Tmall unveils beverage sales report for 2020 CNY celebration

Beverage sales in China are always at their peak before the celebration of each lunar new year and China’s e-commerce giant Tmall recently announced a detailed report on the exponential surge of beverage sales driven by the preparation for new year.

According to the report, since the beginning of January 2020, the sales of beverage products in Tmall has experienced a growth of 198%. Sales of baijiu in particular have grown enormously, up 237% on the same period last year, followed by beer at 158%, wine at 156%, other spirits at 62% and the Chinese rice liquor huangjiu also at 62%. This reflects the bulk purchase behaviour of Chinese customers a month before Chinese New Year in order to prepare for the long celebration.

76.5% of the online customers are aged between 18 to 39, with the group aged 30 to 34 being the largest group within that at 26%. In terms of gender distribution, the proportion for male and female are almost the same.

The five cities that topped the sales report are, respectively, Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Young white collar workers are particularly interested in a diverse category of products, including both local and imported beer, wine and spirits. Tmall observed a rise in imported products, vintage items and collectibles this month, implying consumers are prone to step up their festive celebrations with boutique and high-end wine and spirits.