Starting in Wuhan, the original epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, lockdown procedures have been gradually lifting, and being re-activated, across China from April 8.  

In the mainland hubs and cities, activity is slowly returning to stores, as one flagship of the Hermes brand in Guangzhou has reported 19 million renminbi ($2.7 million) in sales on Saturday 11 April, according to WWD. 

This comes shortly after Savills China Retail reported Guangzhou consumer goods sales were facing a 14 percent year-on-year decrease to RMB132.3 billion at the end of February.  

Elsewhere in China, malls and shopping centers in Shanghai are welcoming footfall at 30 percent of their pre-Coronavirus activity as shoppers slowly returned to stores, according to emarketer. A positive return in a matter of a week given retail faced a 20 percent decline from January to February in year-on-year sales during the lockdown. 

With terms like “revenge buying” and global reports surrounding a shifting focus on luxury buying for the China market to health, wellness and experience, this is no doubt an isolated return to normality that could expand once spending returns to China. 

*Image courtesy of Hermes.