This year’s China National Day was ultra-unique to the citizens - it marks the first national holiday after China left the pandemic behind. October 1st, the beginning of Golden Week, was also the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, and these 2 holidays combined brought the holiday mood of the citizens to the next level.

As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the world into a recession. But the good news is that golden Week sales data has shown that China’s economy has bounced back in a V-shaped recovery. The growth has been greatly driven by tourism, food and beverages, and even hotel stays during the holiday; here are some key numbers that point to a strong and optimistic recovery in the China market.

1. According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Commerce of China, the sales for retailers and restaurants during the eight-day holiday reached a total sales of 1.6 trillion yuan (approximately US$235.5 billion), in which the average daily sales were 4.9% higher than Golden Week’s holidays last year.
   

2. China Union Pay reported that transaction volume increased by 6.3% to 2.16 trillion yuan in the first seven days of the Golden Week holiday, compared to last year’s transactions. On October 1st, the daily transaction volume exceeded 330 billion yuan, which was 16% higher than last year.
   

3. According to data published by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China, 600 million citizens, equal to 45% of the country’s total population, travelled during the Golden Week holiday. The eight-day holiday brings a total of 453.33 billion yuan in revenue to China’s domestic tourism sector.
   

4. China’s box office hit 3.9 billion yuan during Golden Week, recording it as the second-highest box office during the National Day holiday in Chinese film history.
   

5. Meituan-Dianping, one of China's largest food delivery platforms, reported that the food orders on the first four days of National day in October rose by 78.4%, in comparison to the first four days of Labor Day in May.

Undoubtedly, the strong sales of China’s Golden Week have injected confidence in the recovery of the global economy. 

Of course, we could not ignore the marketing efforts of merchants and consumer platforms behind these great numbers. For example, Meituan launched a campaign for the National Day holiday across Weibo, Douyin, and other social platforms seven days prior to the actual holiday. 

Meituan hosted a giveaway contest on Weibo and encouraged consumers to book hotels in advance for the National Day holiday with the limited-time discount offers. 

By launching a Super Topic “First Bubble Tea of Autumn” on Weibo, Meituan was able to create a buzz and stimulate consumer’s interest in ordering meals on their food delivery platform.

On Douyin, Meituan started a topic on “The National Day Big Sale”. Li Dan and Wang Jiangguo, who are the hosts of popular stand-up shows in China, were invited to a debate on “Spending or Saving on National Day?” This online event was able to drive the viewers to spend money on the Meituan app, along with the series of discount offers for the National Day. 

Qunar.com, one of the biggest online travel agencies in China, launched a giveaway campaign on Weibo, followers were asked to share their travel photos for a chance to win a prize. They also shared video contents of “Travel Destinations on National Day” on Douyin to inspire consumers on where to go during the National Day holiday.

3 Takeaways We Learned from the marketing ideas implemented by Meituan and Qunar.com

1. Leverage engaging topics such as the debate on “Spending or Saving on National Day”, which avoids hard-selling consumers, but instead encourages consumers to share, comment, and make purchases. 
   

2. Create a Super Topic on Weibo, such as “First Bubble Tea of the Autumn” to attract consumer attention to increase the brand’s exposure during periods like National Day and Golden Week.
   

3. Content strategy is important. Both Meituan and Qunar.com started publishing content about the National Day holiday weeks in advance and gradually attracted the interest of the consumers by reinforcing the messages leading up to the actual time period.

With China being the first market to show strong signs of economic recovery, If your brand is planning to enter/re-enter the China market, this is the time. Get in touch with us today at info@catalystagents.com, our Chinese Marketing Specialist can provide suggestions to fit your business strategy.