According to relevant statistics, 2017 is set to be the hottest Spring Festival ever for traveling and celebrating abroad, with outbound tourist numbers expected to exceed 6 million. During the 2016 Spring Festival, 6 million Chinese tourists traveling overseas "swiped" a record of 90 billion yuan in overseas spending.
The figure of 6 million outbound travelers is greater than the total population of Denmark. As for the 90 billion yuan, it’s equivalent to the total investment of the recent “Diverting the Yangtze River to the Huai River” project. With such massive overseas spending, what exactly are Chinese tourists buying?
Japan is one of the most popular overseas destinations for Chinese tourists’ shopping sprees. Among Japanese shopping spots, Laox is the most favored and trusted by Chinese tourists, primarily selling them electronics, daily necessities, baby formula, cosmetics, and other goods.
The authenticity, affordability, and practicality of Japanese goods are fully evident in Laox’s sales. In fact, from the end of last year to the beginning of this year (2017), affected by the U.S. interest rate hike at year-end, Asian currencies entered a depreciation trend, and the yen saw significant declines, making it favorable for Chinese tourists to go on shopping sprees.
Beyond price advantages, product quality is the real driving force behind Chinese tourists’ continued cross-border spending in countries like Japan, Thailand, and South Korea. Otherwise, no matter how low the prices, if the quality doesn’t hold up, consumers wouldn’t be so enthusiastic.
As Japan’s oldest retailer, established in the 1930s, Laox has, through years of word-of-mouth among Chinese tourists, become one of the must-visit “pilgrimage” destinations for Chinese tourists traveling to Japan. Having witnessed the ups and downs of Chinese tourist shopping in Japan over the years, Laox executives noted that the types of goods Chinese tourists actually purchase in Japan are quite varied and can’t be simply categorized into just a few types. The more common purchases include daily necessities, medicine, cosmetics, and electronics. But items like tea sets, gaming consoles, dolls, and even watches and camera lenses are also bought. Serving Chinese tourists well is no easy task.
When discussing Chinese tourists’ shopping enthusiasm, Laox executives mentioned that some outsiders might think Chinese tourists’ heavy shopping or spree-buying is driven too much by impulse—but that’s not the reality.
In fact, Japan has been an important overseas travel destination for Chinese tourists for many years. And for Chinese tourists visiting Japan, “shopping” has become a necessary part of the experience. In other words, any trip to Japan feels incomplete without the “shopping” component. Online shopping can hardly replace the experience of shopping in Japan’s refined, modern brick-and-mortar supermarkets. As a result, Chinese tourists’ enthusiasm for buying Japanese goods comes not only from their affordability and quality, but more so from a strong sense of ritual—it’s almost a habit.
From Laox’s perspective, Chinese tourists’ shopping in Japan can be divided into two parts—items for personal use and gifts for family and friends. Based on current Chinese tourist consumption habits, the “personal use” category mainly consists of daily necessities, cosmetics, electronics, and similar products; while gifts for others should be more aesthetically pleasing and feature distinctive Japanese characteristics.
Regarding the upcoming Spring Festival “6 million outbound trips,” Laox stated that Chinese tourists’ growing desire to spend and shop abroad is undoubtedly excellent news for Laox and other retailers. But more importantly, what Laox values even more is providing good service, welcoming Chinese tourists well, and ensuring they have a wonderful travel and shopping experience.