Winning the Retail Battle in A World Without Mask Restrictions

China’s retail market has entered a new era with decelerated overall growth, and the COVID-19 outbreak has hit it even  harder. The retail market’s annual growth has been decreasing since 2011, from almost 20% to c.6% in 2019. While many retailers had just started getting used to this tough situation, the pandemic began, together with probably the most negative economic impact seen in decades. During the first five months of 2020, more than RMB 2 trillion has already been wiped out from the market. There is also the chance that the pandemic will return in some areas and so hit the retail market a second time.

Download the full paper.