Recently, various media outlets have reported the reopening of parks, scenic spots, cultural venues, all kinds of restaurants, large and small businesses... A dazzling array of entities have resumed operation. This fully shows that on the basis of steady and positive progress in epidemic prevention and control in China, we have seen several climaxes in market recovery in wake of a good start of various enterprises resuming work and production. It should be fully realized that as long as consumer groups, consumption demand, consumption impetus and consumption power are still there, the serious impacts of epidemic prevention and control on social consumption will gradually fade way over time. Currently, social consumption begins to rebound remarkably, which is indeed gratifying and encouraging news. However, to release pent-up regular consumption and expand new consumption still requires more efforts. Having been “staying at home” for nearly two months, people feel very “bored” and are waiting for the opportunity to experience consumer pleasure that they failed to enjoy during the Spring Festival, for example, eating out, window-shopping, shopping, sight-seeing, visiting the gardens, watching dramas, etc. It is fair to say that after market recovery, this kind of regular consumption may surpass that in the past, which I would rather describe as “compensatory consumption” instead of “retaliatory consumption”. It means consumption will grow exponentially at first, but then gradually return to the normal level. Even so, “compensatory consumption” is worth being taken seriously. Therefore, the government and merchants need to work together to firmly grasp the “window of opportunity” of consumption that may disappear soon and help more consumers make up for the regrets of being unable to make consumption during the Spring Festival. As the saying goes, where there is a crisis, there is always an opportunity. A close observation shows that this epidemic has introduced some new types of consumption, which can be collectively referred to as “cloud economy” and “cloud consumption” correspondingly. Specifically, a variety of “new formats” have come into being, including online education, medical care, entertainment, fitness, training, games, performances and sightseeing, to name just a few. Some had existed before but developed more rapidly during the epidemic, while others were newly and vigorously developed because of the new market demand. What’s most important is that many of these new types of consumption will be transformed into normalized consumption after the epidemic. Therefore, it’s necessary for the government to pay close attention to them and take the necessary measures to support them, and “guarantee their sound development after bringing them to the right track”. If we can seize the opportunity and ride on the momentum, we will turn Shanghai into a highland of the country’s “cloud economy” and a blessed place of “cloud consumption”. The epidemic prevention and control has given us many inspirations about how to further expand social consumption. Currently, in terms of consumption methods, online consumption and offline consumption make frequent interactions and various consumption carriers complement each other; in terms of consumption demands, material consumption and spiritual consumption grow in sync; in terms of consumption contents, goods consumption and service consumption continuously develop together; consumption services become more personalized and refined. This shows a new look and reveals a new trend, giving birth to some new consumption hotspots, carriers and contents. As for how to respond to them, the key lies in timely guidance. We need to convert potential consumption into actual consumption, future demand into immediate consumption. If well implemented, this approach can not only quickly recover the large-scale consumption lost due to the impacts of the epidemic, but also contribute to new consumption growth. Actively promoting consumption growth is actually two sides of the same coin and we need to pay equal efforts to both the supply and demand sides. Complicated though it is, the key to it lies in three links. The first is to actively adjust the social income distribution mechanism to give people “money for consumption”, and the current priority is to stabilize employment. The second is to actively remove various barriers for consumption growth, so that those who have money “dare to consume”, such as creating a sound consumption environment and enhancing social security capabilities. The third is to actively introduce various policies and measures to encourage consumption so that those who have money will “enjoy consumption”. Measures such as trading in old home appliances with new ones and providing appliance rebates for consumers in rural areas previously introduced to deal with the international financial crisis have yielded some results. At this moment, if some proper consumption stimulus policies are launched, they will certainly guide and stimulate consumption. It is a common feature for international metropolises to be consumer-cities. As China’s largest consumer city, as well as a “test field” and “arena” for new retail, Shanghai needs to make every effort to promote work and production resumption now and lay a more solid foundation for consumption growth, so as to form a business civilization that matches its position as an excellent global city and turn itself into an international consumer city with worldwide influence. Source: Wen Hui Bao March 19, 2020 Author: Zhang Zhao’an, Vice President and Research Fellow of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences