China’s lunar new year is usually the time of the year consumers spend their money, but business analyst Shaun Rein, author of The Split: Finding the Opportunities in China’s Economy in the New World Order, saw this year consumer spending was low, very low, he tells CNBC. An exception is investing in China’s tech companies, who are successfully fighting US sanctions, he adds, at least among the movers and shakers in China.Read More →

Former Alibaba employee Sharon Gai, author of “Ecommerce Reimagined: Retail and E-commerce in China”, is an expert on how Western apps and those from China differ from each other. Now that Rednote, formerly known as Xiaohongshu, has become an alternative for Tiktok, she takes the opportunity to dive into this issue again in her vlog.Read More →

Increasingly global brands not only look at China as a potential market but also as a guide on how they can use the country’s digital transformation for their global ambitions, writes marketing expert Ashley Dudarenok on her website Chozan. “By this year, China’s digital transformation sector is expected to reach $221.95 billion. It is forecasted by Mordor Intelligence to expand to $410.67 billion by 2029, with an annual growth rate of 13.1% over these years,” she writes.Read More →

Paula Macaggi, the founder of OFFBounds, sets off for her first trip to Shanghai and questions e-commerce expert Sharon Gai, the author of  Ecommerce Reimagined: Retail and Ecommerce in China on what she can expect on her journey. Key Takeaways: •⁠ ⁠The super app experience with WeChat •⁠ ⁠How China’s retail is about content and entertainment •⁠ ⁠Unique consumer behaviors and retail experiences only found in China •⁠ ⁠The rise of sustainable consumption in Chinese e-commerce.Read More →

The Hurun China rich list published its 2024 results and its chairman Rupert Hoogewerf saw 30 percent of the country’s billionaires disappear, he says on CNBC. “The Hurun China Rich List has shrunk for an unprecedented third year running, as China’s economy and stock markets had a difficult year,” said Rupert Hoogewerf.Read More →

Some e-commerce firms in China have profited from a rally of their stocks, triggered off by a major financial stimulus, but that might not help the economy to really improve, says financial analyst Shaun Rein at CNBC. It’s a rally of exuberance, he adds, and might only triple down into the economy in six to nine months. The real problem is for example companies cannot fire their staff very easily, and make their lives hard, hoping they will leave by themselves, he says.Read More →

Pinduoduo (PDD) suffered an unprecedented 30% decline in its share value at the start of this week, but business analyst Shaun Rein sees here an opportunity for investors. Buy PDD, he tells them on CNBC. The company has hit a wall through China’s consumer decline in trust, but he sees enough possibilities to grow overseas, especially with Temu, he adds.Read More →

Former Alibaba executive Sharon Gai explains how AI is changing the retail industry beyond recognition. Amazon was the pioneer in this field, although now nobody can ignore the change AI is causing globally.Read More →