China has eased its zero-COVID policy and reopened its borders to tourists after three years of COVID-19 closure. The border reopening is a significant step towards economic recovery and the resumption of cross-border activities.

China, the world's largest market for outbound travel pre-COVID, reopened its border to international travelers on Jan 8 2023, lighting up prospects for global economic recovery. According to Trip.com Group data, overseas travel orders for the seven days during Spring Festival had surged by 540% YoY. It is expected that overseas tourist destinations will welcome an influx of Chinese tourists during the holiday.

After 14 years of development, China’s Double 11 Shopping Festival has matured. This year, instead of announcing sales results, E-commerce platforms are focusing more on achievements in areas such as helping farmers, going green and environmental protection, as well as long-term retention and conversion of core customers.

Hainan’s duty free retailers have fully resumed business since September after a COVID-enforced 47-day closure just in time to welcome visitors for Golden Week celebrations and the grand opening of China Duty Free Group’s Haikou International Duty Free Shopping Complex and its 280,000 sqm duty free zone i.e. CDF Haikou International Duty Free City, which is dubbed as the world’s largest single duty free store.

In recent years, Metaverse became one of the buzzwords, a concept linked with technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT) and has elevated buzz in countries such as China. According to iiMedia Research, a survey conducted in 2021 among Chinese netizens, over 70 percent of respondents stated that they had a sufficient understanding of metaverse, the most popular applications were game IP avatars, followed by personal and community virtual spaces. Riding on the growing popularity of the metaverse, fashion brands can now interact with consumers in more diversified touchpoints, bringing new virtual shopping experiences to the industry. According to China Metaverse Investment and Financing Data Report, China’s metaverse industry has received at least USD 780 million investment in 2022. With the emergence of the metaverse, Chinese fashion brands can engage their customers more digitally and creatively.

International tourism gains strong momentum and continues to show signs of recovery as restrictions ease. Outbound tourism spending from France, Germany, Italy and United States reaches 70-85% of pre-pandemic levels. It is time for brands to prepare for consumers getting re-acquainted with in-store shopping. Check out the third issue of iClick’s Travel Retail insights to learn about the impact of COVID-19 on consumer behavior and the winning post-pandemic market strategies for travel retail.