Chinese consumers scout lower prices, secondhand goods as spending sputters

Chinese consumers scout lower prices, secondhand goods as spending sputters

In a Shanghai shopping centre, customers browsed racks of used winter coats, $2 trousers and household appliances -- pre-used items that would have been out of place in a major Chinese mall a decade ago.

China's factory activity slump deepens; Chinese consumers scout lower prices, secondhand goods as spending sputters

Beijing (AFP) Mar 4, 2026 China's factory activity slowed in February, official data showed on Wednesday, missing forecasts and extending a slump just ahead of closely watched announcements on policy planning. The world's second-largest economy has battled a slowdown in domestic demand and investment in recent years that have weighed on its vast manufacturing sector. A key measure of industrial health, the manufa

China’s consumers scout lower prices, secondhand goods as spending sputters

A longstanding taboo in Chinese culture against used goods is lifting rapidly amid stagnating wages, youth unemployment and a years-long property crisis.