly as well. This year, 31 percent of consumers plan to increase their discretionary spending over the next 12 months. That’s only 4 percentage points more than last year and quite a bit less than the high of 38 percent in 2012, but this year’s results mean that the number of consumers who intend to spend more once again exceeds the number who intend to spend less.
